During the Golden Age of Piracy (roughly 1650–1730), men under black flags were raiding and plundering ships across the Caribbean. We remember them as violent men, stealing and wreaking havoc on European lives.

Through another lens, though, pirates were something entirely different. The New World they tormented was filled with slaves, and a lot of the ships they attacked were filled with imprisoned Africans. To the Africans on those ships, the pirates weren’t just criminals—they were liberators, and they heralded the arrival of a better life.

10 The First Buccaneers Were Escaped Slaves

When we think of pirates in the Caribbean, white faces usually come to mind. We picture people like Blackbeard or Samuel Bellamy—Europeans buccaneers who raided other white men. The first buccaneers in recorded history, though, had dark skin. The record in question is the journal of a French sailor who, on the coast of Hispaniola, met two men he describes as “a mulatto and a negro.”

The men told him that they sustained themselves by poaching livestock. This wasn’t a confession of shameful sins; the men were making a sales pitch. Sailors’ lives were hard, and they were trying to recruit him and his sailors to join them in their pirating lives.

It worked. By the time the Frenchman returned to his ship, six of his crew had disappeared. His white crew had abandoned him, leaving the ship to serve under two black pirates.

9 Pirates Targeted Slave Ships

Pirates didn’t just attack any ship they saw. When they raided a ship, it was to make a profit, so they picked ones that were worth their while. No type of ship, though, was a bigger target for pirates than slave ships.

The pirates weren’t particularly concerned about African rights; they just wanted the ships. Slave ships were extremely useful for a pirate crew. They were usually fast as well as large, which gave them a lot of space to keep and feed their crew.

The most famous pirate ships in history were captured slave ships. Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge and Samuel Bellamy’s Whydah were both stolen from slavers and turned into feared pirate vessels.

8 Pirates Freed Slaves

When a pirate crew captured a slave ship, they got a whole new crew. Often, they’d go into the lower decks, set the slaves free, and encourage them to join. This didn’t always happen. Some would just make the Africans slaves of their own, and some would do even worse. Black Bart, for example, once burned 80 slaves alive inside of a ship.

His cruelty, though, was an exception to the norm. Most pirates tried to avoid killing anyone if they could and didn’t bother trying to sell human cargo. Pirates were criminals, and it was difficult and dangerous for a criminal to sell to a slave trader, so they often just let the African slaves join their crew.

Escaped slaves would become pirates, too. In the early days of slavery, many slaves escaped. Some joined the maroons, which were communities of escaped slaves who survived by hiding in the mountains. Others, though, would meet up with pirate crews instead and join life on the sea.

7 Almost Every Pirate Ship Had Black Crewmen

The records we have of pirate crews show that almost every ship had at least a few black pirates in the crew. In most cases, black pirates made up more than just a couple of scattered crew members. They were a big presence on pirate ships. In fact, an estimated 25 to 30 percent of pirates were black.

In some ships, the rate was much higher. Many ships had a majority black crew, including some of the most famous and notorious pirates of all. Blackbeard, for example, had 60 black crew members on a ship of 100 men. Some crews were almost entirely black. One record describes a pirate ship with 50 men, only one of whom had white skin.

6 Pirates Gave Voting Right To Africans Centuries Before Civil Rights

Pirate captains weren’t dictators. The only time they had absolute command over their crew was during a raid. The rest of the time, the ship was run democratically, with every person on the ship free to have a voice in how it was run.

Captains were elected, and every member of the crew was given a vote. They would also draw up articles with strict rules on how to live together and how to punish offenders. This means that in the 17th century, there were free and equal African-Americans voting for their leaders—but only on pirate ships.

5 Blackbeard’s Lieutenant Was An African Chieftain

Some black pirates rose up to high ranks and led crews of white men. One of them is legendary today: Black Caesar, the infamous pirate who ended up in Blackbeard’s crew.

Black Caesar was a chieftain in Africa until he was tricked and lured onto a slave ship. By chance, the slave ship was struck by a hurricane, and Black Caesar and white a crewman were the only ones to escape alive. Stranded at sea, the two men decided to lure in passing ships, rob them, and take them over. Soon, Black Caesar was leading his own pirate crew.

