Jolly Rogers
Lena Bui
Mrs. Thompson
Human Anatomy
5th block
02/16/2014
Jolly Roger Do you ever wonder what the skull on the pirate flag mean and why they would choose to have that kind of flag? Throughout the 17th century and well into the 18th century, the common symbol hoiseted by a pirate ship was a simple red flag. That red flag symbolized that it had been dipped in blood – and that blood would be shed if the ship under attack did not surrender immediately. From the red flag it seems that individual pirates began to develop their own personal flags in order to terrify their foes into a quick surrender. In contrast with the well known red flag, they used the black flag of quarantine and diesase as the base, with the universal sysmbol for death. Later they use the term Jolly Roger and the name goes back at least to Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724. The term also came into common use in the early 1700s. Pirates would hoist their version of the Jolly Roger as a way to announce to other ships that surrender was expected. Most merchant ships, upon seeing the Jolly Roger, did just that. The book also mentions that both Bartolomew Roberts and Francis Spriggs both called their flag the Jolly Rogers, though the flags were different and neither were the popular skill and crossbones design. As early as 1704, pirates were referring to their flags as Rogers and in 1703, one captain referred to his flag as “Old Roger.” The name Roger derives from the word rogue, meaning a wandering theif or vagabond. The name “Old Roger” was another name for the devil. The design of the flag consists of a human skull above two long bones set in an x-mark arrangement on a black field. This design was used by four pirates, captains Edward England, John Taylor, Sam Bellamy, and John Martel. Despite its appearance in popular culture, plain black flags were often employed by most pirates in the 17th - 18th century. Historically, the flag was flown to
Mrs. Thompson
Human Anatomy
5th block
02/16/2014
Jolly Roger Do you ever wonder what the skull on the pirate flag mean and why they would choose to have that kind of flag? Throughout the 17th century and well into the 18th century, the common symbol hoiseted by a pirate ship was a simple red flag. That red flag symbolized that it had been dipped in blood – and that blood would be shed if the ship under attack did not surrender immediately. From the red flag it seems that individual pirates began to develop their own personal flags in order to terrify their foes into a quick surrender. In contrast with the well known red flag, they used the black flag of quarantine and diesase as the base, with the universal sysmbol for death. Later they use the term Jolly Roger and the name goes back at least to Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724. The term also came into common use in the early 1700s. Pirates would hoist their version of the Jolly Roger as a way to announce to other ships that surrender was expected. Most merchant ships, upon seeing the Jolly Roger, did just that. The book also mentions that both Bartolomew Roberts and Francis Spriggs both called their flag the Jolly Rogers, though the flags were different and neither were the popular skill and crossbones design. As early as 1704, pirates were referring to their flags as Rogers and in 1703, one captain referred to his flag as “Old Roger.” The name Roger derives from the word rogue, meaning a wandering theif or vagabond. The name “Old Roger” was another name for the devil. The design of the flag consists of a human skull above two long bones set in an x-mark arrangement on a black field. This design was used by four pirates, captains Edward England, John Taylor, Sam Bellamy, and John Martel. Despite its appearance in popular culture, plain black flags were often employed by most pirates in the 17th - 18th century. Historically, the flag was flown to