Ever wonder where that scary pirate flag name came from? Got sucked into this rabbit hole after binge-watching pirate documentaries last weekend. Decided to dig deep like I was hunting for buried treasure myself.
Starting the research chaos
First thing Monday morning, dragged my laptop to the kitchen counter with cold pizza. Typed “jolly roger origin” into the search bar like a maniac. Got hit with a tsunami of conflicting nonsense:
- One site claimed it came from French “jolie rouge” (pretty red)
- Another said Thai pirates invented it first (weird, right?)
- Some TikTok historian insisted it meant “Old Roger” referencing the devil
Got so frustrated I nearly threw my pepperoni slice at the screen.
Hitting the dusty books
Decided to be old-school and hit the library. Found this crumbling pirate encyclopedia that smelled like wet dog. Spent hours squinting at tiny font until my eyes crossed. Discovered two golden nuggets:
- First actual Jolly Roger sighting was pirate Emmanuel Wynne in 1700
- His flag had skull+hourglass AND bones – way more badass than just crossbones
The librarian kicked me out at closing time when I yelled “AHA!” too loud. Totally worth it.
The brutal truth emerges
Turns out the French theory holds some water. Pirates actually used red flags called “flags no quarter” meaning they’d slaughter everyone onboard if you resisted. When they switched to black flags, French sailors called it “jolie rouge” mockingly – like “oh look at the pretty red” even though it was black. Morbid pirate humor.
But the final nail in the coffin? Found a 1724 pirate trial transcript where this dude Bartholomew Roberts’ crew admitted their black flag was called “Old Roger” by British sailors. So both explanations are kinda true? Languages mashed together like rum and gunpowder.
My big realization
Sitting there with pizza grease on my keyboard at 3am, it hit me: pirates didn’t care about fancy names! The point was terrifying victims into surrendering without a fight. That skull design? Pure psychological warfare. Genius but brutal.
Honestly this whole thing reminded me of office politics. You see one department calls a project “Operation Sunshine” while another team calls it “Project Doomsday.” Same damn thing, different spin. Just like pirates and sailors naming the same damn flag.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a pirate documentary queue to finish. Time to see if they got anything else wrong in those Hollywood movies.