In time, he joined Blackbeard, but he kept a high rank. He was a lieutenant, one of the most important people on the ship. He was put in command of several white pirates, and Blackbeard trusted him with his life.

4 Black Pirates Could Curse Out White People

The inherent racism that pervaded European culture in the 17th century doesn’t seem to have existed on pirate ships. Black crew members didn’t have to be polite or well-mannered around their white crewmen. They could be as rude as they wanted.

One white sailor reported that after his ship was taken by the pirate Stede Bonnet, his crew was coerced into joining them. When he refused, a black pirate started cursing him out. He told the white sailor that he should be forced into slavery. The black man ended his tirade yelling, “You should be used as a negro!”

Stede Bonnet took the black pirate’s side. He heard the commotion, came over, and joined the black pirate in cursing the white man out. Then he did exactly what was suggested: He made the white man the black man’s slave.

3 Sea Shanties Started Out As Slave Songs

All the sea shanties that we link to pirates should actually be linked with something else: black slaves. According to one theory, sea shanties never would have existed without the influence of African music.

Some scholars claim that parts of sea shanties seem to be borrowed from African songs. It’s more than just similar sounds; some of the earlier sea shanties actually use the pidgin language of early African slaves, suggesting that they might have been written by Africans or adapted from their music.

The multiracial crews on board of these ships, they believe, would have come up with sea shanties through collaboration. The Africans on board sang while they worked, and the white crew members heard them and started to adapt their songs into songs of their own.

2 Captured Pirates Were Sold Back Into Slavery

When an escaped African slave made it into a pirate crew, he had every reason to stay. Pirates gave them freedom and equality, and if they were separated from their brothers at sea, they’d find themselves back in chains.

One pirate on Samuel Bellamy’s crew was a black Miskito native named John Julian. On Bellamy’s ship, he was the pilot and one of the most important and respected people in the crew. When the ship crashed, though, all that changed. As soon as Julian was captured, he was sold into slavery, soon finding his way into the servitude of John Quincy, the grandfather of President John Quincy Adams.

Julian managed to escape and even killed a bounty hunter who was trying to catch him. In the end, though, he didn’t get away. The pilot was caught and executed because he refused to become a slave.

1 Slavery Boomed When The Golden Age Of Piracy Ended

Pirates actually made a difference. The slave trade economy was crippled by pirate raids. Bringing slave ships to the New World became incredibly dangerous and costly, and pirate raids made life Hell for the slavers. According to Marcus Rediker, slavery in the New World didn’t have a chance until the pirates were gone.

The Golden Age of Piracy ended, according to some, when the pirate Black Bart died. Within ten years, slavery was booming, and England had more slaves than any other country in the Western world. Pirate raids on slavers and their ships were the one thing that held the slave trade back. Once they were out of the way, slavery came into full swing.

Pirates didn’t set out to make the world a better place—but in a strange way, they actually did.

From Pirates of the Caribbean to Treasure Island (and Treasure Planet, and The Secret of Treasure Island, and Muppet Treasure Island…) the silver screen has taught us a lot about pirates. But these movies have taken a lot of creative license with their pirate lore, and the screenwriters haven’t been able to resist making up a thing or two. Here are ten things that you think you know about pirates, but have been tweaked, altered, or are straight-up lies by Hollywood.

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10 Pirates were Criminals

A pirate is anyone who uses the sea to commit theft. This term encompasses a whole host of sea-based activity, from the coastal raiding or the Vikings and the boat hijacking of the Somali pirates. But most people think of the Caribbean raiders that operated between 1650 and 1720, a time period known as the Golden Age of Piracy. Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movies take place at the end of this period.

But there was also a form of legal piracy. Anyone who owned a ship (or the ability to get a loan for one) could apply to the government for a Letter of Marque. This was essentially a piracy license. At the time, Spain was shipping large amounts of gold and silver through the Caribbean on gallon ships. France and Britain were extremely jealous of all that treasure, so they were happy to write licenses for anyone who wanted to try to steal it—provided that a percent of the loot went to the government.

