Black

"Get the orders to the Ranger. Tell her to raise the Black...and fire two shots over our bow."

The Black is any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates that were about to attack.

History[]

Background[]

The black flags were meant to strike mortal terror in the hearts of pirates' intended victims. They often featured skeletons, daggers, cutlasses, hourglasses, or bleeding hearts. The skull and crossbones motif first appeared around 1700 when French pirate, Emanuel Wynn, hoisted his fearful ensign in the Caribbean; Wynn's flag was further emblazoned with an hour-glass to show his prey that their time was running out.

Various pirate captains flew very different versions of the black flag. The flag used by Captain James Flint was black with the white skeleton holding a sword and an hour-glass. The flag used by the crew of the Ranger was black with a red skull. Edward Low's crew used a black flag with a red skeleton on the Fancy. Captain Hornigold's flag was black with two crossed cutlasses. Captain Hallendale's flag showed three swords. Blackbeard's flag showed a skeleton with horns holding an hourglass in one hand and a spear in the other that is pointing to a heart dripping three blood drops.

Season One[]

Captain Flint and the Walrus board and capture Parrish's Ship flying their flag^[1].

Charles Vane's flag flies over the tents on the beach that belong to him and his crew^[2].

The Walrus flies the Black during the battle with the Andromache, which the pirates eventually win^[3]^[4].

The Walrus and the Ranger depart Nassau to hunt the Urca de Lima flying their respective flags^[5].

Later, during the hunt for the Urca de Lima, the Walrus and her consort, the Ranger, fly false Spanish flags. When they encounter a Spanish Man O' War, Flint has the Ranger raise the Black and sail away, while the Walrus pretends to be a Spanish merchant vessel who was just attacked by pirates. The ploy works and once the warship is between the two pirate vessels, they open fire. However, the Spanish Man O' War is able to turn her broadsides on them, and hammers them with her cannons. The Ranger's powder magazine is hit and she goes down with all hands. The Walrus is severely damaged but is able to limp away and the crew beach her on the coast of Florida^[6].

Season Two[]

Ned Low and the crew of the Fancy fly their own version of the Black when they take the Good Fortune. Despite the ship's surrender, the pirates slaughter everyone aboard except one passenger, Abigail Ashe, who they plan on ransoming to her father, the governor of Carolina Colony^[7].

After the remaining Walrus crew successfully capture the Spanish Man O' War, they sail it towards Nassau. En route, they come across an English Merchant Ship and decide to take her as a prize. They sail towards her, still flying the warship's original Spanish colors. As the pirates close on her, Flint explains to John Silver the nuances of raising the Black. If you raise it too soon, the prize ship will run. If you raise it too late, there's a greater chance that the prize ship will panic and try to put up a fight. The Black has to be raised at just the right moment in order to get the prize crew to strike their colors. Once aboard, the Merchant Captain realizes that Dufresne is not Flint and orders his crew to attack. The outnumbered pirates are overwhelmed and forced to retreat. Flint then successfully regains command of his crew and has them sink the merchant ship^[8].

Flint and Silver go ashore in Nassau to ask Captain Benjamin Hornigold for help in retrieving the Urca gold and to procure provisions. Silver points out that Hornigold's flag is flying over a tent on the beach instead of Fort Nassau^[9].

Jack Rackham has Charlotte draw various different designs for the flag of his new crew. Rackham is very particular, but eventually settles on one^[10].

When Jack and his crew take the True North, they are met by the Goliath, another pirate crew. While Rackham and Captain Linus Harcourt talk, Harcourt asks if it is Rackham's first day as captain. Rackham asks how he knew, and Harcourt remarks that among a number of things, one of them was his banner. Rackham immediately asks if something is wrong with the banner, still feeling very touchy on the subject, and Harcourt tells him that it's simply lightly traveled^[11].

Season Three[]

Charles Vane and his crew fly the Black while they chase down a Dutch Slaver, which they successfully board. The crew fights back, but the pirates are successful and return to Nassau with the slaves. Flint and the Walrus sail back to Nassau flying the Black after sacking a colony. On the way, they find the Straight Arrow, which is sitting at anchor under bare poles and flying the Black. They investigate and find it abandoned save for a dead Captain Hallendale, who was marooned. They are then found by the Orion, a privateer vessel in the service of the Crown captained by Benjamin Hornigold with Dufresne as his quartermaster. Hornigold offers them pardons if they surrender. Instead, Flint sails the Walrus into a massive tempest to shake Hornigold off them^[12].

