The following is excerpted from a book called Vade Mecum published in France in 1707. Although the book was written to establish basic standards of behavior, punishment, protocol, and procedure on French naval ships, it served as standard policy on board both merchant and naval ships in Europe and the United States throughout the colonial period and the early years of the nation. This list of rules for ships' crews reveals to us what concerns were most pressing on board a ship. The relative harshness of the various punishments tells us which crimes and misdemeanors posed the most serious threat