Principles of occupational health: from peg legs to pension funds.

Pirates, considered lawless barbarians, had a functioning and premium-free accident insurance system in the 17th century, the principles of which are also found in today's workers' compensation: collective risk-sharing, fixed compensation payments for injuries, and jointly financed benefits. Modern occupational health formalizes and significantly extends the pirates' rough-and-ready concept through legal and actuarial frameworks. For illustration, we compare the Pirate Codes or Articles with their compensation practice with today's occupational safety and health systems in the UK and Germany. Our comparison is confined to self-governing pirate communities.