Historians believe that the Golden Age of Piracy came to an end because Spain stopped shipping treasure through the Caribbean, causing France and Britain to stop writing Letters of Marque and instead round up all the illegal pirates who were annoying their colonies.^[1]

9 Pirates Are Noble Anti-Heroes

Pirates were not a fan of violence, so Jack Sparrow’s reluctance to face his opponents has historical credence. Ships and good crew weren’t cheap, so it was in the pirate’s best interest not to damage either. Their goal was to convince the other ship to surrender without bloodshed. The best way to do this, though, was by being so terrifying horrible and violent when they did go to battle that no one would ever try to fight them again.

To convince people to hand over their riches, pirates would turn to Game of Thrones level torture. There are accounts of people being strung up by their arms, beaten with cutlasses, fingers cut off one by one, and placing burning matches into the victim’s eyelids.

The branding worked. Pirates were considered so terrifying that many ships offered to surrender to avoid even the possibility of violence. Although pirates are shown as fearsome in today’s media, they don’t quite reach the level of terrifying they displayed in real life.^[2]

8 Pirates said “Argh” and “Shiver me Timbers”

Pirates did not have a distinct way of talking. They were ordinary sailors, often coming from jobs on merchant ships or other sailing vessels. If they created their own way of talking, it would be a significant tip-off to pirate hunters and anyone willing to turn them in.

Expressions associated with pirates, such as “argh!” and “matey,” are were the result of later dramatization. Lionel Barrymore added an “arrrgh” to his lines while starring as Billy Bones in the 1934 version of Treasure Island. English actor Robert Newton enjoyed the exclamation and used it while starring as Long John Silver in the highly popular 1950 version of Treasure Island. Newton was given free rein to lean into his native West Country accent, which he took to his later roles as Blackbeard in Blackbeard the Pirate and a reprisal of Long John Silver. His way of speaking worked its way into the public pirate consciousness, adding the words to their lexicon.

This fictional pirate-speak is so popular, two friends in Oregon designated September 19th as International Talk Like a Pirate Day. The date was chosen because it was the birthday of a creator’s ex-wife.^[3]

7 Pirates Buried Their Treasure

Real-life pirates had no reason to bury their treasure. Loot taken from enemy ships was almost immediately divided up and distributed among the crew according to rank. The loot might consist of gold and silver, but it might also include fabric, cocoa, and spices. Once a pirate had their part of the fortune, they quickly spent it. Pirates saw no need for a savings account and a 401k. It was a dangerous, potentially criminal job, so there was no time like the present to spend.

There are a few notable exceptions. The English pirate Sir Francis Drake buried several tons of gold and silver along the Panamanian coast to hide it from the Spanish, but he and crew retrieved it soon after. Captain Kidd also buried a treasure on Long Island while on the run from the British crown, but was unable to return to it because he had been arrested. It was soon dug up and used against him at trial. Rumors that he buried treasure in other locations continue to motivate treasure hunters to this day.

Similarly, pirates did not make treasure maps. It would be highly inconvenient to have pieces of paper that would allow anyone to dig it their life savings. This myth was popularized by movie adaptions of Treasure Island, along with the idea that “X marks the spot.”^[4]

6 Pirates Gave “The Black Spot”

The Black Spot was invented by Robert Louis Stevenson for his novel Treasure Island. In the book, a piece of paper with a blackened spot is given to a pirate to signify a verdict of guilt. If received, the pirate would be given their justice—which could be anything from the removal of leadership to death.

In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest the Black Spot is a boil that marks those who owe servitude to Davy Jones. As punishment, the Kraken hunts down those who bear the mark. A similar concept of the Black Spot used in a pirate-themed episode of Doctor Who.

Despite its popularity in fiction, pirates did not use a Black Spot. If they wanted to depose a leader, they deposed them. Warning someone that you’re going to kill them only gives them a chance to escape. There was no need for pirates to have the kinds of drawn-out suspense that add color to a fictional story like Treasure Island.^[5]

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5 Pirates Walked the Plank

The first writer to make their characters walk the plank was Daniel Defoe, of Robinson Crusoe fame. His 1724 book A General History of Pirates features the pirates throwing a latter off the side of the deck and telling their captives that they were free to go, provided they were willing to swim.

