'Black Sails' (Part Two) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anne Bonny

It is Anne Bonny who saves the day. She and Rackham are captured by Rogers at the same time Edward Teach (Blackbeard) is captured. In fact, Rackham only narrowly escapes suffering the same keelhauling as Edward Teach. Instead of taking the captives to Nassau, which has fallen, Rogers orders his lieutenant to take the pirates to Port Royal aboard his sloop. Even though the lieutenant knows the pirates will hang in Port Royal, he decides to dole out a little retribution (partly for missing out on the battle in Nassau) on the way. He does this by having the huge and sadistic Mr. Milton start to bludgeon the pirates to death. The lieutenant is getting Rackham, as the captain of the pirates, to name who goes next.

Mr Milton is enthusiastically killing pirates one by one when Bonny whispers to Rackham not to name another pirate - she will go next. An extremely bloody brawl ensues, but Bonny manages to grasp pieces of broken glass which she uses to incapacitate Mr Milton. She then manages to get the keys to the rest of the captives, who subsequently free themselves before joining the fray. Although Bonny is almost beaten to death, she survives and the captives take the sloop, but not before Rackham kills the horrible Mr Milton with his own mallet.

Answer: Marion Guthrie, Eleanor's grandmother

Marion Guthrie ends up helping out. Eleanor's grandparents, Marion and Joseph, live in Philadelphia and it is here Jack Rackham goes in episode XXXV to advise Eleanor's grandfather of Eleanor's death. He does this in a room in the Charles Grace Library in front of Joseph and several of Joseph's friends. After informing them of the death, Rackham hastily adds that Eleanor's death was a result of the razing of New Providence by both Governor Rogers and the Spanish forces. He then gives an impassioned speech as to how Joseph can get revenge for his granddaughter's death, own New Providence Island by buying it for next to nothing and, at the same time, help shape the regime that will ultimately run it.

Joseph responds to this with a simple 'no'. When Rackham asks him why he has refused, Joseph tells him he believes both Eleanor and his dead son, Richard, have tarnished the family name with their antics, and that as far as he is concerned, they are no kin of his.

As Rackham dejectedly walks through another public room in the library, an older woman calls out softly 'she's dead isn't she?' After confirming that Eleanor is, Rackham discovers he is talking to Eleanor's grandmother, Marion, and that it is she, not Joseph, who is in charge of the family business. Rackham, along with Max, have a meeting with Marion Guthrie, who finally agrees to the proposal and a partnership is born.

Answer: Pastor

During her time in Nassau, Miranda Hamilton/Mrs Barlow is often visited by Pastor Lambrick. On one occasion, the pastor arrives at her house to find her waiting on her porch with some tea things set out. The pastor thinks Miranda is expecting company, so declares that he will come back another time. Miranda gently explains that the pastor has just 'happened' to stop by every Wednesday for months, so, instead of acting surprised, she's made her mind up to receive him as a proper guest.

Their relationship turns into something a bit more in episode III, when the pastor arrives at Miranda's house very late one evening. He states that he is there because of a concern for her safety: he fears that her association with Flint has put her in danger from Richard Guthrie. Miranda assures the pastor that she is perfectly safe, and that she can hazard a wild guess at the real reason he is there so late at night. She is quite right and the pair then have an intimate moment. (And it really is not much more than a moment!)

Incidentally, the pastor does find out who Mrs Barlow/Miranda really is, and he tries to entice her to move to Boston where he feels she would lead a more cultured life. Miranda doesn't however, as she feels she has a commitment to Captain Flint to stay by his side.

Answer: Miranda Hamilton/Mrs Barlow

It is Miranda Hamilton (aka Mrs Barlow) who visits Captain Flint (aka James McGraw) as a ghost/hallucination.

This occurs several times throughout 'Black Sails'. Miranda first appears as the Walrus sails towards a storm. Miranda climbs over the side of the ship, soaking wet, and with her bullet wound in her head. She seems to be mouthing a message to Flint before she disappears belowdecks. Flint follows her, watching as her mysterious figure goes ever deeper into the bowels of the ship. Just as he is peering into the darkness trying to see her, he feels Miranda's hand grabbing his shoulder. Flint wakes suddenly to discover it is Billy Bones shaking him from sleep.

We also see Miranda's apparition several times while the ship is becalmed. Flint then sees her again when he is imprisoned in the Maroon Camp. Flint is rowing a boat with Miranda and tells her he can't see a way out of his predicament, and that the only outcome he can really see is death. Flint then goes on to tell her that he misses her, and she says she misses him.

Answer: John Silver

Madi is in a relationship with Long John Silver. She is the daughter of the Maroon Queen, who is, in turn, the leader of the community of Maroon slaves. If you remember, Madi's father was Mr. Scott, Eleanor Guthrie's right hand-man at one time. Madi, who is next in line to become the leader of the Maroon community, helps to create a partnership between the pirates and the Maroons. While she is doing this, she gets ever closer to John Silver, until eventually the pair become lovers.

For a while after the Spanish invasion of Nassau, everyone believes Madi is dead, caught in the same blaze that contributed to Eleanor's death. John Silver is understandably distraught over this news. However, it is soon revealed that Madi survived and is being held as a prisoner by the British. Shortly after hearing this, the pirates receive an offer from Governor Rogers ... he will swap Madi for the treasure the pirates hold. Silver seems to think this is fair enough, but Flint disagrees completely. This causes a distinct division between the two pirates, who, up until this point, have worked well, and achieved great things together.

Answer: Sideburns and moustache

Jack, a rather lovable rogue, is known for his very unique, long, thin sideburns and a small moustache. He sports these throughout the entire four seasons. In fact, Jack has eight different versions on the theme, with the sideburns and moustache either being longer, shorter, thicker or thinner. Jack, who seems stylish to the point of effeminate, doesn't seem like the type to be a pirate, and in fact, he isn't really respected as a pirate at the beginning of the show.

