Search Results: Jolly Roger

Roger I, also known as Roger Bosso (c. 1031-1101) was a Norman knight and adventurer best known for conquering The Emirate of Sicily during the 11th century. His lifelong efforts helped lay the foundations of a wealthy new Mediterranean state...

The Jolly Roger with its white skull and crossbones set against a black background has become a rather jovial part of pirate folklore but, in its day, this flag and others with similar blood-curdling designs, had a single and terrifying purpose...

The Jolly Roger flag of the Barbadian pirate Captain Stede Bonnet (d. 1718).

Bartholomew Roberts, aka 'Black Bart' Roberts (c. 1682-1722), was a Welsh pirate and one of the most successful villains of the Golden Age of Piracy. Roberts plundered over 400 ships on both sides of the Atlantic during his infamous three-year...

Captain Stede Bonnet was a plantation owner in Barbados who turned to piracy and privateering in 1717. Known as the 'Gentleman Pirate', Bonnet embarked on a life of crime relatively late in life, reportedly in order to escape his nagging...

The Jolly Roger, a flag used by pirates and first documented c. 1700. The term 'Jolly Roger' actually referred to any design of pirate flag using macabre imagery. These flags were designed to instill terror into victims and bring immediate...

Robert Guiscard (1015-1085) was a Norman knight best known for conquering much of Southern Italy and Sicily during the 11th century. His many exploits include the expulsion of the Byzantines from Italy, support of a reformist papacy, and...

Pirates in the so-called Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1740) used all manner of weapons to attack ships and relieve them of their precious cargoes. Heavy cannons, muskets, pistols, cutlasses, and grenades were just some of the weapons pirates...

The real pirates of the Caribbean operated during the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730) terrorizing merchant ships and colonial ports to grab gold, liquor, and any cargo they fancied during their adventurous but almost always short careers...

The Jolly Roger of 'Calico Jack', aka John Rackham (d. 1720). The English captain, who was active in the Caribbean, had Anne Bonny and Mary Read amongst his crew.