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Vol. 31, No. 4 (October 2000) Reprinted from "Admiralty Law in Popular Culture", a special issue published in 2000 by the Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce, a quarterly devoted to maritime law, with the permission of the Journal and the Jefferson Law Book Company. The Law of Piracy in Popular Culture Jonathan M. Gutoff* I INTRODUCTION That Captain Morgan (who tortured the inhabitants of Panama City and Portobelo to get them to turn over their riches) and various other sea robbers have been romanticized is no surprise; pirates have been a staple of fiction from antiquity. The subject of this article, however, is not the romanticization of pirates and piracy in popular culture, a task that has already been undertaken by others,2 but the role of the law of piracy in popular culture. It should be noted at the outset that I have not attempted to examine the entire range of popular culture and piracy. That would be impossible, as pirates continue to appear in all sorts of cultural artifacts, from Halloween costumes to comic strips to the names of sports teams. Pirates and piracy also are used by all sorts of businesses (in addition to the manufacturers of rum) to indicate that a rollicking good time awaits patrons. Moreover, piracy continues to be the basis of much romantic literature.3 What I do attempt here is to look at how the legal regime that has governed piracy is reflected in current works of popular culture. After briefly reviewing the background of pirate literature from the 17th to the 20th centuries, I pay special attention to contemporary times and limit my discussion to films and television. Even within these limitations, I do not claim to have seen everything, although I have seen a lot.4 While there is not much of an awareness of law in pirate movies, there is some, and an understanding of it may, perhaps, add to the enjoyment of watching pirate movies. BACKGROUND: FROM THE 17TH TO THE 20TH CENTURY Exquemelin's book was followed in England by Charles Johnson's A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates (1724).5 Johnson's work details the lives of such famous pirates as William Kidd, Edward Teach (better known as Blackbeard), and the women pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. It also was the basis for the fictional pirates later created by Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, and J.M. Barrie. While it makes for highly entertaining reading, Johnson's book is also replete with legal detail. He quotes from royal proclamations and describes charges to grand juries, including one dealing with the history and jurisdiction of the admiralty and the nature of the crime of piracy. In addition, Johnson discusses Kidd's trial (complete with summaries of the testimony). For those readers who still have not had enough law, Johnson also provides, "An abstract of the civil law and statute law now in force in relation to piracy," which is exceptionally detailed. Although fictional works in the 18th and 19th centuries did not include any legal reference materials, the 19th century did see the publication of an American update of Johnson's work called The Pirates Own Book or Authentic Narratives of the Lives, Exploits, and Executions of the Most Celebrated Sea Robbers (1837).6 This too included a legal appendix, much of it cribbed from Johnson, but updated to include some recent innovations, such as categorizing the transatlantic slave trade as piracy. Unfortunately, this tradition of legally-informed historical narrative did not last into the 20th century. Today, most treatments of piracy, fictional as well as historical, tend to focus on "cannon, cutlass, gore and decks awash in blood."7 SCREEN (BIG AND SMALL) PIRATES One characteristic common to most pirate movies is the seemingly democratic nature of the pirate bands. This is not a recent invention, but apparent in films from the 1930s to the 1990s. Peter Blood, for example, obtains the agreement of the entire crew concerning the articles under which they will ship, including a promise not to harm any woman. In Treasure Island (1950), the men being led by Long John Silver (Robert Newton) assert the right to retire into common council to decide whether to continue to follow him. And in Cutthroat Island (1995), Morgan Adams (Geena Davis) assumes the captaincy of her father's ship not by inheritance, as one might expect, but by election of the crew. The foregoing is one aspect of real piracy that movies convey, if not well, then at least not badly. Moreover, for film makers, the appeal of the egalitarian nature of pirate society is obvious: it makes the pirates sympathetic to democratically-inclined audiences. B. Sentence Those convicted of piracy in London were hanged at "Execution Dock," near Wapping, on the north bank of the Thames, to set an example for that neighborhood's large population of maritime workers. Outside London, those found guilty of piracy generally were hanged at prominent dockside locations. To make sure that the example set for mariners also would serve others who might be tempted to "go upon the account," the bodies of pirates were often