Nov. 12. Yesterday Afternoon, all our Ships Company sign’d the before-mention’d Agreement, finally to settle Plunder. At the same time we sign’d another Agreement, to prevent gaming and wagering: some of our Crews having already lost most of their Clothes, and what else they could make away with. To prevent those loose and dissolute Courses, we sign’d both Agreements as follows.
WE the Officers, Seamen and Landmen belonging to the Ship Duke, having made several former Agreements concerning the equal sharing of Plunder, do now desire and agree, That each Man give an exact Account of all Clothes, Goods of Value, or Necessaries of any kind he had, over and above his Dividend deliver’d him at Gorgona, or had purchased of others since, to be rightly charged to him in his Account of Plunder, by the Agents appointed; and to restore whatever he had taken without the Agents Knowledge, and to prevent any Persons detaining and concealing any Goods or Riches of any kind, now or for the future, more than their respective Shares, in order to a right Distribution of Plunder, except Arms, Chests, Knives, Roman Relicks, Scizzars, Tobacco, loose Books, Pictures, and worthless Tools and Toys, and Bedding in use, which are not included in this Agreement; and those that have already only things of this kind, are not liable to a Penalty: We do voluntarily sign this, and offer our selves to be obliged firmly by these Presents, to be under the Penalty of 20 Shillings for every Shilling value taken hid or conceal’d by any of us, or removed out of any Prize without written Orders from the Commanders publickly; and that none but the Agents already named, or to be named hereafter, shall detain in Possession any Plunder; but whatever is found conceal’d shall be valued, and the Persons that hid it to be fin’d as aforesaid, which Penalty we acknowledge to be laid on us by our own Desire, Consent, and Approbation, over and above the former Penalty agreed on, That any Person shall loose his share of every Prize or Purchase taken, whether Cargo or Plunder, that conceals of either the Value of half a Piece of 8. and this to remain in Force, to the End of the Voyage.
And to encourage Discoveries of such Concealments, what-ever Person discovers the Fraud of any, who shall be so imprudent as to detain more than his due, in any Goods that has not been shar’d before as Plunder, or purchas’d of the Owners Agent or Commanders; the Informer of such Fraud shall have one Half given him gratis, out of the Offenders Shares and Wages; the other Half for the use of the Ships Company as Plunder; which Information shall be encouraged by the Commanders of each Ship, in order to prevent Frauds, as long as this Voyage holds; and that ever hereafter Accounts shall be made up, and the Plunder immediately adjudg’d to prevent Confusion.
Cruising off Cape St. Lucas.
We likewise agree, That if any of us hereafter shall without farther Proof be accus’d of concealing Plunder or Goods of Value, belonging to any Prize, he shall, on request, before a Committee of all or either of the Ships Commanders and chief Officers, voluntarily make Affidavit to answer fully and satisfactorily to such Questions as shall then and there be demanded of him, in order to prevent fraudulent Concealments, and on his Refusal, agrees to be punish’d or degraded, and to be subject to such Penalty as a general Committee shall think fit to inflict on him or them. Every one hereunto subscribed is within 3 Days from the Date hereof to settle his Account of Plunder; after which time, this Instrument is in full Force and not before.
Sign’d by the Officers and Men
of each Ship.
The Agreement to prevent Gaming was as follows.
WE the Ship’s Company belonging to the Ship Duke now in the South Seas, being Adventurers so far to improve our Fortunes in a private Man of War, under the Command of Capt. Woodes Rogers, who has a lawful Commission from his Royal Highness Prince George of Denmark,[138] and considering the apparent Hazard of our Lives in these remote Parts; do mutually agree to prevent the growing Evil now arising amongst us, occasion’d by frequent Gaming, Wagering, and abetting at others Gaming, so that some by chance might thus too slightly get Possession of what his Fellow-Adventurers have dangerously and painfully earn’d. To prevent this intolerable Abuse, we shall forbear and utterly detest all Practices of this kind for the future during the whole Voyage, till our safe Arrival in Great Britain, where good Laws of this kind take place, and designing effectually to confirm this our Desire and Agreement, We do jointly remit all sorts of Notes of Hand, Contracts, Bills, or Obligations of any kind whatsoever, that shall any ways pass, directly or indirectly, sign’d by either of us after the Date hereof, provided the Sum in each Note be for Gaming, Wagering, or Abetting any way whatsoever by any of us; and to prevent our being misled for the future, all manner of Obligations of this kind, and for this Consideration, shall be wholly invalid, and unlawful here, and in Great Britain or Ireland; And throughly to secure this Method, we farther jointly agree, that no Debt from this Time forward shall be lawfully contracted from Man to Man amongst us, unless by the Commanders Attestation, and enter’d on the Ship’s Book, it shall appear done publickly and justly to prevent each others Frauds being conniv’d at amongst us; And that none of us may fraudulently do ill things of this kind for the future, and make a Pretence to Ignorance, We have all publickly and voluntarily set our Hands, desiring the true Intent and Meaning hereof may take place without the least Evasion, it being (as we very well know) for our common Interest and publick good, that not one of us employ’d on this dangerous and remote Undertaking, might be so unhappy to arrive at his wish’d for Country and Habitation poor and dejected: And being throughly sensible of the Necessity of this Agreement, we have set our Hands.
Sign’d by all the Officers and Men in each Ship in sight of California, Nov. 11. 1709.
Nov. 13. The Water being discolour’d, and we near the Shore, we hove the Lead but found no Ground.