*Did* the pirates really fly a Jolly Roger?

1. *Did* the pirates really fly a Jolly Roger? Indeed they did, or a variation of it. There are many legends about the background of the Jolly Roger (also known as Captain Death among pirates.) One of the most popular myths is that plague ships would fly a black flag to warn others to stay away. This plague flag became a black flag with a white cross that somehow mutated to a skull and crossbones on a back ground of black. The pirates began flying this flag as a way to keep prying eyes away. Eventually everyone caught onto the scheme. There is also the belief that Jolly Roger is from the eastern pirates. The Chiefs of Cannonore were notorious pirates had the Tamil title Ali Raja, meaning King of the Sea. They also flew a red jack or flag. At least one source claims that the name was first given to the flag of Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts. Yet another account attributes the Buccaneers for the name. However, it is clear that buccaneers sailed as privateers for England and as such sailed under a national flag and not the Jolly Roger (at least not always). Buccaneers would often raise a red flag along with their national flag when calling on a ship to surrender. The red flag, simply put, meant that no quarter would be given if a ship offered resistance. This flag was called joli rouge and would have easily been corrupted into English as the Jolly Roger. The name transferred when the flag switched from red to black. But a quick search of the Oxford English Dictionary reveals that as early as 1724, Old Roger was a British term for the Devil and as early as 1540 a "roger" was a begging vagabond. Roger was a corruption of "rogue". So it might be that it was just slang for the vagrants of the sea or a "jolly roger". Finally by 1785, Francis Grose defines Jolly Roger as a pirate flag in his work A Classical of the Vulgar Tongue.

2. The skull and cross bones, or deaths head has been used as a cap badge among European armies since the 1600s. The first use of the same ensign on a flag dates from the early 1700s so the design was probably borrowed. The most common Jolly Roger is the Skull and cross bones, usually with the bones crossing under the skull but sometimes with the skull superimposed on top of the bones. Some claim the earliest reported Jolly Roger however had a full "anatomy" holding an hour glass in one hand and spear piercing a heart in the other supposedly symbolizing that the time for deliberation was short and if you chose to fight you would be killed. This was the jack of John Quelch. The flag or "jack" was an important part of sea life. Ship would hoist their national flag or Ancient when approaching other vessels to ward off enemy and attract friends. Many ships had and still have a battle jack which is raised as a sign that they are going into battle. Pirates might have flown a national flag or perhaps hoisted another nation's flag in order to get in close to another ship. Once in close the Jolly Roger would be quickly hoisted as a battle flag at the moment of engagement. The Jolly Roger was also a symbol that meant no quarter would be given if a battle ensued. Quite often this was more bluff than truth.

3. Flag or Jack?Confused. Don't be! A Jack is a ship's flag of smaller size than the ensign, used at sea as a signal, or as a mark of distinction; Around the time of Golden Age of Piracy it was the small flag flown at the sprit-sail, topmast head. Today it is more commonly flown from the jack-staff at the bow of a vessel. It typically indicates the nationality of a ship, as in British jack, Dutch jack, French jack, etc. Most of the time any type of national colour was referred to as a nation's ancient or colours. Pirates, not belonging to any nations would often make up their own personal flag or jack so as to spread their infamy. Here are examples- Because ships needed to signal each other from great distances, many ship's (even non-pirate ships) had distinctive flags for identification. Even today, the flagship is the flag bearing the admiral's flag. The flag transfers from ship to ship with the admiral. thus any ship in the fleet can be the flag ship so long as the Admiral of the fleet is aboard. However, it should be known that all navies were known to fly false colours as a ruse to get close enough to attack. This was actually considered fair and proper so long as the ship attacked under true colours. Almost all navies carried a variety of flags from friendly, enemy and neutral countries. It wasn't just a pirate ruse. For the most part, ships used a variety of measures to determine if a ship was friend or foe, including, type of ship, type of sail, flags flown and even identification of individuals on board. Even after getting positive identification the good captain would still approach with utmost caution.