wrapped in chains where all could witness, and perhaps contemplate, the wages of sin. (The chaining, it should be noted, was done not as a sign of humiliation but to hold the bodies together during the inevitable decomposition). After the trial and execution of William Kidd in 1701, his body was set out in chains in the Thames River at Tilbury Point. The actual punishments of pirates have proved, for the most part, too gruesome to serve as entertainment for modern audiences. As a result, Hollywood has only hinted at the end of sea robbers. Long John Silver worries about going to Execution Dock but does not end up there. Similarly, in Captain Kidd (1945), the movie's protagonist is condemned, but the character (played by Charles Laughton) is not seen swinging from a gibbet or bobbing up and down in the tide. Recently, however, there has been some change. In Cutthroat Island, the waterfront of Port Royal, Jamaica is decorated with a variety of realistic corpses hanging in chains and cages in various states of decomposition. These are banged about with much abandon in an otherwise dull chase scene. If gore sells, the punishment of piracy offers numerous chances to make a killing. C. Summary Punishment In many pirate movies, there is talk about pirates being strung up from the yard arm, and in Cutthroat Island the character William Shaw (Matthew Modine) is rescued from a summary hanging aboard ship after being declared guilty of piracy. Can this be right? What about the courts? What about due process of law? Surprisingly, it is right. As one well-known 18th century legal dictionary explained: A Piracy attempted on the Ocean, if the Pirates are overcome, the Takers may immediately inflict a Punishment by hanging them up at the Main-yard End; though this is understood where no legal judgement may be obtained; And hence it is, that if a Ship shall be on a Voyage to any Part of America, or the Plantations there, or a Discovery of the Parts; and in her Way is attacked by a Pirate, but in the attempt the Pirate is overcome, the Pirates may forthwith be executed without any Solemnity of Condemnation, by the Marine Law.8Thus, to the extent that cinematic pirates are caught on the high seas, they may be, to the delight of audiences, stung up from the yard-arm. D. Jurisdiction In a January 2000 episode of The Simpsons entitled "The Mansion Family," Mr. Burns, the local industrialist, checks into the Mayo Clinic. Before leaving, he asks his hapless employee, Homer Simpson, to house sit. Homer decides to throw a party aboard Gone Fission, Mr. Burns' yacht, and pilots her to outside the 12-mile limit so as to be able to buy beer in the morning, contrary to state law. Once on the high seas, there is total debauchery. On one vessel, a man and a cow are married. On another vessel, a major league baseball game is rebroadcast with only implied oral consent (rather than the required "express written consent"). Meanwhile, on the Gone Fission, Homer and his friends start to drink and taunt the Coast Guard, which, it is explained, cannot go out past 12 miles. Much to Homer's frustration, however, when the yacht is later attacked by pirates, the Coast Guard refuses to come to his aid. To be sure, the problem of jurisdiction of piratical vessels is a real one in many parts of the world. It arises, however, out of the need to pursue pirate vessels from the waters of one sovereign to the waters of another. In contrast, there is nothing that prevents a United States vessel from boarding a vessel engaged in piracy on the high seas. In other words, the Coast Guard could have come to Homer's aid. CONCLUSION has played only a marginal role in these stories, and arises only in aid of the entertainment. Technical issues are avoided or, if necessary, as in the case of The Simpsons, misrepresented. There is nothing particularly disturbing in all of this. After all, few people--even among this journal's readership--want to go to the movies, rent a video, or turn on their television and be instructed in maritime law. Knowledge of the law, however, does tend to increase the appreciation of the fare being offered. Also, works of fantasy and science fiction are outside my review. Thus, pure fantasy, like Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride (1987), and science fiction, like Stewart Raffill's The Ice Pirates (1984), and most importantly, the various versions of Peter Pan, are not considered. I can, however, assure the reader that a knowledge of the law is not at all helpful in viewing any of these movies. 5. As a result of J. Moore, Defoe in the Pillory and Other Studies (1939), it was long supposed that "Captain Charles Johnson" was a pseudonym for Daniel Defoe. This view was challenged in P. Furbank & W. Owens, The Canonization of Daniel Defoe (1988) and, as a result, leading historians of piracy now generally agree that Defoe was not Johnson. 6. While the author was anonymous, the Marine Research Society's 1924 edition identifies him as Charles Ellms. 7. B. Burg, Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition: English Sea Rovers in the Seventeenth-Century Caribbean xvi (1984). 8. G. Jacob, A New Law Dictionary, at "Pirates" (8th ed. 1762). |
