Ahoy there! (Again!)

This blog has laid dormant for a few months now, sadly, but like pirates always seem to do has sprung back to life with renewed vigor and interest.

The focus of this blog, in an attempt to have more to discuss besides the 4 or 5 flags I have posted here, will be expanding. Now, I'll be writing about not just the flags and the images on them, but the materials used to create them--canvas, dyes, paint, sewing equipment, etc., historical inaccuracies of pirates in film and popular culture (remind me to tell you all how the other day I completely "ruined" pirates for some of my coworkers), as well as going back into the research presented on the flags I've already done and fixing any errors/mistakes, as well as presenting more ... intense ... background and facts. The best thing about this rebirth of The Truth About Jolly Roger is that it has renewed my trusty sidekick Stephen O'Neill's research, and the potential for new things to be discovered and discussed is quite high!

I must also give a big shout out to Professor O'Neill's Spring 2011 History of Piracy course at Suffolk University, who are going to be reading and commenting for class. Hi, guys! I'll be attending Professor O'Neill's lecture on pirate flags on April 12th, which will be a chance for me to personally answer any questions, take comments, duck from rotten tomatoes, and have a dialogue with the students. So, expect a recap of that.

Next post I'm working on is to answer a very important question that was asked on Blackbeard's post: Why do we need to be historically accurate? A great question, and a very important one to ask, and one that is being asked all over the museum world. So, keep a weather eye out, mateys!

"Here was an End of that courageous Brute, who might have pass'd in the World for a Heroe ..."

I'm not sticking around to see what he wants.

Blackbeard.

The single most colorful, bizarre, and arguably well-known pirate there is today. His name is Edward Teach (or Thach, or Thatch), he was probably born in Bristol, England, and he was known to be courageous, uncommonly bold, and ruthless. A devilish attitude was cultivated through his looks and actions, but scholars believe these claims are exaggerated. Daniel Defoe tells us how he got his name.

"...so our Heroe, Captain Teach, assumed the Cognomen of Black-beard, from that large Quantity of Hair, which, like a frightful Meteor, covered his whole Face, and frightened America more than any Comet that has appeared there a long Time.

     This Beard was black, which he suffered to grow of an extravagant Length; as to Breadth, it came up to his Eyes; he was accustomed to twist it with Ribbons, in small Tails, after the Manner of our Ramilies Wiggs, and turn them about his Ears: In Time of Action, he wore a Sling over his Shoulders, with three Brace of Pistols, hanging in Holsters like Bandaliers; and stuck lighted Matches under his Hat, which appearing on each Side of his Face, his Eyes naturally looking fierce and wild, made him altogether such a Figure, that Imagination cannot form an Idea of Fury, from Hell, to look more frightful." pp. 84-5

Blackbeard first began his pirating ways under the watch of Captain Benjamin Hornigold in 1716. Part of the Bahamas' Flying Gang of pirates and former privateers (legal pirates as established by a letter of marque from the crown), Captain Hornigold put Blackbeard in command of a sloop in the Caribbean and they sailed in consort from the Bahamas, to the coast of Virginia, and back again. Hornigold then accepted a King's Proclamation, which pardoned him from his illegal activities. The Flying Gang then split into two factions: one, those who accepted the pardon; and two, those who kept a-piratin'. Blackbeard was among the latter group.

His pirating ways eventually brought him to the coast of the Americas, specifically the Carolinas. Setting himself up by first blockading the port of Charleston, then getting in with the governor of North Carolina, Charles Eden, he becomes a part of the local village and was welcomed into their lives. This sent the governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, into a rage, and he sent an illegal naval detachment of the HMS Pearl and Lime to rid the coast of Blackbeard. The first confrontation between Lieutenant Maynard, commander of the Pearl, and Blackbeard went as follows:

Blackbeard: Damn you for Villians, who are you? And, from whence came you?

Maynard: You may see by our Colours we are no Pyrates.

(Blackbeard bid him send his Boat on board, that he might see who he was; but Maynard replied that he could not spare his boat, but would come aboard with his Sloop)

Blackbeard: (took a glass of Liquor, and drank to him with these Words:) Damnation seize my Soul if I give you Quarters, or take any from you.