From there, walking the plank has been included in Treasure Island, Peter Pan, Monty Python, Pirates of the Caribbean, and even Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. However, there is no historical proof that pirates made their victims walk the plank. They were, however, fond of equally terrible punishments such as flogging, marooning, and straight-up murder. If they felt like drowning someone, they threw them over the side without any theatrics.

The earliest historical mention of walking the plank comes from not from a pirate, but the testimony of a surgeon’s mate before the House of Commons. He described the officers of a slave ship discussing whether or not to make the slaves walk the plank in order to save on food.^[6]

4 Pirates Wore Eyepatches

There is almost no historical evidence that pirates wore eyepatches. The only pirate recorded as wearing one was the famous Rahmah ibn Jabir al-Jalahimah, who wore one after losing an eye in battle. He gained notoriety as one of the most fearsome pirates in the Persian Gulf.

There is a theory that pirates wore eyepatches not to cover a missing eye, but to keep one eye dark-adapted and ready for battle below decks. Since it takes the human eye about 25 minutes to adapt from bright sunlight to total darkness, having one eye dark adapted would provide a considerable advantage when trying to fight off dark-adapted opponents below the deck of a ship. Mythbusters gave the theory a “plausible” rating.

This theory, however, seems to have originated in the 1930s when the United States was exploring it as a potential military tactic. A 1939 Navy handbook says, “Dark adaption in one eye is independent of dark adaption of the other. Advantage may be taken of this fact by placing a patch over one eye.” A 1934 text calls this “a pirate’s patch.”^[7]

3 Pirates Flew “The Jolly Roger”

The “Jolly Roger” with its black background and skull and crossbones is universally recognized as the pirate flag. This version was flown by “Black Sam” Bellamy, Edward England, and Edward “Blackbeard” Teach. But pirates had no centralized authority, so each ship could develop their own spin on the Jolly Roger.

Some crews decided that the skull and crossbones were too minimalist and opted to include an entire skeleton. Others wanted to include an hourglass, intended to remind a victim that they were running out of time. Figures stabbing a heart were also used. Walter Kennedy couldn’t decide what symbols to use, so he included a skull and crossbones with a naked man holding a sword and an hourglass.

Pirates did not raise their flags until they were as close as possible to their target ship. This would hopefully give the ship just enough time to panic and decide to surrender. This way, the pirates got a ship full of treasure and for no work—besides raising their pirate flag.^[8]

2 Pirate Ships Were Enormous

The standard-issue image of a pirate ship is a large, three-masted galleon with rows upon rows of cannons. Although these were popular with the royal navy, pirates were not a fan. Galleons were large and sunk deep below the waterline, which is inconvenient for a band of criminals who might need to make a quick getaway. Pirates preferred small single-masted sloops that could get in, get out, and hide in shallow waters if necessary.

The reason small sloops didn’t make it into the public consciousness is that they are hard to film. Large ships are more visually impressive, especially if the pirates are meant to be intimidating. It is also easier to pack all of the necessary camera equipment onto a larger vessel rather than squeezing it onto a small one. Plus, it gives the actors more room to play with, so why not get the biggest pirate ship possible?^[9]

1 Pirates Were White

The modern Pirates of the Caribbean movies made an effort to correct this misconception, but the fact still holds that throughout pirate movie history, almost all pirates were portrayed as white. Adaptations of Treasure Island and Peter Pan were not interested in historical accuracy when they were casting roles.

This was not the case. Pirates regularly raided slave ships in search of treasure, and would often offer the slaves their freedom in exchange for joining the pirate crew. On some pirate ships, over a quarter of the crew were freed slaves. Pirate ships were also one of the few places where black Americans could obtain positions of power. Captain Kidd had a black quartermaster, and Blackbeard famously had a largely black crew.

As pirates were first and foremost sailors, they were a mix of different nationalities and backgrounds. Pirate ships were a rare opportunity for people of different races and cultures to mix and share in the loot.^[10]

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