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. 

Son of Edward and Isabella Vidar, William was an ambitious young boy who was often caught causing mischief. As most children do, little William spent most of his days imitating his father. This meant that he learned many things about his father’s occupation: a shipwright. 


Once William became old enough, his parents sent him to school. During his time in this school he received poor grades. As the year passed, his parents began to worry about their son and why he was not succeeding academically. This brought them to the decision to have a discussion with William’s teacher (many small schools only had one teacher). The teacher explained to Edward and Isabella that William was a “day-dreamer” and that his attention skills was the thing setting him apart from the other succeeding students. With this new information, William’s parents talked with him that night. This is how Edward and Isabella discovered that William could not stop thinking about ships and sailing. Edward was pleased to hear this and decided to teach his son about his profession. The once reckless William became an ambitious and responsible William who improved academically and finished that year of school in the top of his class. 


As William grew older, his father taught him how to swordfight and his mother taught him manners. He began to take the form of a charming young man who could fight well and speak well too. However, these skills came secondary to what he was primarily taught by his father, sailing. However, William became distracted from his lessons during these teenage years. William became self-confident, too self-confident some might agree. He adopted an ego of arrogance and was corrupted with conceit. With this new cocksure attitude, William met enemies. Many scuffles and conflicts arose inside the city between neighborhood adolescents, causing kids to choose sides. Some supported William, others rebuked him. Because of these experiences, William learned how to “play the cards”, if you will. He learned how to take on the role of a leader, someone who had a powerful presence and could comfortably handle attention, whether it was unwanted or not.  


However, these childish rivalries along with his immature actions came to an abrupt end when he graduated, although if his foes met him again there would surely be conflict. When William became an adult, he had obtained experience in sailing and shipwrighting. The bond between him and his parents grew and he was finally enlightened with maturity and respect. But William was still that competitive boy who hated losing, only being more mature this time ‘round. He took his studies more seriously and began looking toward his near future. What are his goals? Does he want a family? Where shall he live? What is his financial life looking like? All these questions and more cluttered his thoughts, but he was determined to answer them. He was ready to begin a new chapter in his life, one that would decide how he would live from that moment on.