Maynard: I expect no Quarters from you, nor will I give you any. (p. 80)

And so a battle ensued around Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, with Blackbeard sustaining heavy wounds (five bullets and 20 slashes by sword) before he was ultimately beheaded by Maynard. The head was then hung from the boltsprit, and the body thrown overboard, which legend has it swam several circles before finally vanishing into the bay.

Now, let us get into the REAL reason behind this post: Blackbeard's flag! Here is the usual flag of Blackbeard, top, and my redesigned one, below:

Quite the difference. Blackbeard's flag is said to have a skeleton holding either a goblet (to drink to the Devil) or an hourglass (to remind you your time is running out) in one hand, a spear in the other, and a heart with three drops of blood.

I changed several things in the new flag. First, there was absolutely no evidence to support this skeleton with horns. Blackbeard was not depicting the devil, he was depicting a figure of death. The skeleton itself is also more lifelike and human, versus ... whatever the other one is supposed to be.

With conflicting sources on whether it was a goblet or hourglass, we decided on making it a goblet-y-looking-hourglass. The skeleton's hand, wrapped around the base, hides its true identity. The usual flag holds a goblet.

Third, the hand holding the spear became more lifelike. And fourth, the three drops of blood are actually dripping from the heart, instead of arranged around it. It makes more sense to have that, instead of spatters, as the drops of blood and heart are reminders of a slow, bleeding death. Lovely, right?

Blackbeard is big business in North Carolina. National Geographic even wrote an article about him (you know you're big when that happens!). Here are some related links that you may find of interest:

• Blackbeard: Pirate Terror at Sea (National Geographic)
• Blackbeard the Pirate (North Carolina Maritime Museum)
• Coastal North Carolina, home to Blackbeard (Local area)
• Rewriting Blackbeard's History (Article published a day ago in NC)
• The Legend of Blackbeard (Tour in Beaufort, NC)
• Teach's Hole (Pirate Specialty Shop and Blackbeard Exhibit) 
• Blackbeard and the Queen Anne's Revenge (Facebook)

Captain Ned Low and his "red Anatomy of Death"

Capt Edward Low in ye Hurricane
which He and All the Crew had
Like to Perish'd by J. Nicholls
and James Basire, hanging in the
National Maritime Museum in London

The date is March 19th, 2009. I'm sitting beside Professor Stephen O'Neill, the associate director and curator at Pilgrim Hall Museum, at the Jones River Landing in Kingston, Massachusetts, listening to Professor Len Travers from UMass Dartmouth speak about "Pirates in New England." He's focusing on Captain Ned Low, in consort with Captain Charles Harris, and their battle with the HMS Greyhound off of Block Island in Rhode Island in late May/early June of 1723. Professor Travers examined the days-long engagement through primary sources, as the capture of pirates was big news for the newspapers of the time. Captain Low, in his sloop the Fancy, escaped the Greyhound and left his consort Harris, in the sloop Ranger, as a sacrifice. It was an act of cowardice on Low's part, but he turned it around and swore oaths of vengeance against the British Man-o'-War, and continued to uphold his reputation as one of the most terrifying, ruthless pirate captains of the Golden Age for capturing and torturing other ship captains and their crews. Cowardice turned villainy.

Before moving on, I must make a mention of pirate ship names (it will be a short one, as an entire blog could be devoted to just that subject). As previously mentioned, Low's sloop (a small, one or two masted sailing vessel known for its lightness and speed in the water) had the good fortune (where is the sarcasm font when you need it) of being named the Fancy. Low was not the only one to name his vessel such a terrifying name, as there are at least three other pirate ships named Fancy. And in truth, most pirate vessels did not have terrifying names ... no, they were called such things as Bachelor's Delight and Happy Delivery,--a euphemism if I've ever seen one--or Mocha and Mary Anne, even Rose and Pearl. Yes, names that would strike fear into the hearts of their victims!! Riiight.

