Jolly Roger

Jolly Roger

A typical Jolly Roger flag. This 19th-century Barbary Corsairs flag is one of two known authentic Jolly Rogers in the world, currently residing at the Åland Maritime Museum in Finland. Flag in current condition to the right. Color-corrected version to the left.

Base pirate flags

Black flag (quarter given)

Bloody flag (no quarter)

Prior to the advent and popularization of the "Jolly Roger" we know today, western pirates flew a simple black flag, initially devoid of design.^[1] The black flag was part of a flag signal combination, together with a plain red flag. After closing in on a target ship, the black flag would be raised, signaling that "quarter"^[a] will be given if the target crew surrendered their cargo/valuables without a fight. Followed by warning shots, if the enemy did not strike their own flag to signal surrender, the red flag (or bloody flag as it is known) was raised, signaling that the target's cargo/valuables will be taken by force and that "no quarter"^[b] will be given if the enemy ship continued to refuse surrender.^[2] The pirate captain Jean Thomas Dulaien would wait for the enemy to fire three or more cannon shots after raising the red flag before giving the order to attack with no quarter given.^[3]

Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the naval ensign flown to identify a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the latter part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The vast majority of such flags flew the motif of a human skull, or “Death's Head”, often accompanied by other elements, on a black, dark brown or dark blue field, sometimes called the “Death's Head flag” or just the “black flag”.

The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly Roger today – the skull and crossbones symbol on a black flag – was used during the 1710s by a number of pirate captains, including Black Sam Bellamy, Edward England, and John Taylor. It became the most commonly used pirate flag during the 1720s, although other designs were also in use.

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