What is the black pirate flag with a skull and crossbones called?
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Jolly Roger
It was meant to frighten a merchant crew into surrendering without a fight.
💡 Did you know? Where the name comes from is still unknown.
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What was the government document called that allowed a private captain to seize enemy merchant ships?
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Letter of marque
Its holder counted as a privateer rather than a pirate, and the crown took a share of the prize.
💡 Did you know? The Paris Declaration of 1856 abolished privateering.
What were the Caribbean sea robbers called whose name comes from smoking meat on Hispaniola?
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Buccaneers
They first hunted wild cattle and pigs; when the Spanish drove them out, many turned to piracy.
💡 Did you know? The word comes from the “boucan”, the wooden frame on which they smoked their meat.
Which small island off the north coast of Haiti was a notorious pirate haven in the 17th century?
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Tortuga
It changed hands several times between Spain, France and England; buccaneers sold their plunder there.
💡 Did you know? The name is Spanish for “turtle”.
Which Jamaican harbour city, called the “wickedest city on Earth”, partly sank into the sea in an earthquake in 1692?
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Port Royal
English governors invited privateers there to defend Jamaica against Spain, and taverns and brothels flourished.
💡 Did you know? Part of the old town still lies under water and is studied by underwater archaeologists.
Which town in the Bahamas was the headquarters of a pirate republic around 1715, until Governor Woodes Rogers cleaned it up in 1718?
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Nassau
At times hundreds of pirates lived there, among them Blackbeard, Charles Vane and Calico Jack.
💡 Did you know? Rogers’ motto “Pirates expelled, commerce restored” stayed on the arms of the Bahamas until 1973.
Which female pirate sailed with Mary Read aboard Calico Jack’s ship?
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Anne Bonny
Born in Ireland, she fought on deck like the men; in 1720 the crew was captured off Jamaica.
💡 Did you know? Both women escaped the gallows because they were pregnant; Mary Read died in prison soon afterwards.
Which Welsh privateer sacked Panama in 1671 and later became lieutenant governor of Jamaica?
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Henry Morgan
Because the raid came after a peace with Spain he was taken to London, but went unpunished and was even knighted in 1674.
💡 Did you know? A well-known brand of rum still bears his name.
Which English privateer sailed around the world in the Golden Hind from 1577 to 1580?
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Francis Drake
On the way he raided Spanish ports and ships on the Pacific coast of the Americas and brought home rich plunder.
💡 Did you know? Elizabeth I had him knighted aboard his ship in 1581; the Spanish called him “El Draque”.
Which Ottoman corsair and grand admiral defeated the fleet of the Holy League at Preveza in 1538?
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Hayreddin Barbarossa
He made Algiers a base for the corsairs and led Suleiman the Magnificent’s fleet against Andrea Doria.
💡 Did you know? The nickname “Redbeard” first belonged to his elder brother Oruç.
Which female pirate commanded the Red Flag Fleet in the South China Sea in the early 19th century?
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Ching Shih
After the death of her husband Zheng Yi she led hundreds of junks and tens of thousands of sailors under strict rules.
💡 Did you know? In 1810 she negotiated an amnesty with the Chinese government, kept her loot and died a free woman in 1844.
Which town on Gotland did the Victual Brothers seize in 1394 and make their base?
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Visby
From there they raided Hanseatic merchant ships until the Teutonic Order drove them off the island in 1398.
💡 Did you know? Their motto is said to have been “Friends of God and enemies of the world”.
Who wrote the novel “Treasure Island”, featuring the one-legged Long John Silver?
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Robert Louis Stevenson
Published in 1883, the book shaped our image of treasure maps, parrots on shoulders and X marking the spot.
💡 Did you know? It all began with a map Stevenson drew with his stepson on a rainy day.
Which Scottish captain was hanged for piracy in London in 1701 and is said to have buried a treasure?
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William Kidd
He had actually set out as a pirate hunter, but then seized a richly laden ship in the Indian Ocean himself.
💡 Did you know? At his execution the rope broke on the first attempt; he died only at the second.
Which Welsh pirate captured more than 400 ships in the early 18th century, making him the most successful of his time?
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Bartholomew Roberts
Taken prisoner by pirates in 1719, he joined them and within weeks was their captain.
💡 Did you know? He fell in 1722 off Cape Lopez fighting a British warship; as he had wished, his men threw his body overboard.
Which pirate from the Gulf of Mexico fought alongside the Americans at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815?
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Jean Lafitte
From Barataria Bay he smuggled goods and slaves; he turned down a British offer and helped General Andrew Jackson.
💡 Did you know? In thanks, President James Madison pardoned him and his men.
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