In defense of pirate "democracy"... Having held original 17th century source documents in my hands, I'd say that the claim of "no special privileges" for pirate captains refers not to who has the last say concerning commands routine to running the ship. Instead, it correctly means that the crew got to vote on lots of big policy questions (where to go, what to steal). The captain was still in command and evidence of this is that William Kidd's crew had to basically mutiny to get him to turn pirate. But once he did, they had a big say in how to proceed.
This article has prompted me to see this museum in 2023.
In defense of pirate "democracy"... Having held original 17th century source documents in my hands, I'd say that the claim of "no special privileges" for pirate captains refers not to who has the last say concerning commands routine to running the ship. Instead, it correctly means that the crew got to vote on lots of big policy questions (where to go, what to steal). The captain was still in command and evidence of this is that William Kidd's crew had to basically mutiny to get him to turn pirate. But once he did, they had a big say in how to proceed.