The Jolly Roger
The words “Jolly Roger” generally bring to mind a black flag, emblazoned with a grinning skull menacingly hovering over a pair of crossed bones. While this is traditional, pirate flags have gone through many incarnations. The name Jolly Roger came from the French phrase,
The earliest known pirate flags were made of a plain red or black sheet, and meant to strike terror into the sailors who would see it. In antiquity, red denoted battle and black meant death, so both were good choices for a flag meant to instill fear.
As time passed, the red flag came to have a more specific and ominous meaning. When the red flag was being flown no quarter would be given, meaning that once a battle began, pirates would take no prisoners, instead fighting to the death. In many cases, flags became identified with certain pirates. For example, if a ship saw Blackbeard's flag, with its devil-horned skeleton wielding a spear aimed at a bright red heart, it was an immediate indicator that a surrender was in order lest a gruesome battle ensue.
Skull and Crossbones
The stereotypical skull and crossbones had been around for centuries prior to its use by pirates. The “death's head” over the crossed bones was used in cemeteries in Medieval times, and had been worn as a badge on the caps of soldiers in Europe during the sixteenth century. Adding it to the plain pirate flag was a way of ensuring that the pirate mantra of “Surrender or Die” was clearly understood. In the early 1700s, many pirates began putting their own personal touches on their flags, hoping their reputations might further terrorize their victims. A number of pirates added an hourglass to their pennant, symbolizing the limited time victims had to surrender before an attack would begin.
Thomas Tew chose a black flag with an arm brandishing a saber for his flag. Edward Low used a black flag with an entire bright red skeleton painted on it. Christopher Moody preferred a red flag which sported an hourglass next to an arm with a knife, followed by a skull in front of crossed bones, symbolizing that time was flying before certain attack and death. For Henry Every, the traditional skull and crossbones on the black flag was enough, but he changed it slightly by showing the skull in profile wearing a bandanna on its head. Calico Jack Rackham cleverly mocked the skull and crossbones — he used a grinning skull over crossed swords instead.
Most of the pirates who sailed during the Golden Age adapted the flag in some way in order to make it their own. For many, this served to quickly identify them to potential prey. Shortly after the Golden Age ended, flag creativity ceased and the traditional skull and crossbones on a black background became the standard flag for all pirates.
Flags of Deception
In addition to the Jolly Roger, many pirates would sail under the flag of a particular nation. Those who were sailing with a letter of marque would use the flag of the country authorizing their commission. Crafty pirates who preferred a more sinister ruse would collect flags of many nations, and approach a merchant ship they wanted to attack while flying a flag the captain of their future prize would welcome as “friendly.” Only when the pirates were close enough to attack and prepared to fire their first volley would they hoist their pirate flag and reveal their true identity. It may seem strange that they would take the time to change flags and lose the element of surprise, but in reality most pirates preferred to win by intimidation. They would far rather have the enemy surrender without a fight than risk losing potential booty, and most sailors would surrender quietly when they knew the alternative was death.
It's interesting to note that sailing under the flag of another country was not just a pirate practice. During the days of the privateers, many merchant ships carried a variety of flags and would hoist the enemy's flag when sailing in waters where they expected to meet up with them. While this certainly made more sense than flying a flag that singled them out as an enemy, it by no means ensured a ship's safety. The privateers, pirates, and military were all well aware of the practice of using the “wrong” flag. The best defense for any vessel was simply to sail quickly in the opposite direction of any unknown ship.
