Yo Ho Ho... and You Know the Rest

I've had quite the fun-filled day. I started it off with class (ba dum bum) and spent the next several hours contemplating a life of crime-- in this case, piracy. I just finished reading Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" for the first time in my life, and I absolutely loved it. It's fun, interesting, well-written, and full of characters I love, from Dr. Livesey to Jim Hawkins to Long John Silver himself.

I decided to celebrate the end of my imaginary sea voyage by going to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to see the traveling National Geographic exhibit- "The Whydah: From Slave Ship to Pirate Ship." Fan.Tast.Ic. It was quite informative in my current state of mind. I learned all about Sam Bellamy and his motley crew hijacking the slave ship in the West Indies, sailing north, and being shipwrecked by a terrible storm. I actually got to touch some of the pieces of eight (treasure) they recovered. Interesting note: this is the only pirate treasure they've ever recovered, probably because most pirates spent their money in drink and women before they could actually amass any wealth. That doubtless would have happened in this case too had the ship not sunk and killed all but two of its crew (who were captured and hung anyway). It was quite a sight to see the treasure all piled in chests.

After visiting the exhibit, I find myself in a moral quandary, which is this: I can absolutely understand the reasoning of pirates in the 1700s. I mean, come on. A regular seaman went to sea, had no rights, was repressed and treated horribly by his commanding officers, and may or may not have ever been payed the pittance he was promised. Conditions were horrible, and disease was rampant. Also, the governments first authorized "privateering," which was basically legalized piracy. It only became illegal when they formed political alliances or lost wars. Pirates grew from the ashes of the program, declaring their independence from any nation. Then take the slave trade. I don't even need to go into that, I'm sure. Those people were absolutely dehumanized, and it is disgusting on every level. Enter someone like Sam Bellamy. Now, I am absolutely aware that he was a thief and murderer. Obviously, I don't excuse this kind of behavior. However, if you signed up to be a pirate, you became a shareholder in the company. Every person on board was entitled to a share of the money. They were large crews, so they had to do much less work. They democratically elected their officers, and they were able to, ahem, remove them if they weren't living up to the code. Also, they voted on the rules from ship to ship and captain to captain. Anyone was entitled to everything, be they European, African, Native American, Jamaican, or any other -an. Bellamy's men actually called themselves "Robin Hood's men," identifying with the swashbuckling hero who stole from the rich and evil to feed the poor. And I have to say, I can't find any tears when it comes to them taking over a slave ship. I'm willing to bet that all on board were treated with a respect and humanity that was never going to be available to them through any other means of the day.

So, are you with me? Or am I just caught up in the romantic haze of sea voyages and Robin Hood?