We usually think that all pirates used the same flag. Actually, it was a personalized presentation letter

“The old Truhan, captain of a ship that had a pair of warm and a skull,” Sabina sang in his ‘a lame pirate’. Surely there is large countries flags that we do not recognize the first, but one that we have in mind is the pirate flag. But there is something interesting in the world of these finding: each captain had their flag.

And although the black background inspires terror, the really infernal in the seas was the pirate flag of red background.

Jolly Roger. This is what the pirate flag is called because, obviously, they did not call it “pirate flag.” It is not clear where the term came from and there are theories that relate it to the Templar flag and to this order, but also that it comes from the Frenchman “Joli Rouge”, Which comes to mean“ beautiful red ”reference to a variant of red flag that was used in combat. It loses strength when there was a first flag called ‘Old Roger’ that would refer to the devil, but well. It is also theorized with the copy of Spanish icons.

What seems something more settled is that it appeared for the first time in 1724 in the book ‘General History of the Pirates’ that, supposedly, wrote one Captain Johnson. Again, it is not very clear how the flag arose and has its logic, since it would not be what most worried the first pirates who used it.

Personal brand. The skull and the two crossed bones is the most iconic design. It is not since we have seen it in innumerable fiction worksbut also adapted to anime as’ mainstream ‘as’One Piece‘, video gamesbooks, musical bands … whatever. It is a powerful design of which there are variants with low bones or behind the skull, but also other designs that replace those bones with saber.

However, although it is the most representative of piracy, it is not the only design that was used by these sailors. In fact, each captain had their flag. The most iconic belonged to Edward Seegar, an Irish sailor who was on a ship that the pirates took, decided to join his crew and then became independent as a captain. His flag was associated with all the pirates of history and at all times, but as we say, this is false.

Another Edward, but Teach in this case, was the immortal ‘Barbanegra’. A flag is attributed with a skeleton that supported a sand watch and a spear pointing to a bleeding heart, but other sources say that its design was much simpler: a single skull. Bartholomew Roberts had several flags with skulls and complete bodies that represented different enemies.

Henry Every had another iconic design: the profile skull with a handkerchief and crossed bones (although there are doubts about their authenticity). And Stede Bonnet was in his air, as a good pirate, with a design composed of a skull, a horizontal bone, a dagger and a heart. When designing it, it is seen that they asked “how many elements you want in the flag”, and he replied “yes”, although there is also doubts about his authenticity.

Historical errors. In some designs there are contradictions Historical, being a good example. Popularly, this skeleton design with horns, the clock and the bleeding heart has been attributed. The own Smithsonian has contributed to popular thinking to associate this flag into the pirate, but this design appeared for the first time in a 1912 magazine and there is no evidence that it was used by the pirate.

Not so deep symbology. Beyond these errors, what is clear is that pirates chose with care what elements to carry on their flag. It was still his visiting card and presentation letter, so the icons were not randomly there. The cross swords represented the skill in combat and ferocity.

The sand watches could represent the E of death. The bleeding heart and skeletons, more of the same. There were some that customized the skull, such as Every, showing personal variations of a classic design, and others, such as Roberts, included letters that alluded to personal revenge against specific people.

Psychological warfare. The flag was ‘branding’, but also something fundamental in the struggle in the high seas: an element of deterrence. A very powerful one, in addition, since the black color and the design of skeletons and swords sought to infuse psychological terror in the adversaries. When the pirates were in sight of another ship that interested them, they raised the black flag seeking to persuade their victims and to give up without resistance.

The objective of the vandals was to take the loot, and that included the ship. The repairs were expensive and required time and a friend port in which to perform them, so the ideal was to take the target ship without any damage. But … what if the other ship did not give up? There was an alternative plan: the flag with red background.

If the pirates raised this flag, what they transmitted to the goal is that they would not have compassion with the crew.

Contemporary use. In the end, the pirates had their ego, but we can think that these designs died when piracy is over (that of that idealized time, of course, since Pirates continue to exist). And, although they no longer had a patch in the eye or stick leg, there were ships that They raised The flag during the last century.

The British raised her in the submarines HMS UTMOST during the Second World War and in him HMS conqueror After sinking the Argentine General Beldrano cruise in the Falklands War. The Poles of the Submarine ORP Sokol They also raised it with two captured Nazi flags.

Images | Barry Skeates, Malene Thyssen

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