Pirates exhibition highlights

The popular appeal of pirates in Britain can be traced to the late nineteenth century. In particular, the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson helped to create an enduring image of pirates that has inspired countless others. 

The novel follows the adventures of a young boy, Jim Hawkins, and his quest to find buried treasure. Through Stevenson’s story we encounter cutthroat pirates, a secret treasure map and a talking parrot. 

Treasure Island is not a cosy tale of loveable pirates; Jim is exposed to the dangerous, adult world of piracy from the start. He witnesses a murder and is forced to shoot a man dead to save himself. 

The book has never been out of print.

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The American illustrator and author Howard Pyle produced images and stories for various magazines. Following his death, these were collected and published in 1921 as Howard Pyle’s Book of Pirates. His distinctive way of depicting pirates – borrowing elements from French fashion and stereotypical Romani costume – had an immediate influence on Hollywood.

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The actor Orlando Bloom played the character Will Turner, Jnr in four Pirates of the Caribbean films. This costume was worn during the first film, in a dramatic sword fight between Turner and Captain Jack Sparrow. 

The British designer Penny Rose created the costumes for all five films, drawing inspiration from Howard Pyle’s illustrations.

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In this evocative painting, artist William Lionel Wyllie depicts the world of Davy Jones, the mythical figure said to rule over the evil spirits of the deep. The ghostly outline of a wrecked ship looms in the distance. 

In the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Davy Jones is depicted as the pirate captain of legendary ghost ship the Flying Dutchman. Seafaring myth continues to shape how we imagine the pirate world. 

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The image of the pirate in fiction was drawn from the real pirates of history. In the Western world, many of these pirates were active from the 1680s to the 1720s: a period referred to by some historians as the ‘golden age’ of piracy. 

Pirates and their criminal adventures caught the public imagination during this time, inspiring publications and the early development of the familiar pirate image.

A General History of the Pyrates, written by Captain Charles Johnson and first published in 1724, is made up of short biographies. These were based on trial records, newspaper reports and interviews with former pirates. In places, its accuracy is doubtful, but the book remains an important historical source for writers and filmmakers.

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This original logbook, kept by Lieutenant Robert Maynard, records the fate of the notorious pirate Edward Teach – also known as ‘Blackbeard’. 

In his short pirate career, Blackbeard proved very successful, capturing ships in the Caribbean and along the east coast of North America. In November 1718, Lieutenant Maynard, commanding the warship Pearl, engaged him in battle. After fierce fighting, Blackbeard was beheaded. For many years, his severed head was visible on a stake at Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. 

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The waters of the Caribbean were appealing to pirates. There were many trading vessels to attack and secluded coves provided hiding places away from the authorities. In the 17th century, the island of Tortuga, just north of Hispaniola, became a stronghold for pirates and privateers. 

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This terracotta bust, made in around 1700, depicts a man wearing a headdress associated with the Rif people of north-eastern Morocco. The port of Salé was the base for many pirates operating in the region, who became known as ‘Salé Rovers’.

They were part of the wider pirate community along North Africa’s ‘Barbary Coast’, the historical name for the North African coastal regions that include modern-day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

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This image shows Museum conservators at the Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre working on a large table centrepiece originally made to commemorate the Bombardment of Algiers.

The Bombardment of Algiers took place in 1816, when a British-led naval force attacked the city in an attempt to resolve the longstanding issue of piracy on the north coast of Africa. 

After intense shelling, the city suffered significant damage, with an estimated 1,000 to 3,000 casualties, including both military and civilian deaths, though the precise number remains uncertain. 

Following the bombardment, British officers at Algiers commissioned this centrepiece from the leading London silversmith Paul Storr. They presented it to their commander, Admiral Pellew. It shows the fortress at Algiers, bristling with tiers of guns, and scenes of the bombardment.

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The 'Jolly Roger' is arguably the defining pirate symbol – but there is more to the pirate flag than the infamous skull and crossbones. The exhibition highlights how several pirates adopted their own distinct designs. Sometimes the sight of a flag was enough to terrify a crew into submission.

Flags could also be used to deceive. This flag was captured from Chinese pirates near Canton in 1926. It was originally the flag of Li Jishen, commander-in-chief of the Guangdong Army. However, the pirates used it as 'false colours', to disguise their identity and catch their victims unaware.

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This late eighteenth century engraving shows the gallows that once stood on the north bank of the River Thames. 

“For 400 years until 1830, Execution Dock on the River Thames was used as a place for public hangings,” writes Dr Robert Blyth in Buried Treasure: A Pirate Miscellany. 

“Hanging was a grisly affair during the ‘golden age’ of piracy,” he explains. “A short rope was used, which left the condemned to strangle slowly to death, which could take up to 45 minutes. 

“As they fell unconscious, the spasms of their limbs became known as the ‘Marshal’s dance’, named after the court official, or to ‘dance the hempen jig’, referencing the rope. The dead body was left hanging in the noose until at least three tides had submerged it.” 

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