Matelotage (French for "seamanship") was an agreement amongst pairs of European sailors, in particularbuccaneers, in the 17th and early 18th century. As part of this economic partnership, "matelots" would agree to share their incomes, and inherit their partner's property in the case of their death. In addition, they would pledge to protect and fight alongside each other in battle and otherwise act in the other's interest.[1] Not limited to sailors orpirates, matelotage agreements could be made by members of any group, even planters.[2]
Alexandre Exquemelin wrote about the custom of pairs of sailors entering into economic agreements.[3] Though most often interpreted as aplatonic form ofmutual insurance, some historians have compared matelotage tosame-sex marriage ordomestic partnership.[4][5]B. R. Burg argued inSodomy and the Pirate Tradition (1995) that in the male-dominated world of piracy,homosexuality was common.[4] A union such as matelotage may have acted as a manner of validating relationships that would otherwise have been considered against contemporary societal norms.[4] Another allusion to matelotage's significance was the disapproval it was shown by colonial authorities. Burg's conclusions and research methods are not accepted by most pirate historians.[3]Hans Turley, who also wrote on pirates and homosexual unions, said "the evidence for piraticalsodomy is so sparse as to be almost nonexistent."[5] It is likely though that same-sex encounters were more accepted among buccaneers than in theRoyal Navy, based on the lack ofpirate articles against homosexuality.[3]
At least one written matelotage agreement survives in historical records; it was between two pirates residing atPort Dolphin onMadagascar in 1699.[6] Other potential pirate matelotage unions such as that ofJohn Swann andRobert Culliford, who were pirates in theIndian Ocean during the late 17th century, are sometimes described as romantic but are not referred to as matelotage in British records; Swann was instead referred to as "a great consort of Culliford's, who lives with him."[7] However,consort was a nautical term for ships sailing together or aiding one another. There is no detailed information on Swann's relationship with Culliford beyond living and sailing together, so the issue of Swann and Culliford'ssexual orientation remains open.[8]
