The first codified Articles of War for the English navy were issued in 1653, and contained provisions for common punishments that could be handed down by captains, as well as as those offenses that would lead to a court-martial. But the idea of captains being able to hand down punishments certainly goes back before that, as the Articles recognized existing custom. So the first legally recognized "mast" would be 1653, though the term is a later invention.