The Deadly Jolly Roger Tattoo
A world-wide recognized symbol for pirates, the Jolly Roger is a great tattoo for anyone who likes to give off a hint of danger and the unexpected, and has been embraced by many a sailor over the years.
The flag originally started with the French who displayed a red flag or “jolie rouge” when they intended to take no prisoners (ie: kill everyone on board).
Later the flag was adopted by the British Americans who changed it to a skull and cross bones.
While we all think that pirates must have invented the symbol the fact was that often private ships were hired out to do business (or plunder) and at that time most ships hired would fly under their employer’s flag.
Eventually these privateers realized that they could make a much better earning by plundering other ships themselves, instead of handing over the spoils to the British. The Jolly Roger still makes us think of danger, which is of course why it is clearly displayed on bottles of poison!
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