Matelotage 1. An Unusual Type of Early Modern Same-Sex Civil Union

In the collective imagination, the world of Early Modern oceanic sailing is still shrouded in an aura of virility and machismo. This perception leaves little room for much more complex and fluid affective and sexual dimensions. Generally, the issue of homosexuality in Renaissance and Early Modern long-range travels is described as a rather widespread but often tolerated transgression. The most common understanding is that homosexual behaviors were merely a diversion from prolonged distance from the female presence. During the 16th and 17th centuries, however, long before civil unions and same-sex marriages became legally accepted, seafarers had created an institution that anticipates these types of unions. It was called matelotage.

Matelotage comes from the French word matelot, meaning sailor or seafarer. It was a type of contract which united two men who decided to share their fate. This included a vast range of things, from battles to booty to the ship’s hammock. The matelotage offered mainly guarantees in case of death of one of the two. The survivor received a share of the booty due to the deceased companion and inherited his property, minus the part due to any of the dead’s relatives. It must be said that the matelotage did not necessarily imply a sexual or love relationship. However, and this is the unexpected thing, especially among pirates, the amorous component was not uncommon.

Why the pirates? If we think about it, compared to sailors aboard military or commercial vessels (although the distinction was often blurred), the lives of pirates offered much less certainty from the point of view of legal guarantees. Certainly their activities were not protected by the comfort of the law, nor did they have families to return (peacefully) at the end of their activities. Among pirates, therefore, there were those who decided to enter into a civil union, celebrated like a marriage, with the exchange of golden rings and promises of fidelity: from that moment on, the two men would share everything, possibly even women. No one was forced to engage in a relationship of this type, even if it often involved somewhat unbalanced couples: an older pirate took under his protection a young man, the matelot, who would inherit his property and in the meantime could enjoy a certain security and have money available.