Why is the standard of pirates a skull?

In today's film and television works, the image of pirates has long been a conventional pattern, with one eye, wooden legs, deerskin boots, and a D 'Artagnan hat or a parrot. This is the result of countless artistic processing combined with the characteristics of pirates for hundreds of years, and it is the "standard image" of pirates outlined in people's minds, and the pirate flag is one of them.

From ancient literature,

Later, in the 19th century, Barbarossa II, a famous pirate, began to raise a white skull flag painted on a large red cloth.

Then with the passage of time, the red pirate flag began to give way to the black pirate flag-"Happy Roger" more and more frequently.

The specific origin of the name "Happy Roger" is still unknown. Some people think that it appeared in the late 17th century and early 18th century, but the French term "Joli Ronge" used by French pirates is different.

the second speculation is that this name originated from the eastern seas, and it means the title "Ali Raja"-that is, "the king of the sea". The British read these two words as "Olly Roger".

Another saying is that it comes from the word "Roger"-a beggar tramp. In the dictionary published in Britain in 1725, there is a phrase "Old Roger," which means the devil.

The users of the Skull Flag will add their own ideas in addition to the skulls and crossed skeletons. Barbarossa II, mentioned above, identified himself as a Muslim with a skull wrapped in his head. In 17, Emmanuel Wei, a French pirate, painted a timed hourglass on the skull flag. It also has a clear meaning: it implies to the attacked that in a short time, they can consider their situation and make a decision to surrender. He is also considered to be the first person to use the skull flag as a special symbol for pirates.

in addition, there are several popular combinations of the skull flag.

One way is to draw a skeleton on the flag, with an hourglass in one hand and a bleeding heart pierced by a dart spear in the other.

The other is a white flag with a black skull and skeleton, and there is an inscription under the pattern: "For God and Freedom".

In the days when the Skull Flag was popular, pirates often raised two flags-"Happy Roger" first and then the red flag. The first flag seems to invite the other side to surrender voluntarily. If this invitation is rejected, a scarlet flag will fly on the mast of the pirate ship, which declares that the other party will not be forgiven.