Jewelry Bonney - Anne Bonny

Just like Bonney is the illegitimate daughter of a Celestial, Anne was allegedly the illegitimate daughter of an attorney and his servant (although this hasn't been proven by historical records) Unfortunately, Anne didn't have a Kuma of her own. Aside from both being female pirates, that's where the similarities end.

Anne was a pirate during the golden age of piracy in the 1700s and was only active for a short time before her and the crew she served were captured. Another woman pirate that worked alongside her was Mary Read, who was allegedly her lover, although this has also not been proven. Both Anne and Mary were given stays in execution due to claiming they were pregnant, but this is thought to be a lie to delay their deaths. Mary died in prison, and Anne is thought to have been let go and have reitegrated into society.

Ultimately, not very much of Anne's history has reliable sources, and her story is likely lost to time.

Bellamy - Samuel Bellamy

Samuel Bellamy and One Piece Bellamy have very little in common, aside from both being pirate captains for a short time. Samuel Bellamy was only active for a short time in the early 1700s; despite this, he was known as one of richest pirates of the Golden Age. He was known for his mercy towards people he captured on raids, and gained the moniker "Prince of Pirates". One Piece Bellamy could never! His ship sunk in 1717 in a storm, and was recovered in 1984.

Marshall D. Teach - Edward Teach

Edward Teach was also only active for a short time. Despite this, he was very successful with a small fleet of over 300 men. Unlike Marshall, Edward was known for spurring unnecessary violence. While he had a reputation as a terrifying man, using his appearance to bolster this, he wasn't extremely cruel to the crews of the ships he captured, unlike many pirates of his time. Like Marshall, though, they both started their careers serving under a captain, Edward under Benjamin Hornigold, and Marshall under Whitebeard. They also had in common their weapons and beard style; both carrying 3 pistols and tying their beards into pigtails. Edward, however, also would put slow fuses in his beard to intimidate the people he raided.

Thatch - Edward Thatch

Edward Thatch was also Edward Teach; fake names were commonly used by pirates to avoid bring shame upon their families. Although, it's possible Thatch was his real last name, not Teach, as people who met Blackbeard referred to him a Thatch. One Piece Thatch and Edward Thatch both did not engage in unnecessary violence, or cruelty for cruelty's sake.

King of the Pirates: Gol D. Roger - Henry Every

One of the few pirates who was able to escape prosecution and death in battle, Henry is known as the King of the Pirates for pulling off the most profitable heist in the history of piracy. Like Roger, Henry also inspired a global manhunt, after Henry successfully pulled off a raid of the Grand Mughal's (an empire that controlled most of India in the 1700s) ships during their pilgrimage to Mecca. Unlike Roger, Henry was not just a pirate, but also a slave trader. Back when he was a privateer and a slave trader, instead of a pirate and slave trader, he had an unusual reputation for attacking other slave trading ships and chaining the crews of the ships he attacked up with the slaves. In short, besides the title, Henry Every had little in common with Gol D. Roger.

So, I've seen the theory that Hal Gates = Henry Avery, and I laughed at it until I did the research.

And holy shit, it fits.

What made me start scratching my head was when I stumbled upon a second draft script for the pilot that is a little different from what aired. It straight up says that Hal Gates is in his 60s in Episode I/1715. For some reason, I figured him a bit younger, but since Mark Ryan was only 58 when the show started airing...it starts to make sense.

Henry Avery was (probably) born in 1659. He'd be 56 in 1715.

Short history: Henry (Hal?) Avery was a British-born sailor who spent some time in the Royal Navy as a master's mate, became a privateer, and then a pirate captain when the crew of his ship mutinied and elected him. Then he became the most successful pirate of his age, the "Arch Pirate," and the subject of the first-ever worldwide manhunt after only two years as a pirate captain.

Then he escaped with his loot around 1695, twenty years before Black Sails begins, never to be seen again.

But there are theories that he disappeared to New Providence Island.

(More on that below the cut). Isn't that fascinating? We don't know where Hal Gates comes from, but we know he's been around for quite awhile. He's the right age (practically spot on). Hornigold implies that Gates has been at sea for around 50 years, which would mean he first went to sea around 1665, give or take a little. The first mention of Every at sea is around 1671, but what's 5-6 years when you're rounding?

The Black Sails universe credits Avery/Every as one of the founders of the Nation of Thieves, saying "this is a place for free men," on New Providence Island. He's also the man who found Skeleton Island.