But the reason I bring up the "Pirates in New England" lecture is Professor Travers, when talking about the execution of Captain Harris and 25 of his men in Newport on July 19th, 1723, mentioned something that caught my attention so fiercely, I had to hold back the urge to yell out, "WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" and had me gawking and gaping at my companion in a rather stupefied manner. Reading from a primary source, the Boston News-Letter, Professor Travers said that their flag of indigo color was draped over the men after they were hung. Cue the reaction of Scooby Doo proportions; I'd been designing all of the flags with BLACK backgrounds! And everywhere we looked, the sources stated they were BLACK flags! Oh my God I have to change everything?!?!?!

*graphic designer perishes under the immense weight of a new workload*

As it turns out, it was more probable for the flags to have been dyed with indigo. In the 18th century, black as a dye was:

1. very expensive;
2. very hard to come by and rare; and
3. faded extremely quickly.

The likely source of these supposed "black flags" was lots and lots of indigo dye, that from far away looked black. Or, had been dyed over and over to be so dark that they were black, but then faded to the indigo/blue color, which out on the open ocean was extremely likely to happen. And thus, we decided to not change the backgrounds, especially since there was only one source about indigo flags, and the flags started out dyed to look black, right?

Right.

So let's take a look at Captain Low's flag, the with the "red Anatomy of Death." I did not have to do any real redesigning of the flag; instead, I had to make it look meaner and more menacing, as well as more realistic. I mean really, how mean and menacing and realistic does that skeleton look? Not so much. It's just a goofy looking head floating on a body that is probably more apt to make you laugh then scare you into submission.

It's also a guess, really, as to what was meant by an "anatomy." Sure, there's the literal definition of the word, but in the 18th century an anatomy usually referred to the skeleton figure or a skull, as seen on many gravestones from the time period and previous centuries. So, do we do the typical skull and crossed bones, in red instead of white? Or should we go for the full monty?

Of course, we went for the full skeleton. There are absolutely no records stating that the skull and crossed bones ever appeared in red. It was only natural that we assumed Captain Low would have used a full skeleton. It's meaner, it's gnarlier, more menacing, and a great way to remind your potential victims that you're gonna get them, and they're gonna die. I'd be contemplating throwing myself overboard if that flag appeared on a vessel headed straight towards mine.

Interested in my source for these posts? Then you must get your hands on A General History of the Pyrates by Daniel Defoe (it can also appear under the name Captain Johnson, but is the same thing). You can get it for as low as $8.32 on Amazon!

Black and bloody flags

The original pirate flags: a black ensign and a red ensign.

The first pirate flags had nothing to do with piracy at all.

Flags are an important part of shipping and sailing, especially before the time of Morse code. Flags, ensigns, banners and pendants spelled out the name of the vessel, its country of origin, its purpose, if it was in distress, if there was sickness and/or death on board. Even today, in the day of modern ships and luxury yachts, flags are still used and are an important part of seafaring life.

In the age of sail, flags were the sole form of communication between ships. They could be seen from long distances and helped identify friend or foe. They also warned of danger, and could be used as trickery. For all of these reasons, pirates adopted first the plain flag, then emblazoned symbols on them later.

Traditionally, the blood red ensign is a sign of infectious illness on board a vessel. Close quarters on ships and incredibly unsanitary conditions allowed such diseases as dysentery and typhus to spread rapidly.

Upon the death of a sailor, a black ensign was raised. This told passing vessels there was death aboard. The body was usually dumped overboard soon after.

It is unclear who, what, when, and why the buccaneers and later the pirates adopted these flags. One tale is a pirate, sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, came upon three British naval ships anchored, each with a red flag flying at the top of the mast. The commander of the ships, seeing an opportunity to press healthy men into service, lured the pirate on board. The pirate managed to escape, and began using the red flag to lure other vessels in close for provisions, then attacking them and either taking the ship or sinking it.

Another idea is the French buccaneers of Tortuga used the red flag as a warning to passing Spanish vessels that they should surrender immediately. If the Spanish fought, they would then raise a black flag to signal that no quarter would be given; any survivors would be killed without mercy.

The main use of pirate flags was to intimidate and instill fear in their potential targets. Pirates didn't want to fight; they wanted the goods to be given up easily. They could not afford the loss of men or damage to their vessel; however if necessary they would unleash fury. You knew you were in trouble when a black flag was raised, and you fought until you died or wished that the pirates would give you some mercy.

Pirate; from the ancient Greek "peirato"

peirato: to attempt, attack, try

Sounds like a pretty fitting definition, right?

