Wingdings version of the Jolly Roger (character 'N'). Wingdings are a series of fonts which render letters as a variety of symbols Many pirates created their own individualized versions.

The Jolly Roger is the name now given to any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates. A flag is a piece of Cloth, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used Symbolically for signaling or identification Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering The most popularised Jolly Roger today is the Skull and Crossbones, being a flag consisting of a skull over two long bones set in an X arrangement on a black field. A skull and crossbones is a Symbol consisting of a human Skull and two bones crossed together under the skull Bones are rigid organs that form part of the Endoskeleton of Vertebrates They function to move support and protect the various organs of the body produce This design, shown at right, was used by pirate captain Edward England. Edward England, born Edward Seegar in Ireland was a famous African coast and Indian Ocean Pirate from 1717 to 1720 Despite its appearance in popular culture, regular black flags were often employed by most pirates in the 17th-18th century. ^[1] Historically, the flag was flown to induce pirates' victims to surrender readily.

Since the decline of piracy, various military units have used the Jolly Roger, usually in skull-and-crossbones design, as a unit identification insignia or a victory flag to ascribe to themselves the proverbial ferocity and toughness of pirates. Insignia (the plural of Latin insigne: emblem symbol is a Symbol or Token of personal power, Status or Office It has also unofficially been used to signify Electric Hazard. The background is blood red and the Skull and Bones are black in colour.

Origins of the term

Pirate flag often called the "Jolly Roger. "

The name "Jolly Roger" goes back at least to Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724. A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates is a 1724 book containing biographies of contemporary Pirates Its author uses Year 1724 ( MDCCXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Johnson specifically cites two pirates as having named their flag "Jolly Roger": Bartholomew Roberts in June, 1721^[2] and Francis Spriggs in July, 1723. Born John Roberts ( May 17, 1682 &ndash February 10, 1722) Bartholomew Roberts was a Welsh Pirate who raided shipping Year 1721 ( MDCCXXI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Francis Spriggs (d 1725? was a British pirate who associated with George Lowther and Edward Low, was active in the Caribbean and the Bay of Hounduras during the Year 1723 ( MDCCXXIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a While Spriggs and Roberts used the same name for their flags, their flag designs were quite different, suggesting that already "Jolly Roger" was a generic term for black pirate flags rather than a name for any single specific design. Neither Spriggs' nor Roberts' Jolly Roger consisted of a skull and crossbones.

Richard Hawkins, captured by pirates in 1724, reported that the pirates had a black flag bearing the figure of a skeleton stabbing a heart with a spear, which they named "Jolly Roger". Year 1724 ( MDCCXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a ^[3]

An old engraving of Capt. Rogers, armed with a boarding pike.

Despite this tale, it is assumed by most that the name Jolly Roger comes from the French words "Jolie Rouge"; meaning pretty red ^{[4] [5]} Another theory states that "Jolly Roger" is an English corruption of "Ali Raja", the name of a Tamil pirate. Tamil people (also called Tamils or Tamilians) ( are an Ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, a state in India, and the north-eastern ^[6]

Yet another theory is that it was taken from a nickname for the devil, "Old Roger". ^[6] The "jolly" appellation may be derived from the apparent grin of a skull.

Templar hypothesis

The Jolly Roger raised in an illustration for Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance. Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty is a Comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and Libretto by W

In his book Pirates & The Lost Templar Fleet, David Hatcher Childress claims that the flag was named after the first man to fly it, King Roger II of Sicily (c. David Hatcher Childress (born 1957 is an American Author of books on topics in Alternative history. Roger II ( 22 December 1095 &ndash 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. 1095-1154). Roger was a famed Templar and the Knights Of The Temple were in conflict with the Pope over his conquests of Apulia and Salerno in 1127. The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Apulia ( Italian: Puglia) is a region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east the Ionian Sea Salerno is a town in southern Italy, capital of the province of the same name in the region of Campania. ^[7] Childress claims that, many years later, after the Templars were disbanded by the church, at least one Templar fleet split into four independent flotillas dedicating themselves to pirating ships of any country sympathetic to Rome, thus the flag was an inheritance, and its crossed bones a reference to the original Templar logo of a red cross with blunted ends.

