What the *$^% is a: Quartermaster?

A Quartermaster enforces discipline aboard ship; sometimes the same job as the Bo’sun. They were elected by the crew and were the second most powerful men aboard ship and had veto power of the Captain's orders as long as they were not in the middle of a battle.

Quartermasters led raiding parties onto other ships and some Quartermasters, notably Captain Jack Rackham succeeded to command their own ships and become captains in their own rights.

What the *$^% is a: Bo'sun?

Boatswain or Bo’sun, aka Third or Fourth Mate

Foreman of the ship’s crew he disciplines the crewmembers and is responsible for anchors, colors, rigging, deck crew and ship’s boats; He signals the crew in their jobs with a code of whistles.

What Have Pirates Done For Me Lately? -Bicameral Legislature

The Pirate Utopia of Salé on the Moroccan coast was a truly independent state for decades in the 16th century. While the rest of North Africa was being carved up among the Ottomans and various Sufi princes, democracy of a kind was flourishing.

Salé was ruled by the Taiffe Reisi or Council of Captains and the Divan, which was populated by former commander-in-chiefs. Becoming a voting member of the legislature was as simple as staying alive long enough to rise through the ranks of corsairs. Every two months a new commander-in-chief, "Agha of Two Moons," took over as head of the corsair fleet. This gave an unprecedented level of opportunity to men who took up the vocation of corsair. A man, regardless of birth, could rise to the highest levels of government.

This form of government was the first democratic government after Greece and heavily influenced European Democracies that would follow it.

Modern Salé and Rabat

What the *$^% is a: Cooper?

A Cooper

A cooper is person who makes barrels. Barrels are extremely important aboard ship because they hold fresh water among pretty much everything else. Having a cooper aboard ship means that you can fix these barrels and make more if necessary.

While this skill probably wasn't a skill that kept a person busy all the time, being a cooper was definitely enough to make a man valuable.