Avast, pirate lovers! The wildly popular Pirates of the Caribbean films were based on a themed ride at Disneyland, so creative license was always going to usurp historical accuracy, but it doesn't mean that there aren't authentic pieces of pirate lore giving depth to the films' entertainment value. Some of the aspects that might have seemed the most outlandish were true (Jack Sparrow's personal style), while some of the most well-worn pirate tropes were not (pirates rarely walked the plank).
Separating fact from fiction can be a fun way to appreciate the films even more, especially given their scale, attention to detail, and overall sense of excitement. Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't a sure thing when it came out, but it became out of the most beloved franchises of all time because as it turns out, people still love pirates.
COLORFUL FASHION
Jack Sparrow might look wildly outlandish in his livery, but his colorful clothing was based on the garments worn by real pirates. Some of them wore whatever they could scrounge up, while others used their "glad rags" to display all of the exotic places they'd been to. Others still used their outfits to be as ferocious looking as possible.
Pirates liked to accessorize (especially with gold and silver earrings) because it gave them a sense of identity and added to their reputations. John Rackham was an English pirate captain known as Calico Jack, who operated out of the Bahamas during the 18th century, and was known for the calico clothing he wore.
RUM
Why is the rum always gone? Because pirates loved to drink it! And not just to have an amiable time cavorting around Tortuga, or to make themselves more physically appealing to the painted ladies they found there. There was a method to the drunken madness of pirates, and it had to do with long-hauls.
When spending weeks, months, or even years at sea, pirates had three beverages available on board their ships; water, beer, and of course, rum. They drank the water first because it could go bad the fastest. Then they drank the beer. Then finally, they drank the rum, because it could be preserved the longest. Pirates knew it was dire when the rum was gone.
BLACK BEARD
In the fourth installment of the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Ian McShane ed the cast as Edward Teach aka Black Beard, one of the most infamous pirates that ever sailed the Seven Seas. Despite the fact that the film is set in 1750 and Teach died in 1718 at the Battle of Ocracoke Inlet, his depiction is entirely accurate.
Blackbeard was often described as a large man with crazy eyes, known to frighten onlookers with his fearsome appearance. He wore a brace of three pistols across his chest, and was known for sticking matches in his black beard and lighting them, only adding to his intimidating persona.
THE NAUTICAL MANEUVERS
While it was infrequent to have two ships pull up alongside one another, ready their guns, and just open fire, there were nautical maneuvers in the Pirates of the Caribbean films that bore some semblance to historical s. The first film showcased a desperate one performed by the Interceptor.
As the Black Pearl is closing in, the Interceptor attempts to shake it by dropping anchor and making a sudden turn. This maneuver was called clubhauling, and it was used only in the most extreme situations where no other option was available. A captain would only sanction clubhauling in a situation where he was prepared to lose the anchor and abandon it to reach safety.
THE FLAGS
The most famous of all pirate flags, the "Jolly Roger" was just one of many they used to signal their affiliation. First appearing in the Caribbean in the early 18th century, it decreed "Surrender or Die" to all ships that saw it wave. The pirates flying it were prepared to board other vessels and show no mercy to prisoners.
Pirate flags depicted lots of different variations of the Jolly Roger, from crossed bones, to crossed cutlasses, to an entire skeleton. When pirate flags weren't in use, pirate ships would fly a Union Jack or a Spanish Flag to lull other vessels into a false sense of comfort until they revealed themselves to be anything but an ally.
PIRATE LINGO
Much of what pirate fans associate pirate lingo with comes from Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver in the Disney film Treasure Island. He refined the dialect to incorporate such iconic phrases as, "Ahoy, mateys!" and, "Avast, me hearteys!", along with a few "Arrrrr" for good measure.
But there was some vocabulary and colloquialisms that pirates used, such as "swabbing the deck," referring to non-seafaring folk as "landlubbers," and drinking "grog" which was rum mixed with water.
WOMEN ON THE HIGH SEAS
While it's true that pirating was a male dominated vocation, there were still women that sailed the High Seas. Several of them influenced the trajectory of Elizabeth Swann's character, who went from being a damsel in distress to the Pirate King by the end of the third Pirates of the Caribbean film.
In 1720, English pirate Mary Read and Irish pirate Anne Bonny were known to lead several daring raids against fishing ships and trading sloops in the Caribbean, carving a name for themselves as the two greatest female pirates that ever lived. Like many female pirates, they often disguised themselves as men for their own safety, and because of the superstition of having women aboard a ship.
PIRATE CODE
Pirates had enough enemies to contend with that they were discouraged to fight among themselves. This is why every pirate ship had its own list of rules, which every crewman was supposed to abide by. It described how loot would be divided, the rationing of food and spirits, as well as what was expected of each post.
This set of "guidelines" was used to develop the Pirate Code in the Pirates of the Caribbean films, and allowed Captain Jack to command so much loyalty and respect from his shipmates. As far as pirates were concerned, there really was honor among scallywags.
THE SHIPS
While the ships featured in the films were not quite as impressive as the ones used by pirates in real life (theirs were never so large), a few of them were based on ships featured prominently in history. In Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Blackbeard's ship The Queen Anne's Revenge was a real ship, formerly an English merchant sailing vessel he used to patrol the Seven Seas with 40 guns.
The ghost ship the Flying Dutchman was also real and based on a Danish ship that in 1641 tried to take the age around The Cape of Good hope in Africa. According to legend, Captain Hendrik van der Decken made a deal with the Devil himself for safe age in the midst of a terrible storm, cursing the entire ship and crew in the process.
PETS
Life at sea could be exciting, but in between looting and pillaging, it was often boring and lonely. This meant that in order to the time, pirates had to find a means to entertain themselves, and this meant that they often chose to have pets aboard their ships. While a common companion was a parrot, there were many others.
Birds were popular because they ate things like fruit, nuts, and insects, which could easily be stored onboard. But it wasn't out of the ordinary to see a pirate pick up a lemur or a monkey, like the one kept by Captain Barbossa, when they were roaming around the Caribbean.
