The Brethren Court



The Brethren Court, also known as the Ninth Brethren Court, is a confederation of pirates on The Legend of Pirates Online made up of the Pirate Lords, which serves as the governing body of pirates across the world. They are led by the Pirate King, Richard Cannonwalker.

History
For information on the past Brethren Courts from Pirates of the Caribbean Online, see: The 5th Brethren Court, The 6th Brethren Court, The 7th Brethren Court, and The 8th Brethren Court

After the end of the 8th Brethren Court and PotCO on September 19, 1746 (2013), pirate roleplay as a whole stopped and became dormant. While the British roleplayers remained together and organized, many members of the 8th Court moved on to other things. There was nothing more than a few whispers of creating any kind of pirate organizations for the two and a half years that followed PotCO's closure.

In the January and February of 1749 (2016), news arose of another Brethren Court being made by a man named Lawrence Ironhawk. Richard Cannonwalker, the King of the 8th Court, was initially willing to "pass the torch" along to this new Brethren Court and take a step back from pirate roleplaying. However, after hearing of this new Court's non-aggression pact with the British, he decided that they would be an inadequate successor to the legacy of the Brethren Courts.

Throughout the month of March, Cannonwalker recruited and made plans for the creation of the 9th Brethren Court. By the end of the month, he had six lords total. After he finished recruiting, Cannonwalker held a vote between the lords to decide who would become Pirate King; he won this vote, becoming the first ever two-time Pirate King. Cannonwalker and his newly-appointed Keeper of the Code, Finn Hamm, issued a new Pirate Code for this Court to follow as well.

On April 1, the 9th Brethren Court's existence was officially announced to the world. However, Ned Edgewalker would resign from the Court a few days later, leaving the Binder of the Seven Seas position vacant. On the same day, Harleen Spark would publicly announce her membership in the Court as a Lord.

By May 12, after talks with Lawrence Ironhawk, the leader of another group calling themselves the 9th Brethren Court, the two Courts had come to an agreement to merge. Certain lords from each Court were demoted and agreements were put in place.

The Pirate Code
The code that all members of the Brethren Court must follow, lest they risk being branded a "rogue pirate."

Article I: General Lord Conduct

 * 1) Lords must swear utmost allegiance to the Court and cannot be serving (peacefully or violently) any other country or faction (formally or informally) without express permission from the Pirate King.
 * 2) Lords must remain active; if one goes inactive for a month or longer, they will be replaced.
 * 3) Lords cannot cause unnecessary trouble with other groups or people, inside or outside of the Court.

Article II: The Pirate King

 * 1) The King is the Guildmaster of the main Brethren Court guild; he may admit other guilds to serve the Court, but his will be the central one around which all the others revolve.
 * 2) The King has the power to appoint a Binder of the Seven Seas, a Keeper of the Code, and any other position he may come up with; the King may also remove said people from power if he so chooses.
 * 3) The King may appoint any amount of Pirate Lords he chooses; this may be challenged by any current-sitting Lord, but an attempt to keep a new Lord out must be passed with a 2/3rds majority of all Lords, including the King themselves.
 * 4) The King will have sole jurisdiction over the fates of Pirate Lords deemed to be “inactive.”
 * 5) The King will have sole jurisdiction over any territories conquered by, or on behalf of, the Brethren Court.
 * 6) The King will have sole jurisdiction over the foreign affairs of the Brethren Court.
 * 7) The King may be removed from power if 3/4ths of all sitting Lords (not including the King) vote to have a new Pirate King election; the current-sitting King may run in said election, however.
 * 8) In the event a Binder or Keeper steps down or is removed from their position for whatever reason, the King should appoint a new Binder/Keeper they find to be fit for the job within a reasonable amount of time.

Article III: Binder of the Seven Seas

 * 1) The Binder of the Seven Seas, named in honor of the first Brethren Court, is second-in-command of the Court and will assume the role of Pirate King (either temporarily or permanently) should the current King resign, be impeached, or be otherwise unable to do their job.
 * 2) When the King is on active duty, the Binder shall serve as their main advisor.

