Pirates and Their Flags

I'll admit it. I am obsessed with pirate flags. I find them fascinating, the different designs and symbols, how they evolved, and how some of them have become widely and instantly recognisable in many ways. I have a wardrobe full of t-shirts with different pirate flags printed on them. If like me you find pirate flags interesting and would like to know more about them, this is the book for you!

For as long as there have been seafarers transporting valuable goods by sea, there have also been pirates. The Golden Age of Piracy began in the 1650s with so-called 'buccaneers' attacking colonies and shipping in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. This was followed in the 1690s by attacks along the East India Company trade routes in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Finally, when the War of Spanish Succession ended in 1715, thousands of experienced seamen left military duty and turned to piracy, just as the Atlantic shipping trade was beginning to boom.

From the portrayal of piracy in popular culture, whether based on fact, fiction, romanticised legend, from evil antagonist to anti-hero to loveable rogue, or a combination of all of these, we have inherited a set of images conjured up in the mind's eye when we think of pirates, the wooden leg, the parrot perched on the shoulder, the eyepatch, and the stylised accent from the south west of England popularised by Robert Newton in the 1950 film adaptation of 'Treasure Island'.

The Jolly Roger or the Skull & Crossbones is another image that comes to immediately to mind when thinking of pirates, a powerful image of mortality whose origins can be traced as far back as the Late Middle Ages. The use of these symbols by pirates on their flags was designed to strike fear into their prey and encourage them to surrender without a fight. They were also a form of brand identity that would carry with them and reinforce the power of the reputation that preceded them. This book examines the origins, history, and evolution of these flags and their common themes and variations.