Hornigold eventually turns away, not wanting to risk his ship. The Walrus is barely able to make it out of the storm, with Flint being forced to cut away the top part of the main and foremasts after the sails couldn't be lowered. Hornigold patrols the area extensively once the storm passes, and finds a significant amount of debris, among it is Flint's banner. He brings this to Woodes Rogers in Saint Kitts, seeing it as proof that Flint is dead^[13].

When Woodes Rogers' Fleet arrives in Nassau, they are met by the Pirate Fleet organized in a firing line at the mouth of the harbor, all flying the Black. On the advice of Eleanor Guthrie, Rogers sends Hornigold to read his address to the crews on the beach. Hornigold reads it, proclaiming a universal pardon with the exception of Charles Vane, upon whom a bounty is placed for his capture or death^[14].

The Pirate Fleet under the leadership of Edward Teach and Vane escapes by sending a fireship at the British fleet, who had been blockading the harbor to prevent the defiant pirates' escape. The fireship forces the British to break their line, allowing the pirates to sail past them^[15].

As they sail towards Ocracoke Island, they come across a Spanish merchant ship. Teach decides to intercept her, and has the fleet raise the Black and pursue her. The pirates board her and are met with fierce resistance by the Spanish crew, but the Spanish sailors are slaughtered and the ship plundered^[16].

At Ocracoke, Teach's flag flies over his personal hut^[17].

At the Battle of the Maroon Island, the Pirate Fleet fights Rogers' fleet at sea. The pirates approach flying British colors, but then raise the Black at Rackham's suggestion, to convince Commodore Chamberlain that they are incompetent and lure him into a false sense of security. They rout the British fleet after gaining control of one of their ships and turning her guns on Chamberlain's ship^[18].

Season Four[]

When the Pirate Fleet launches their Invasion of Nassau, they fly the Red Ensign to fool Governor Woodes Rogers and his forces into thinking that they are allies. However, they raise the Black as they begin their attack^[19].

The Revenge flies Blackbeard's flag during the Boarding of the Lion^[20].

Woodes Rogers flips through Henry Avery's Journal, one of the pages has a drawing of Avery's flag in the corner^[21].

After Woodes Rogers is defeated, Featherstone becomes the new governor and piracy in Nassau is outlawed, however some crews are still secretly allowed to go out on the account. As Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny prepare to sail away, their new flag is unveiled. Rackham looks at it and says "it's fine."^[22]

Pirate Flags[]

Flint's flag displayed a white skeleton wielding a sword in it's right hand and an hourglass in it's left.
Charles Vane's flag showed (from right to left) a red dagger, sideways facing skull and a heart.
One pirate flag in Nassau had a bleeding black heart stabbed with a spear on a red background.
Ned Low flew a flag with a red skeleton holding a bleeding heart on it.
Benjamin Hornigold's flag was two white cutlasses crossed.
Jack Rackham's first flag showed a grinning skull wearing a bicorn hat with two swords crossed behind it, all in white.
Hallendale's flag was emblazoned with three white swords.
Edward Teach famously had a flag that displayed a horned skeleton holding an hourglass in its right hand and wielding a a spear in its left, all in white, stabbing a bleeding red heart.
The flag of the Defiant bore a white skull between two white pistols on a black field.
Henry Avery's flag featured a white skull with an earring and a bandana above two crossed bones.
Jack Rackham's second flag had two crossed swords underneath a grinning skull, all in white.

Quotes[]

"Raise the Black!" - multiple episodes

"Took me a while to get a feel for this part of it. Raise the Black too soon and the prize will run. Raise it too late and you'll induce panic and a greater chance of resistance. You ought to show your colors at just the right moment to get them to strike theirs." - Flint to John Silver in X.

Trivia[]

In real-world history, the pirate flag was known as Jolly Roger, but that name was first used during the 1720s, a few years after the events of the series.
The first time the phrase "raise the black" is said in episode VIII by Flint.