20 Interesting Facts about Pirates

The real terror was the red flag, not black.

If you were to see a black flag, you wouldn’t have to worry much. But if you saw a red flag, that would’ve been a sign of great danger. A red flag on a pirate ship was nothing less than death itself: it meant no mercy would be given to the raided ship and everyone on board would be killed immediately.Although the origin of the term “Jolly Roger” has been lost, it is believed to be associated with these red flags on pirate ships. The phrase was used for pirate flags of ships that were ready to attack.