Origins of the design

Black flags are known to have been used by pirates at least five years before the earliest known attachment of the name "Jolly Roger" to such flags. Contemporary accounts show Captain Martel's pirates using a black flag in 1716,^[8] Edward Teach, Charles Vane, and Richard Worley in 1718^[9], and Howell Davis in 1719. Year 1716 ( MDCCXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Edward Teach (tɛtʃ c 1680 – November 22, 1718) better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English Pirate in the Caribbean Charles Vane (c1680 - March 29, 1721) was an English pirate who preyed upon English and French shipping Richard Worley (d February 17, 1719) was an English Pirate who was active in the Caribbean Sea and the east coast of the American Year 1718 ( MDCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Captain Howell Davis (or Davies (ca 1690 &ndash June 1719 was a Welsh pirate. Year 1719 ( MDCCXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a ^[10]

An even earlier use of a black flag with skull, crossbones, and hourglass is attributed in 1700 to pirate captain Emanuel Wynn, according to a wide variety of secondary sources. Emanuel Wynn (or Emanuel Wynne was a French Pirate of the 1700s and was the first pirate to fly the Jolly Roger. ^[11] Reportedly, these secondary sources are based on the account of Captain John Cranby of the HMS Poole and are verified at the London Public Record Office. The Public Record Office (PRO of the United Kingdom is one of the three organisations that make up the National Archives (the others are the Historical Manuscripts

Use in practice

Pirates did not fly the Jolly Roger at all times. Like other vessels, pirate ships usually stocked a variety of different flags, and would normally fly false colors or no colors until they had their prey within firing range. When the pirates' intended victim was within range, the Jolly Roger would be raised, often simultaneously with a warning shot.

The flag was probably intended as communication of the pirates' identity, which may have given target ships an opportunity to change their mind and surrender without a fight. For example in June 1720 when Bartholomew Roberts sailed into the harbour at Trepassey, Newfoundland with black flags flying, the crews of all 22 vessels in the harbour abandoned them in panic. Born John Roberts ( May 17, 1682 &ndash February 10, 1722) Bartholomew Roberts was a Welsh Pirate who raided shipping Trepassey, is a small fishing community located in Trepassey Bay on the south eastern corner of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador (ˈnuːfɨn(dlənd ən(d ˈlæbrəˌdɔr (Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador is a province of Canada, the tenth and latest to join the Confederation ^[12] If a ship then decided to resist, the Jolly Roger was taken down and a red flag was flown, indicating that the pirates intend to take the ship by force and without mercy. Richard Hawkins reports that "When they fight under Jolly Roger, they give quarter, which they do not when they fight under the red or bloody flag. "

In this view of models, it was important for a prey ship to know that its assailant was a pirate, and not a privateer or government vessel - as the latter two generally had to abide by a rule that a crew that resisted, but then surrendered, could not be executed:

"An angry pirate therefore posed a greater danger to merchant ships than an angry Spanish coast guard or privateer vessel. Because of this, although, like pirate ships, Spanish coast guard vessels and privateers were almost always stronger than the merchant ships they attacked, merchant ships may have been more willing to attempt resisting these "legitimate" attackers than their piratical counterparts. To achieve their goal of taking prizes without a costly fight, it was therefore important for pirates to distinguish themselves from these other ships also taking prizes on the seas. "^[13]

Flying a Jolly Roger was a reliable way of proving oneself a pirate, as just possessing or using a Jolly Roger was considered proof that one was a criminal pirate (and not something more legitimate); only a pirate would dare fly the Jolly Roger, as they were already under threat of execution. ^[14]

Use by submarines

The Free Polish submarine ORP Sokół returning from a World War II patrol flying her Jolly Roger to signify a successful combat mission; the swastika flag indicates the sinking of a German ship

Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson VC, the Controller of the Royal Navy, summed up the opinion of the many in the Admiralty at the time when in 1901 he said submarines were "underhand, unfair, and damned un-English. Career Shortly after her trials the boat was handed to her Polish crew in accordance with the Polish-British Military Alliance and amendments of November 18 World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The swastika (from Sanskrit: svástika sa स्वस्तिक Hindu IS CORRECT if 'ि' is positioned incorrectly see -->) is See below the section "Separate Commonwealth awards" Note that since The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. . . . treat all submarines as pirates in wartime . . . and hang all crews. "^[15][16] In response, Lieutenant Commander (later Admiral Sir) Max Horton first flew the Jolly Roger on return to port after sinking the German cruiser SMS Hela and the destroyer SMS S-116 in 1914 while in command of the E class submarine HMS E9. Admiral Sir Max Kennedy Horton, GCB, DSO & Two Bars ( November 29, 1883 – July 30, 1951) was for other meanings see also the disambiguation page Hela SMS Hela was a Light cruiser of the German Imperial Navy Boats Group 1 E1 - Launched November 9 1912. E2 - Launched November HMS E9 was a British E class submarine built by Vickers, Barrow. ^[17][18]

During World War I, the submarine service came of age, winning five of the Royal Navy's fourteen Victoria Crosses, the first by Lieutenant Norman Holbrook, Commanding Officer of HMS B11. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All See below the section "Separate Commonwealth awards" Note that since Norman Douglas Holbrook VC (born 9 July 1888 Southsea, Hampshire; died Midhurst, Sussex 3 July

In World War II it became common practice for the submarines of the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy to fly the Jolly Roger on completion of a successful combat mission where some action had taken place, but as an indicator of bravado and stealth rather than of lawlessness. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Royal Australian Navy ( RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. The Jolly Roger is now the emblem of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. The Royal Navy Submarine Service is the collective name given to the Submarine element of the Royal Navy. ^[19]

The Jolly Roger was brought to the attention of a post World War II public when HMS Conqueror flew the Jolly Roger on her return from the Falklands War having sunk ARA General Belgrano. Further reading Footnotes The Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the General history The warship was built as, the sixth of the s in New Jersey by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation starting in 1935 and launched in March 1938 In May 1991 Oberon class submarines HMS Opossum and her sister HMS Otus returned to the submarine base HMS Dolphin in Gosport from patrol in the Persian Gulf flying Jolly Rogers, for their part in Operation Granby during the Gulf War in 1991. Design and construction The Oberon class was based heavily on the preceeding ''Porpoise'' class of submarines Glass-reinforced plastic was used in Service Opossum was the Eleventh ''Oberon''-class boat commissioned by the Royal Navy. The seventeenth Royal Navy 'ship' to be named HMS ''Dolphin'' was the the RN shore establishment sited at Fort Blockhouse in Gosport. History The Rowner area of the peninsula was known to have been settled in Saxon times mentioned in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles as Rughenor (Rough bank or slope The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region is an extension of the Operation Granby was the name given to the British military operations during the Gulf War in 1991 ^[20][21][22] In 1999 HMS Splendid participated in the Kosovo Conflict and became the first Royal Navy submarine to fire a cruise missile in anger. Sources http//newsbbccouk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3075011stm http//news The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts in Kosovo: 1996–1999 The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM is a long-range all-weather subsonic cruise missile On her return to Faslane, on July 9, 1999, Splendid flew the Jolly Roger. Along with HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth, Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB Clyde is one of the Royal Navy 's three operational bases Events 455 - Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) ^[23][24]

After Operation Veritas, the attack on Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces following the 9/11 attacks in the United States, HMS Trafalgar entered Plymouth Sound flying the Jolly Roger on March 1, 2002. Operation Veritas was the codename used for British military operations against the Taliban government of Afghanistan in 2001 Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a bay at Plymouth in England. Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. She was welcomed back by Admiral Sir Alan West, Commander-in-Chief of the fleet and it emerged she was the first Royal Navy submarine to launch tomahawk cruise missiles against Afghanistan. Admiral Alan William John West Baron West of Spithead GCB, DSC (born 21 April 1948) is a Parliamentary Under-Secretary ^[25] HMS Triumph was also involved in the initial strikes and on returning to port had a Jolly Roger emblazoned with two crossed Tomahawks to indicate her opening missiles salvoes in the "war against terrorism" and HMS Superb's whose flag had a dagger, for force protection, a bee for her nickname (the Super B), and two communications flashes. The War on Terrorism (also known as the War on Terror) is the common term for the military political and legal, and ideological conflict and specifically for U Operations She was the first British submarine to visit the Arctic Ocean and sail under the polar ice caps ^[18]

