Pirates are always popular. From children's stories like Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson to classic swashbuckling films with Errol Flynn, or the recent Disney Pirates of the Caribbean movies, pirates fascinate and captivate. They also have their own way of talking, and live in a world very different from our own. That's where this dictionary comes in. Here you'll find all the common words and phrases pirates used, and the stories of many famous pirates too.
Jack Sparrow, Captain
Fictional pirate captain in the Walt Disney film series Pirates of the Caribbean. No pirate of that name is documented in any historical records.
jibing
Steering the ship so that its stern passes through the wind.
jolly boat
Also called a jolly, this is a smaller craft carried at the stern of a larger ship. Probably related to the word yawl.
Jolly Roger
The skull-and-bones flag flown by some pirates. The origin is obscure, but there are two strong possibilities. The first is that French buccaneers called their blood red flag “joli rouge” (pretty red). English sailors, lacking linguistic talent, took this to be “Jolly Roger”. Later, the name was applied to the black flags pirates often flew. The second is that English sailors operating in Indonesia came across Muslim pirates who often gave themselves the Tamil title “Ali Raja” (meaning “King of the Sea”). Since these eastern pirates also flew a red flag, the English could have easily, in error, taken the Tamil title as referring to the flag, and then through the usual corruption of pronunciation, ended up with “Jolly Roger”. Finally, there is one more possibility. Around the 1700s the Devil was often, in slang, called “Old Roger”. Pirates may have simply adopted this term for their flags.
John Rackam, Captain
Also known as Calico Jack, he was quartermaster to Captain Vane, and when Vane refuse to attack a large French ship, was elected captain in his place on November 24, 1718. On that day he plundered several small vessels. With Christmas approaching, the pirates landed on a small island to thoroughly celebrate, then took more ships, and headed to Cuba. Here the pirates were very happy until all their provisions and money were spent. He had a narrow escape from Cuba, and in the summer of 1720 took a number of small ships. In October Rackam was chased near Nigril Bay by a Government sloop commanded by a Captain Barret. After a short fight Rackam surrendered, and was carried a prisoner to Port Royal. On November 16th Rackam and his crew were tried at St. Jago de la Vega, convicted and sentenced to death. Amongst the crew were two women dressed as men, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. The former was married, in pirate fashion, to Rackam. On the morning of his execution Rackam was allowed, as a special favour, to visit his Anne, but all the comfort he got from her was “that she was sorry to see him there, but if he had fought like a man, he need not have been hanged like a Dog. Rackam was hanged on November 17, 1720, at Gallows Point, at Port Royal, Jamaica.
jury mast
A temporary or emergency mast erected when the main mast failed or was damaged, often by storm or in battle. The mast was important because without a mast a ship cannot move except with the current.
