🏴‍☠️ Pirate Flags — The Untold Story The first documented black pirate flag appeared in 1700. It was flown by Emmanuel Wynn — a black flag with a death’s head. (Yes… we put it in the video.) Before that moment, many pirates flew red flags. Red meant one thing: No mercy. And this may be where the name Jolly Roger truly comes from — not a cartoon skeleton, but the French phrase joli rouge — “pretty red.” But here’s the part Hollywood gets wrong. Pirates did not want to kill or destroy ships or ca

Pirate ships ran on written rules that mixed hard discipline with surprising democracy at sea. #Pirates #MaritimeHistory #PirateCode | The History Archives