Article IV: The Keeper of the Code

 * 1) The Keeper will cooperate with the King in order to target problematic Court members and remove them from the Court.
 * 2) The Keeper may accuse a Pirate Lord of acting against the Code at any time, after which the following will occur:
 * 3) The Keeper shall build a case against the accused.
 * 4) The Pirate King and Binder will consider the case.
 * 5) A three-way vote between the King, Binder, and Keeper shall be held.
 * 6) A simple majority may remove the Lord.

Article V: The Main Brethren Court Guild

 * 1) This Guild will serve as the Brethren Court’s main army, and will be run by the King; other guilds may be admitted at the King’s discretion, but this will be the central guild.
 * 2) The Guild will be named by the King after appropriate input from the current-sitting Lords.
 * 3) Lords must, in most cases, be put through the aforementioned due process before being kicked from the Guild, but non-lord members can be removed at the King’s discretion.
 * 4) Lords may be removed without due process if, at the time, they are performing actions which are deemed to be putting the Court in a "state of emergency."

Article VI: Declarations of War

 * 1) War may be declared on behalf of the Brethren Court in two ways:
 * 2) The Pirate King declares war on behalf of the Court.
 * 3) The Lords vote to declare a war on behalf of the Court
 * 4) If a vote to declare war is called by one of the Lords, it requires a simple majority to be put into motion; the Pirate King may veto it, but only if it is a simple majority (2/3rds majority cannot be vetoed by the King).

Article VII: General Voting

 * 1) Most day-to-day actions of the Court will not be put to a vote; however, the following actions must be put to a general vote among all Pirate Lords:
 * 2) *Impeachment of the current-sitting Pirate King
 * 3) *Removal of a new Pirate Lord (if brought up by a current-sitting Lord)
 * 4) The following actions may be done in another manner, but can be put to a vote provided a Pirate Lord calls for one:
 * 5) *Declarations of war
 * 6) If the threshold needed for any vote to pass isn’t a whole number, it is always rounded up.

Article VIII: Amendments to the Code

 * 1) Amendments to any and all parts Pirate Code may be made at any time via a vote between the Pirate King, Binder of the Seven Seas, and Keeper of the Code.
 * 2) All amendments, inconsequential and major, must be made completely public to all members of the Brethren Court with no exceptions.
 * 3) Lords may petition that either the King, Binder, or Keeper of the Code review a request for an amendment at any time, though they are not obligated to follow through.

Map & Territories List
''The territories colored in black are territories controlled directly by the Brethren Court. The territories in green (Russia) are territories that are indirectly controlled by the Brethren Court by way of a member of the Court ruling them independently. The territories not in black are still sovereign and have their own leaders that may make decisions separate from the Court's.''

Note: Indirectly-controlled territories are not listed due to them still being sovereign.

Territorial Magistrates
Africa Asia Europe West Indies

News

 * General
 * 4/1/1749 - The 9th Brethren Court is officially established.
 * 4/6/1749 - The Binder of the Seven Seas, Ned Edgewalker, resigns from the Court. The Binder of the Seven Seas position is made vacant.
 * 4/7/1749 - Jeremiah Garland joins the Court, taking over the duties of Binder of the Seven Seas.
 * 4/8/1749 - Pirate King Richard Cannonwalker officially announces the joining of the Brethren Court with the military of Russia.
 * 5/13/1749 - After a merger with another Brethren Court, the Court restructures to accommodate for all of its new members. Lawrence Ironhawk becomes Binder of the Seven Seas, among other roster changes.
 * Territorial Acquisitions
 * ​4/8/1749 - France gifts Haiti to the Brethren Court.
 * 6/9/1749 - Sultan Mahmud I of the Ottoman Empire grants his entire empire to the Brethren Court.