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 Today the
black flag with skull-and-crossbones has been the
stereotypical image of a pirate flag. However, a real pirate
flag was much more diverse in appearance. A pirate
flag also varied from
individual pirate to pirate. Commonly known as the "Jolly
Roger", the sight of the black pirate flag hoisted on an
approaching ship often caused enough fear in the targeted
ship's crew that it was often reason enough for an immediate
surrender to the pirates. Contrary to modern belief, the black
pirate flag generally only began widespread use in the late
1600's and early 1700's. Previous to this, the pirate
flag was not just one type of flag. The Jolly Roger pirate
flag often displayed death or scary
images (some images were commonly found on gravestones of the
time) - skulls, bones, swords/daggers, and also hourglasses.
The main reason for the pirate flag was
to make the enemy surrender without much of a fight, if at
all, so the more fearsome the pirate flag (or the pirate's
reputation) then the chances were higher of an initial
surrender.
There are several theories as to the origin of the term "Jolly
Roger" as a pirate
flag. The main belief is that it is a French to English
translation. Initially, a plain red pirate
flag was flown to show that no mercy would be given ("no
quarter given"), or in another words - death to all. So a ship
flying a red pirate flag actually caused more fear because it
meant no life would be spared. It is from this red pirate
flag that it is believed the
term "Jolly Roger" was derived from. In French, "jolie rouge"
translates approximately into "beautiful/lovely red" which may
have been altered into "jolly roger" over time.
Another pirate
flag theory suggests that "Jolly Roger" was a take on the
devil's nickname. Around that time (18th century) the devil
was known as Old Roger, so it is possible that the pirate
flag nickname was derived from the devil's nickname since
both dealt with death.
It is interesting to note that just plain red and plain black were also used as
a pirate flag - a red pirate
flag for no
quarter and a black pirate
flag for standard battle. It is mentioned in some
cases where a ship has come under attack from numerous pirate
ships, some flying a black bone-type pirate flag and others
with a red pirate
flag or pennants from the masts. It is also seen
that some pirates initially flying a black pirate
flag into battle
would lower it and raise a red pirate
flag in its place if the other
ship resisted too much. In other cases, the black Jolly Roger
pirate flag was used in combination with a red pirate
flag or pennants
and also standard national flags.
Not all pirates had their own pirate flag either, some flew
only a national flag (English, Spanish, French, Dutch, etc.)
Even if they had their own pirate flag, they would often also
have several national flags as well in order to mask their
true identity. Only when a ship approached would a pirate
flag be
raised, so if a ship was sighted and a closer inspection
followed then the pirate ship might lure them in by raising a
national flag hoping it would be friendly to the other ship.
If their ruse worked by bringing the other ship closer, then
the pirates would swiftly lower that flag and raise the pirate
flag in its place. And for the pirates, hopefully that meant
the other ship would surrender at this point after seeing
their pirate
flag.
It is also worth noting that apparently the same pirate flag
was used by different captains. For example, the pirate flag
credited as being that of Blackbeard has also been described
as being the pirate
flag flown by other pirates active before Blackbeard.
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