In reality, pirates commit brutal acts of violence and disrupt trade, which is why the Royal Navy still actively seeks to suppress their activities. Yet, despite fighting piracy, the practice of flying a Jolly Roger has also become tradition within the submarine service in response to a critic who likened them to pirates. Handcrafted, they are as much a symbol of pride and also poignant reminder of the impact of war. Each action a submarine carried out had its own symbol.
The skull and crossbones flag, commonly known as the Jolly Roger, has been associated with pirates for centuries. Less well known is its use by their adversaries in Royal Navy where a tradition of flying the flag from submarines has existed since the First World War.
The unofficial practice of flying a Jolly Roger on return from wartime patrol took hold and has continued into the 21st century. Over time the basic skull and crossbones design has evolved, supplemented with additional symbols which record what happened during their patrol.
Piracy was a business—an officially sanctioned business in many cases—but as the Cilicians were eradicated by the Empire once they became a sizable threat, so too would these men be persecuted, and by the very powers that once encouraged their numbers. Historian Douglas R. Burgess Jr. He was distinguished as a "noble pirate," a title also bestowed upon the likes of Drake and Morgan in recognition of their courage on behalf of English maritime interests 9.
This reputation, having been firmly planted in the minds of the English population, proved difficult to undo. In fact, when Every was brought to trial for the capture and mistreatment of the Ganj-i-Sawai Gunsway , he was acquitted by the jury, much to the embarrassment of the English government, which had taken the stance—somewhat necessarily to repair trade ties with India and restore the power of the East India Trading Company—that he must be punished.
On the national stage, this was a PR nightmare for England. The acquittal suggested that England was a "nation of pirates" to potential allies and trade partners, such as India, and encouraged English colonies to sympathize and support piracy in local waters because it suggested that the native England herself supported these individuals.
The government retried Every and his men under charges of mutiny. He had been first-mate of the Charles II. However, he seized the ship while at port as he had not been paid and renamed it the Fancy, and proceeded to attack the Ganj-i-Sawai. England effectively re-crafted the definition of piracy to bring him and his men to justice, and in doing so, sent the message that piracy itself would no longer be tolerated.
While this would not be the end of piracy itself, it may be a point at which multiple meanings associated with the Jolly Roger begin to take shape. The noble pirate image persisted: Every was treated as a folk hero in popular culture.
For example, The Life and Adventures of Captain John Avery published in , painted Every as a "gallant swashbuckler who falls in love with an Indian princess on board the captured Ganj-i-Sawai" who then decrees that his crew should also have "dusky" brides to share in his joy Subsequently, playwright Charles Johnson would adapt the tale for stage in The Successful Pyrate, which portrayed Every as an "empire builder" and a "tough but effective monarch" Every was often subsequently depicted in military gear—the idea of the defender persisted.
The signing of the Treaty of Utretcht quieted much of the discord that had driven privateering initially, reducing the need for these seafaring brigands as well as official tolerance for their actions In this context, signs of piracy became outlawed, to fit the idea that pirates are bloodthirsty, ruthless, criminals. These ideas moved the symbols associated with piracy away from fraternal ties and self identification, and moved the pirates themselves away from nationalist ties, rendering them targets of the state.
And we were left with mixed symbolism—further diluted as it is appropriated for modern day uses. This post appeared on the original home of Anthropology in Practice. It was also featured in the Open Lab Series highlighting some of the best online science writing. Have something to say? Nooks and crannies. Semantic enigmas. The body beautiful. Red tape, white lies. Speculative science. This sceptred isle. Root of all evil.
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