The skull above two crossed bones is perhaps the most recognisable symbol of pirates. Yet the famous Jolly Roger was not created simply to look frightening. It was part of a system of psychological warfare.
The black flag did not always mean “we will kill you”. The red one was the far more terrifying warning.
For pirates, the best battle was the one that did not need to happen.
An armed clash could kill crew members, damage the pirate ship and destroy the cargo they wanted to steal. The flag therefore had a clear purpose: to persuade the other vessel to surrender.
Black meant: surrender
According to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, the black flag could mean that pirates would show mercy if a ship surrendered without a fight.
By contrast, the red flag was the real escalation. It warned that no quarter — no mercy — would be given if resistance continued.
That is why the Jolly Roger essentially worked as a weapon: it could bring about a surrender before the first shot was fired.
Pirates also used deception. They would approach a merchant vessel flying the colours of a friendly state and reveal their true flag only when they were close enough.
Related (in Greek): Pirates raided Cyprus as far back as 3,400 years ago — one of history’s oldest recorded accounts
Why skulls, skeletons and hourglasses?
The skull and bones were already familiar European symbols of death. A merchant crew therefore needed no explanation.
Not all pirates used the same flag, however. Skeletons, swords, hearts, spears and hourglasses all appeared. The hourglass carried a particularly clear message: time is running out.
The classic white skull and crossbones appears to have become especially popular in the decades around 1720. Greenwich cites the French pirate Emanuel Wynn as one of the earliest known users of a similar design, around 1700.
Why is it called the Jolly Roger?
No one knows for certain.
Historical sources record the term in the early 1720s. In fact, the flags of Bartholomew Roberts and Francis Spriggs that were called Jolly Rogers did not even feature a skull and crossbones. The term therefore seems originally to have meant “pirate flag” more broadly.
Two explanations have endured. The first connects it to the French joli rouge, or “pretty red”. The second links it to the English Old Roger, an old nickname for the Devil or Death. Neither theory has been proven conclusively.
So the flag we now see in cartoons, toys and fancy-dress costumes once carried a much more serious message: surrender now or face the consequences.
It is the traditional English name for a pirate flag, not exclusively for the skull-and-crossbones design.
It was an easily recognised symbol of death and could frighten a crew into surrendering.
It escalated the threat and was associated with the warning that no mercy would be shown if resistance continued.
It is a popular theory, but it has not been proven. Another theory links the name to Old Roger, an old English name for the Devil.
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