Memo+29+Describing+Practices+To+Make+an+Analytic+Point

The decision making process for buccaneers differs greatly from their African counterparts, the corsairs. Africa based pirates operated in a hierarchical manner. Middle class members of the community, generally merchants, could purchase a share in a pirate ship. This share entitled them to a say in the placement of a captain for a ship. Often religious knights, or crusaders, rode aboard the ships. The targets of Christian ships were strictly Muslim, and the targets of Muslim ships were strictly Christian. The decisions concerning the course of the ship and who to attack was made by the shareholders and then by the captain. At the end of a pirate run, the goods were distributed by shares. This meant that the businessmen who owned the ship received the greatest proportion, with significantly decreasing amounts being given to the captain and the crew. Often the cabin boys and deck-hands received next to nothing. This contrasts significantly with pirates located in the Caribbean, known as buccaneers, who operated in a highly democratic, if not anarchistic manner. Firstly, a captain was elected by the crew. The captain could be replaced at any time should the crew feel that he was not performing his duties capably. Secondly, all booty and plunder obtained by the crew was split evenly, meaning that the first mate received just as much payment as the cabin boy. Generally, the captain might take slightly more, but this never equated to more than one and a half shares. All decisions, including what course to chart, what ports to dock at, what targets to approach, and what methods by which to attack were, for the most part, decided upon via vote. Furthermore, each ship's crew wrote their own set of rules and regulations, along with the manner in which these guidelines were to be enforced. Depending on the ship, some regulations included curfews, limitations on the consumption of alcohol, guidelines for bringing women aboard, and the treatment of women captives and restrictions on gambling and games of chance. These differences in practice have led to significantly different local economies and societal structures.