Piracy began long before most people think. The ancient Greeks defended themselves from pirates before Jesus Christ was born. Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-48 B.C.E.) coined the Latin phrase that still rings true today: "Hostes Humani Generis." The common enemy of mankind.

There are periods of time that piracy was legal. Letters of marque were handed out freely by kings and queens during times of war, allowing ships of men to hunt and loot enemy ships and seize their goods. These goods went back to the crown, with shares given out to the men who plundered it. And there was much plundering, as it seemed the big powers were always at war: England, France, Portugal, and Spain.

There were many different types of pirates, too. From the Barbary corsairs, to the French corsairs, to the English Sea Dogs, the Dutch Sea Beggars. From these emerged the buccaneers, the first identifiable group from the West Indies. They lived on Hispaniola (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic), which was mostly devoid of humans with the exception of small Spanish settlements in the south. The buccaneers were hunters, living off of and trading the now-feral pigs and cows that had escaped from settlement farms. The term "buccaneer" is derived from the French "boucan" (further, "boucaneir"), which means "to smoke." Our modern term of "barbecue" is also derived from the linguistic lineage.

Carte d'Hispaniola de G.B.Ramusio, Navigazioni e Viaggi, Venezia, 1565.

The buccaneers created their own community and society. This was unheard of at the time, in the early 17th century. As the community grew, they took up residence on a small island just off the northwestern coast which they named Tortuga (sound familiar? It is a real island!). The community then became known as "The Brethren of the Coast" (sound familiar again?), and from Tortuga they were able to attack the many passing Spanish ships on their way to the settlements.

As the community grew, rules needed to be put in place. The rules put forth by the buccaneers are known as the "Jamaica Rules":

• The captain is allowed no better fare then the lowest man on the ship
• Buccaneers resolve where they will sail (democracy!)
• Pre-drawn up articles determine how many shares each member of the crew gets
• Agreed awards for the wounded, based on the type of injury (an insurance policy!)
• An oath must be taken that they will be honest and only take their share of the plunder
• An oath of loyalty must be taken to their crew
• Any dispute is settled by a duel, on shore, never on the ship

In the age of monarchy, the buccaneers formed a democracy amongst themselves. This democracy holds true throughout the Golden Age of Piracy (1713-1726) as well, since many pirates of that era served under buccaneers and never left the life behind.

Fun Fact: Captain Morgan, of spiced rum fame, is an actual buccaneer. He is modeled after Sir Henry Morgan (1635-1688), who at age 32 became the Admiral of the Brethren Coast, and is arguably one of the most well-known buccaneers. He is also one of the few who was able to leave the life behind, as he became a major prosecutor of pirates in Port Royal, Jamaica.

Source: The Buccaneers of America by Alexander O. Exquemelin (translated by Alexis Brown). Find it on Amazon.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life fer me!

Arrgh, ye landlubbers! Yer int'rsted in th' jolly roger, eh? Well, shiver me timbers! Yer in th' right place!

Okay, now that I've gotten the "pirate speak" out of the way, I can promise you it will never happen again! This blog is the product of two very different assignments: first, I had the pleasure of participating in a small research project on the historical accuracy of pirate flags with the associate director and curator of Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Truth be told, I had a teeny part in the actual research; my main focus was on illustrating the figures and symbols we discovered in the primary sources from the inaccuracy you see sold in stores today. Second, this blog was created for a class assignment: Museums & New Media at Tufts University, as part of the Museum Studies program. But, I love pirates, and loved the work I did at Pilgrim Hall, so it was only natural I should focus my blog on such a fun subject.

Future blog posts will examine pirate life and culture as an introduction to the reality, the first pirate flags, then focus on specific pirates and their flags: Black Bart Roberts, Blackbeard, Ned Lowe, with a brief introductory paragraph about them, in case you, the reader, are not familiar with them. Expect all you would of pirates, from one particular motto of "Drinking, Dicing, and Whoring" to the myths behind each character (did you know Black Bart Roberts was a teetotaler? That's right, he never sipped a spirit!).

And in the spirit of full disclosure, I will share a little secret with you: the one pirate flag I own is historically inaccurate. Shocking, I know!