Last update 12th May 2001

Commissions, Marquees and The Naval Way of Life

Commissions

Commissions in Piracy! are nominally contracts your ship may undertake, either from private, government or religious sources. As an example, a Commission may be:

• A merchant offers you money to find and capture the pirate 'Jolly Roger', who plundered his ship and stole his favourite snuff box.
• The Spanish town of Coro was plundered by pirates. The Catholic Church really doesn't care, except of course their church was also plundered, and the 12' tall solid gold jewel encrusted cross was also stolen. They are offering a reward of total absolution and a pair of partidges in a pear tree for the soul brave enough to rescue their cross, and foolish enough to actually give it back.
• The new governor of Grenada was stranded in San Juan after his ship was wrecked in a storm. Your nation has charged you with finding him, rescueing him if necessary, and transporting him to Grenada at all speed.
• The king of England has decided the king of France is really a queen, and decided war is his only recourse to clear the name of all good kings. He has charged his Caribbean governor with finding a non naval ship and captain to find a way to ignite a war with France, from which he could retreat if things turned bad by claiming it was an accident by a local captain.
• The Coaking Coal Company has decided their coal is not bringing in enough profits, so they decide to expand into piracy. They hire a ship & captain, possibly several under a commander, to intercept and capture the Spanish Treasure Fleet and return the treasure to the Coaking Coal Company. The reward is a free yearly supply of Coaking Coal.
• The governor of Havana is turning 55 and to make his day, the good merchants of Havana have decided to import the beautiful, exotic dancer Isabella Lazenby. The captain & ship is to find her and transport her to Havana with her virtue intact, and to be wary of the Captain of the Spanish war galleon 'Institution'. Her captain is infatuated with Isabella and will attempt to capture her if he finds her.

Marquees

Marquees are nominally letters of authorisation given by governors to ships captains to empower them with some form of naval legitimacy so that they may capture pirates and scoundrels in the kings name. They may also cover enemies of the crown from other nations, or be restricted only to certain pirate captains. They may or may not also be time limited. Specific details of Letters of Reprisal and Marque are covered under the Law section.

Naval Life

So you're in the navy! Your life is pretty regimented, but of course it could be worse, you could be unemployed and living in the slums of your nations capital city. However, you were lucky enough to be born into wealth, and a naval commission. Your actions are usually of your own choosing, but you must always be aware of the restrictions of being a naval captain, which is roughly:

• Wage war against the enemies of the crown, harassing their merchants, citizens and navy wherever it is practical and expedient.
• Defend the towns, merchants, citizens and navy of the crown with your ship & your life.
• You may not initiate hostilities against the towns, merchants, citizens or ships of nations to whom your nation has a non aggression treaty.
• Hunt down the scoundrels of the sea commonly known a pirates and return said pirates to the pleasure of the courts of the Admiralty.
• When you are in port, you shall sit upon judgement of scoundrels & pirates in the court of the Admiralty, except those pirates for whose capture you are responsible.
• You shall take orders from admirals, senior captains and governors, even if they are clueless to the real situation.
• You shall take note of your nations church and aid it as much as possible. The Captain must make every reasonable effort to carry out the churches wishes as long as it does not jeapordise the kings commission.

Being caught not sticking to these guidelines will generally result in some form of disciplinary measure, and possible demotion or decommissioning.

The good fortunes of the navy is of course unlimited ammunition, replacement sailors, replacements ships, a fair food supply, and the possibility of further command. It is always possible in the hunt for rascally pirates you may command a small fleet of several vessels. Due to the restrictions on navies in the area, these vessels are likely to be hired merchant vessels.

The downside is of course you have a limited choice of opponents, you need to take orders from superiors and even the church, and you are unable to make high profits on your ventures. However, your chances of survival are much better and you have the opportunity for a long and heroic career.

 

The Church

Pirates were a mixed bag when it came to dealings withthe church. Some were devout men, others devout anti God believers.

Some declared they wanted no Godliness to be preached on their ships, that pirates had no God but their Money, nor Saviour but their Arms. Others wished that Godliness, or at least some humanity, were in more practice among them, which they believed would be more to their reputation, and cause a greater Esteem to be had for them, both from God and men.