The Black Flag

Many people consider the skull and cross bones on a black background the flag of pirates. This may be true in some cases but it is only one symbol of many that were used by pirates of the 18th century. In the great age of piracy, a variety of images appeared on flags, including bleeding hearts, blazing balls, hourglasses, spears, cutlasses, and whole skeletons. Red or "bloody" flags were as common as black flags until the middle of the 18th century. The red is said to have stood for battle, while black for death.

What all pirate flags had in common was their need to strike terror in the minds of merchant seamen. Often the devices on the flags formed a triad of interlocking symbols representing death, violence, and limited time. This was to underline the message that the pirates expected immediate surrender or consequences would be fatal.

A skull or "death's head" was a common symbol at this time in history. I t was often used on tombstones or to mark deceased crewmen in a ship's log. Common knowledge of what it meant is probably why many pirates chose to use it on their flags.

Bartholomew Robert had his crew produce a flag showing his own figure standing on two skulls. The skulls represent A Barbadian's Head (ABH) and A Martinican's Head (AMH); this was to indicate his rage at the attempts by the authorities of those islands to capture him.






"Calico" Jack Rackam's flag portrayed the death's head above a pair of crossed cutlasses






And Blackbeard's showed the devil or "Old Roger" stabbing a bleeding heart with a spear while holding a hourglass (limited time).