More recently, on April 16, 2003, HMS Turbulent, the first Royal Navy vessel to return home from the war against Iraq, arrived in Plymouth flying the Jolly Roger after launching thirty Tomahawk cruise missiles. Events 1178 BC - A Solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM is a long-range all-weather subsonic cruise missile ^[26]

Use by United States Army Air Corps

Four squadrons of the 90th Bombardment Group of the Fifth Air Force under General George C. Kenney, commanded by Colonel Art Rogers were known as the Jolly Rogers. Fifth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force, part of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF George Churchill Kenney ( August 6, 1889 - August 9, 1977) was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II Easily distinguished by the white skull and crossed bombs, from 1943, the four squadrons all displayed the insignia on the twin tail fins of their B-24 heavy bombers (heavies) with different color backgrounds for each squadron. The 319th's tail fin background was blue, the 320th's red, the 321st, green, and the 400th, the most graphic of the four, black. ^[27]

Other uses

• The Jolly Rogers is a successful Renaissance Faire performance group based out of Kansas City. ^[28]
• There are various movies of this name, including one publicized by Science Fiction Channel in June, 2006, & July, 2006. ^[29]
• Steve Capps, from the original Macintosh development team,^[30] hoisted a Jolly Roger flag designed by Susan Kare on the newly founded Macintosh Division HQ, after a meeting where Steve Jobs said that it was "better to be a pirate than join the navy". Steve Capps is a Computer Programmer and Engineer who is best known for his work on the Apple Inc The Macintosh is the original Apple Macintosh Personal computer. Susan Kare (born 1954 is an artist and Graphic designer who created many of the interface elements for the Apple Macintosh in the 1980s Steven Paul Jobs (born February 24 1955 is the Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc and former CEO of Pixar Animation ^[31]
• The Jolly Roger & The Great Books is a books portal that was founded in 1995. ^[32]
• Jolly Roger is the name of an amusement park located in Ocean City, MD. ^[33]
• Jolly Roger is the main antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean Online Game. An antagonist (from Greek ανταγωνιστής - antagonistes, "opponent competitor rival" is a character or Pirates of the Caribbean Online is an MMORPG created by The Walt Disney Company, based on their film series and theme park attraction A massively multiplayer online role-playing game ( MMORPG) is a genre of Computer role-playing games (CRPGs in which a large number of players interact with ^[34]
• Jolly Roger is a character in the Banjo-Kazooie series of games. The Banjo-Kazooie games are a series of 3D platform / adventure Video games created by Rare Ltd He was first seen at Jolly Roger's Lagoon in Banjo-Tooie, and has since appeared in Banjo Pilot. Banjo-Tooie is a platform and action-adventure hybrid Video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo in 2000 Banjo-Pilot (originally Diddy Kong Pilot) is a Video game for the Game Boy Advance featuring characters from the Banjo-Kazooie He is rumoured to be in Banjo-Threeie, too. Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts is an upcoming CMS and Platform game in Rare 's ''Banjo-Kazooie'' series, first announced at the
• "Raise the Jolly Roger" is said by Pittsburgh Pirates announcer Greg Brown after every Pirates win. The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Greg Brown is currently an announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Fox Sports Pittsburgh and radio
• Several U.S. Navy fighter squadrons have used the nickname "Jolly Rogers", including the current VFA-103. Strike Fighter Squadron 103 (the Jolly Rogers is a Strike Fighter Squadron of the United States Navy flying the F/A-18F Super Hornet and is based at

References