On the good ship Lollipop

From the Shirly Temple movie Bright Eyes her signature song was   On The Good Ship Lollipop  ( Where all the suckers go )

Pick your own crew from the job description below.



The Pirate Crew

There is a defined hierarchy on board of a pirate ship, which follows the most important functions. This hierarchy is not geared towards who has more say on board, but what the chain of command is in any particular situation.

Captain

Most pirate captain's were democratically elected by the ship’s crew, and possess qualities of leadership and courage that inspire their crew to follow them and rely on their acumen in battle. Daring and decisive during any engagement, the captain is commonly looked upon with respect, as a knowledgeable leader of men. During chase or in a battle the captain's power is absolute and he can discipline anyone who disobeyed his orders. He also has life or death power over anyone taken as prisoner.
The captain has skills in navigation and seamanship, but first and foremost he has the type of personality required to hold together a rowdy crew of seamen. Other than battle, the captain usually would be delegating most of the everyday tasks to the quartermaster or other junior officers. He needs to be overseeing all shipboard activity with the barest level of discipline necessary to keep an even keel.

Since most pirate captain's were elected, they could be replaced at any time by a majority vote of the crewmen. For example some captains were voted out and removed for not being as aggressive in the pursuit of prizes as the crew would have liked. And others were abandoned by their crews for being a little to bloodthirsty and brutal. A few were even murdered by their own men.

1st Mate

The first mate on a pirate ship is the man the Captain picks as his second in command. In the event the Captain is killed the job falls to the quartermaster. Some ships also had second, third, even forth mates creating a chain of command. Some pirate ship crews had this position as the captain's right-hand man and the one who would assume his role if he were killed in battle or could no longer perform his duties. This was often considered the job of a lieutenant in a regular navy, and on most pirate ships the quartermaster and First Mate were often the same person.

Quartermaster

The quartermaster is next in line after the captain in exercising authority over the crew. His authority on the ship takes up where the captain’s leaves off. Whenever the ship is not in chase or battle, the quartermaster makes most of the decisions regarding the day-to-day ship activities.
The Quartermasters main purpose was the distribution of things. He distributed rations, powder, work, prize, and punishment. Pirates didn't trust authority and therefore saw no reason to let all the power of a ship rest on one man. Therefore they split the power between the Captain, who led the ship in battle and navigated the ship, and the Quartermaster, who usually led the way on any boarding party, and kept custody of all prize or booty. As expected all gold, silver, or coin was taken, but beyond that, it was the quartermaster who decided what else was worth taking. He made his decisions based on time and on how much room the ship had. If the ship was already cramped, spices and exotic materials may be burned rather that stolen.

During the Golden Age of Piracy, most British and Anglo-American pirates delegated unusual amounts of authority to the Quartermaster who became almost the Captain's equal. The Captain retained unlimited authority during battle, but otherwise he was subject to the Quartermaster in many routine matters. The Quartermaster was sometimes elected by the crew to represent their interests and he received an extra share of the booty when it was divided. Above all, he protected the Seaman against each other by maintaining order, settling quarrels, and distributing food and other essentials.

The quartermaster also watched over the treasure until it was divided among the crew. The quartermaster who did the dividing, with the crew's supervision, and there was rarely a dispute about how the loot was divided. The quartermaster also settled individual quarrels and if need be, acted as a witness to any duels, to insure that duels were fair and just.

Serious crimes were tried by a jury of the crew, but the Quartermaster could punish minor offenses. Only he could flog a seaman after a vote from the Crew. The Quartermaster usually kept the records and account books for the ship. He also took part in all battles and often led the attacks by the boarding parties. If the pirates were successful, he decided what plunder to take. If the pirates decide to keep a captured ship, the Quartermaster often took over as the Captain of that ship.

Boatswain / Bos'n / Bosun

This position may be compared to the modern chief petty officer. The Boatswain supervised the maintenance of the vessel and its supply stores. He was responsible for inspecting the ship and it's sails and rigging each morning, and reporting their state to the captain. The Boatswain was also in charge of all deck activities, including weighing and dropping anchor, and the handling of the sails. A ship of any size would require the boatswain to oversee several junior officers who would share his responsibility for the crew's morale and work efficiency as well as the maintenance and repair of the hull, rigging, lines, cables, sails, and anchors.
Bosun's Mate

A Note on Mates:

On a large ship there was usually more than one Mate aboard. The Mate served as apprentice to the Ship's Master, Boatswain, Carpenter and/or Gunner. He took care of the fitting out of the vessel, and examined whether it was sufficiently provided with ropes, pulleys, sails, and all the other rigging that was necessary for the voyage. The Mate took care of hoisting the anchor, and during a voyage he checked the tackle once a day. If he observed anything amiss, he would report it to the ship's Master. Arriving at a port, the mate caused the cables and anchors to be repaired, and took care of the management of the sails, yards and mooring of the ship.