However, as the series moves forward, we find that despite his stylish looks and his upper-class accent, he is a formidable and competent pirate who gains the respect of all around him, including the infamous Edward Teach.

Answer: He is imprisoned for debt

Woodes Rogers was actually a real life person. In the series and in real life, he was appointed as the Royal Governor and Captain-General of the Bahama Islands, including Nassau. Rogers' mandate, which was set by King George I, was to rid the colony of pirates. He was also tasked to establish a strong and competent government in the area. This was no small challenge and Rogers had to use his money, and borrowed money, to get the venture off the ground.

Rogers has his ups and downs in the series: he does briefly reclaim Nassau, and he does fall in love with Eleanor Guthrie. But in the end he is undone by Eleanor Guthrie's death, and some very determined pirates who will not let him get his hands on the treasure he so badly needs to settle his debts.

At the end, Rogers gets captured aboard the Lion by Captain Flint and Jack Rackham. Jack, who is still furious at the deaths of Vane and Teach at Rogers' hands, takes the opportunity to tell Rogers that he won't keelhaul him, as Rogers did to his friend, Edward Teach; instead he has a worse fate in mind for Rogers. The worse fate turns out to be getting Eleanor's grandmother, Marion, to buy Rogers' debts, leaving Rogers in default. This leads to him being publicly shamed, shunned from polite society and ultimately imprisoned for his debts.

In real life, Rogers was actually imprisoned for debt, but was then released when his debtors took pity on him. He returned to Nassau, where he served much of his remaining time on Earth as Governor. He died at age 53.

Answer: A skull and crossbones

Towards the very end of the series, we see Jack Rackham talking to a stranger in a tavern in Nassau about his adventures. He ends the conversation saying that there should be no doubt: piracy is dead in Nassau. (He knows this because he was the one who engineered the terms with Marion Guthrie.) In the next scene, Jack boards his ship with the stranger, who he has taken on as part of his crew.

After Jack has introduced the newcomer to Anne Bonny, Jack and Anne move off to look at something on the next deck down. Jack takes a look, grunts that it will do, and then he and Anne move away.

The camera pans back to the lower deck and we see that a large flag has been unfurled. Depicted on it, is a skull and crossbones.

Answer: He is reunited with Thomas Hamilton

Ah, a nice happy ending! At the end of the series Captain Flint is reunited with his love, Thomas Hamilton.

Flint, up until this point, seems to relish being a part of fighting and war. However, we discover he is basically doing this because he essentially has nothing else to do, or look forward to. Long John Silver, who has in turn been a friend and enemy to Flint, wants peace and as such, has been busy putting his feelers out about Thomas Hamilton. He discovers Hamilton is still alive.

At the end of the series, we see Captain Flint, in handcuffs, enter a Savannah plantation. This plantation is apparently where the English aristocracy send any troublesome family members they may have, so their family name isn't tarnished. Although the occupants are incarcerated and have to work, they are still cared for. Flint, once he has paid a fee to the facility, is duly escorted to a field where men are toiling away in the midday sun. As Flint has his handcuffs removed, he sees Thomas and his face lights up. Thomas Hamilton looks around, sees Flint and then the two are moving towards each other. We leave the two kissing and holding onto each other for dear life.

We are also left thinking that Captain Flint, feared swashbuckling pirate of the West Indies, will perhaps disappear, and James McGraw will once again surface.

Answer: They were all real life pirates

All of the characters listed were, in fact, real life pirates. Having said that, there is a fair bit of creative license in the show. I thought though, that it might be interesting to have a short look at the real lives of these pirates:

Anne Bonny was one of the few real life female pirates. Not much is known about this Irish woman, except that she was in a relationship with Jack Rackham. Though she was sentenced to hang, she was pregnant with Rackham's child and so was given a stay of execution. Some sources say she was released from prison as a result of her father's influence, married Joseph Burleigh in 1721, had eight children and lived until she was about 80.

Benjamin Hornigold was born in England in the late 17th century. He did help to establish the Republic of Pirates in Nassau and Blackbeard was his second-in-command at one time. He later became a pirate hunter. He was killed in 1719 when his ship hit a reef near Spain.

'Calico' Jack Rackham, was, as mentioned, the love interest of Anne Bonny. An Englishman, he was born in 1682 and met Anne in New Providence in 1719. In 1720 he was caught by an English privateer and was subsequently tried and hung in November of the same year. Jack Rackham really did have a skull and crossbones flag which he designed. The crossbones of the flag are depicted by two crossed swords. (He was nicknamed 'Calico' because of his penchant for wearing Calico clothing.)

Charles Vane is thought to have been English and born around 1680. He was one of the leaders of the Republic of Pirates in Nassau. Charles was apparently very cruel, even for a pirate. He was actually responsible for some of the keelhauling incidents. He was marooned for a bit on an uncharted island after his ship was wrecked, but once he was located in 1721, he too was tried and hung.

Ned Low was born into extreme poverty in England in 1690. He was unspeakably cruel and was described as a man of 'grotesque brutality'. He once burnt a cook alive because he thought the cook was 'greasy and would fry well.' It is not known exactly what happened to Low, but he is thought to have been hanged in Martinique in 1724.

Edward Teach or Blackbeard was, of course, renowned as a pirate. Also English, he also was born around 1680. However unlike the others, Teach apparently spurned violence, preferring to just have the image of being fearsome. Unfortunately he met his end when he came up against Lieutenant Robert Maynard and a small crew of sailors in November 1721 at Ocracoke Island. After a ferocious fight, Teach and several of his crew were killed.