Pirate Historian Rates 8 Pirate Battles In Movies And TV | How Real Is It? | Insider

Published March 14, 2024, 12:03 a.m. by Courtney

Rebecca Simon, a piracy historian, rates pirate battles in movies and TV shows, such as the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, for realism.

Simon breaks down the accuracy of pirate battle tactics used during the golden age of piracy, such as the use of the flintlock pistol and the rope-swinging skills to capture a ship in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003), with Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley; the realism of the Jolly Roger flag and the depiction of the real-life pirates Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, John "Calico Jack" Rackham, and Anne Bonny in "Black Sails" S1E1 and S3E10 (2014 and 2016); and the battle tactics used by pirate captains in "House of the Dragon" E2 and E3 (2022). She debunks common pirate tropes, such as buried treasure, treasure maps, and the stereotypical accent used by Long John Silver in "Treasure Island" (1950); the punishment of walking the plank in "Peter Pan" (1953); and swordsmanship and the use of the cutlass, as well as the relationship between the pirates Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard, in "Our Flag Means Death" S2E4 and S2E5 (2023), starring Taika Waititi. Simon also looks at the realism of Jack Sparrow and his compass in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" (2017) and the plausibility of pirate bounties and privateers in "One Piece" S1E5 (2023).

Simon is a historian who focuses on the golden age of piracy within the Caribbean and along the coast of North America. She has written several books on pirates, including her latest book, "The Pirates' Code: Laws and Life Aboard Ship." She is also a professor of history at Santa Monica College.