A new approach to risk

Being a successful pirate requires many attributes beyond skill with a cutlass and a lust for rum. For Bartholomew Roberts, an 18th century Welsh buccaneer, maintaining discipline among his crew was essential if he was to profitably terrorise the Caribbean.

In 1720, following a dispute over loot Roberts and his crew agreed a code of conduct – a pirate’s bill of rights – which prohibited both gambling and women onboard ship, but also offered the carrot of a pension to pirates injured in the line