On 5 September 1717 King George I Issued the Proclamation of 1717 "For Suppressing Pirates in the West Indies." This document granted a pardon to all pirates who surrendered themselves to any colonial governor or governor under the domain of the British Empire safe passage and were guaranteed a "clean slate" of their record. However, word of this did not get out to the West Indies and so in December 1718 another proclamation, or more famously known as the King's Pardon of 1718 was issued for the same purpose. In both of these documents, not only were pirates granted a clean slate on their record, but they were also offered a large sum of money for the capturing of other pirates who were guilty of piracy, murder, and treason against His Majesty. More specifically, for every captain who was captured, the person responsible would receive 100 pounds, equivalent to £14,000 in 2016, and for every lieutenant and "boatswain" a reward of 40 pounds (£5,700) was offered. Each level of member on a pirate ship had a reward placed on their heads from this point on.