Talk:Flag of Blackbeard

A fact from Flag of Blackbeard appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 1 April 2019 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that the bloody flag of Blackbeard probably wasn't?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2019/April. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Flag of Blackbeard.

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Requests: John Lopez (pirate), Lords of the Spanish Main, Benjamin Bennett (governor) (see What links here), Thomas Walker (pirate), Richard Bishop (pirate)
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Early 20th century design?

Jolly Roger has a section reading:

Another early reference to "Old Roger" is found in a news report in the Weekly Journal or British Gazetteer (London, Saturday, October 19, 1723; Issue LVII, page 2, col. 1):

Parts of the West-Indies. Rhode-Island, July 26. This Day, 26 of the Pirates taken by his Majesty Ship the Greyhound, Captain Solgard, were executed here. Some of them delivered what they had to say in writing, and most of them said something at the Place of Execution, advising all People, young ones especially, to take warning by their unhappy Fate, and to avoid the crimes that brought them to it. Their black Flag, under which they had committed abundance of Pyracies and Murders, was affix'd to one Corner of the Gallows. It had in it the Portraiture of Death, with an Hour-Glass in one Hand, and a Dart in the other, striking into a Heart, and three Drops of Blood delineated as falling from it. This Flag they called Old Roger, and us'd to say, They would live and die under it.^[1]

While the reference is a dead link, this does suggest that the flag design dates back to the 18th century. Plantdrew (talk) 17:51, 1 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ Old Roger is Jolly Roger^{[permanent dead link‍]}, Linquistlist, American Dialect Society

The text comes from George Francis Dow's book The Pirates of the New England Coast 1630-1730, which was first published in 1923. While this seemingly confirms that the so-called "Blackbeard's flag" originated in the 18th century, the book also reveals that the captured pirates were members of Edward Low's crew, with no connection to Blackbeard. In fact, I think the only thing that links Blackbeard with this flag is the often repeated but unsourced claim that Low originally flew the same flag as Blackbeard. I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out that Low was actually the first pirate who flew this flag which was later incorrectly attributed to Blackbeard by the modern historians.--Max Tomos (talk) 17:13, 13 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

[1] Old Roger is Jolly Roger^{[permanent dead link‍]}, Linquistlist, American Dialect Society

[1]