Brethren of the Coast

The Brethren of the Coast is a loose coalition of pirates and privateers active in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

A syndicate of captains with letters of marque who regulated their privateering enterprises within the community of privateers and with their outside benefactors. They issue orders to raid French and Spanish shipping and territories.

Based primarily on the island of Tortuga off the coast of Haiti and in the city of Port Royal on the island of Jamaica, their ranks are joined by adventurers of all nationalities and races, as well as escaped slaves and outlaws of various sovereigns.

The Brethren are governed by codes of conduct that favored legislative decision-making, hierarchical command authority, individual rights, and equitable division of revenues. Henry Morgan is the most famous member of the Brethren and the one noted with codifying its organization.