We know Hal Gates sailed on his crew and had his journals (his "prized possession," which he gave to Flint for safekeeping. Why give those to someone who was supposedly a minor member of his crew (someone who was "terrified Avery knew his name")? That doesn't add up very well. Why would Gates even have those journals?

"They say it started with a man named Henry Avery. Sailed into the port of Nassau, bribed the colonial governor to look past his sins, encamped his crew upon the beach, and thus began the pirate issue on New Providence Island." (Thomas Hamilton to James McGraw)

Avery vanishes into thin air, after supposedly giving Hal Gates his journals and leaving some of his crew on New Providence Island, including - presumably - Gates. Unless, of course, he is Hal "Gates." Then we've definitely seen him, the man who didn't really want to be a pirate captain until it was thrust upon him. That's a weird attitude, unless, of course, he's retired and is just going to see as a quartermaster because he missed the action?

More Avery/Every history beneath the cut.

By your friendly neighborhood pirate enthusiast. Remember the sources for most of these are often shoddy at best, we do with what we have.

1. EDWARD LOW

Spooky. Red. Makes your intent clear. Fitting for a man reputed for violence, sadism and a penchant for torture so strong he was compared to the Spanish Inquisition. 9/10 very Halloweeny.

2. EDWARD "BLACKBEARD" TEACH

Dramatic as fuck. Who hurt you, Ed? Also why is the devil so skinny. This design is a good idea but maybe a bit messy. 6/10 solid flag but makes me think of 2000s emo album covers.

3. STEDE BONNET

Meh. It tries to be symmetrical but fails because the dagger and heart aren't the same size. Trying too hard to be original but with no real creativity. 4/10 you bougie bitch.

4. BARTHOLOMEW ROBERTS

Very cool design. Always dubious of putting your own image on the flag, but overall the execution is good. You have the captain pointing at the hourglass to signify your time is up with Death by his side. 8/10 supervillain flag.

5. BARTHOLOMEW ROBERTS AGAIN

NOOO NO NO. This looks goofy as hell, Barty. The letters are supposed to stand for "A Bahamian's head" and "a Martinican's head" but putting letters on a flag is gauche. The flaming sword looks like a cactus. 2/10 You can't just draw yourself standing on the skulls of your enemies holding a flaming sword and expect people to take you seriously Bartholomew

6. SAMUEL BELLAMY

The classic. Can't go wrong with it. Points deducted bc a bunch of people used it and it's impossible to tell who started it. 5/10, neutral

7. OLIVIER "LA BUSE" LEVASSEUR

WHAT in the reverse slenderman is this shit? Get that out of my sight you French bastard. 100000/10 it lives in my nightmares.

8. HENRY EVERY

BLACK. IT'S CALLED THE BLACK FLAG ASSHOLE. Otherwise, it's a solid design, unique and simple. 6/10 unusual but not bad.

9. JEAN THOMAS DULEAIN

Just no. Too much stuff. Three skulls is nice but then you add all the other things and it becomes a confusing mess. Pick one thing and stick to it. 3/10 what the hell

10. JAQUOTTE DELAHAYE

A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates (or A General History of Pyrates) by Captain Charles Johnson

firstly: captain charles johnson is not a person nor a captain. it’s a pen name. and we have no clue who he actually was. he probably chose “captain” to give himself a sense of credibility he did not have. (could possibly have been daniel defoe or nathaniel mist and you can actually find modern copies printed under both their names)

secondly: he made a lot of it up. he gathered whatever information was available and just made up the rest and anything he thought would make it cooler. that’s not even to mention the second volume where he made up several entire people. this dude was just making stuff up and it’s now the earliest history we have of these people and we’ve accepted it as fact.

thirdly: it was initially published in 1724. (golden age of piracy was 1650s-1830s, dude was writing about the present) several of the pirates he writes about were still alive. and the rest were very recently dead. (henry every is an outlier) he was literally making up facts about people who were very much alive likely while he was writing it.

Henry Every : The Brutal King of Pirates

On the 12th of August, 1710, Captain Smith of the HMS Enterprise would detail in a letter, the state of the Bahamas Islands after performing a survey of the region; and how it had become a land of pirates in the absence of the British Government. In his letter, he explained that the scattering of French settlements in the Bahamas were faring well, unscathed by the Spanish sailing from Havana, and that the defenseless people that still lived at Nassau and the rest of the Bahamas lived by the policy of “the strongest man carries the day, with every man only doing what’s right in his own eyes” since they had no government to rely on or answer to.

 He’d also come into the information that Fort Nassau still lay in ruins, with nine cannons having been stolen from it, and that any time raiders arrived on New Providence Island, the inhabitants would flee into the woods.