One of the most common questions people ask has to do with the styles of tattoos pirates
had. Next to peg legs, earrings, and eye patches the image of a pirate with anchors, dragons,
or ships tattooed on their arms is iconic. But did pirates actually get tattoos and,
if so, what would they have been like?
Tattoos have been around for a long time. I mean like a ‘3250 BC mummy found in the
Alps’ long time. Many of the world’s ancient cultures practiced tattooing for various reasons.
For example, the ancient Greeks and Romans used tattoos to mark criminals and slaves
as well as prisoners of war. The Greek and Latin word “stigma” comes from the name
for this. The Romans also tattooed soldiers and did so into the 9th century A.D.
During the Crusades Christians traveling to the holy land got tattooed with a symbol called
the Jerusalem Cross, sort of like a souvenir. In fact, the oldest existing tattoo shop,
which dates back to 1300 A.D., is located in Jerusalem. These tattoos were used as symbols
of devotion and originated with the Coptic Christians who required a tattoo as proof
of a person’s faith to enter a church.
So what does all this have to do with pirates? Well, the general consensus is that tattoos
were discovered by James Cook’s 1769 expedition to the South Pacific. Cook wrote:
"Both sexes paint their Bodys, Tattow, as it is called in their Language. This is
done by inlaying the Colour of Black under their skins, in such a manner as to be indelible.
This method of Tattowing I shall now describe...As this is a painful operation, especially the
Tattowing of their Buttocks, it is performed but once in their Lifetimes.”
While it is true that Cook did record the Tahitians tattooing themselves and introduced
the name to English that doesn’t mean that people had never heard of the practice before
this. 79 years earlier, in 1690, the English explorer William Dampier wrote about a slave
from the Philippines named Jeoly: "He was painted all down the Breast, between his
Shoulders behind; on his Thighs (mostly) before; and the Form of several broad Rings, or Bracelets
around his Arms and Legs. I cannot liken the Drawings to any Figure of Animals, or the
like; but they were very curious, full of great variety of Lines, Flourishes, Chequered-Work,
& keeping a very graceful Proportion… I understood that the Painting was done in the
same manner, as the Jerusalem Cross is made in Mens Arms, by pricking the Skin, and rubbing
in a Pigment.”
This tells us several things: First, people, and especially sailors, HAD seen heavily tattooed
people before Cook’s expeditions. This shouldn’t be shocking because various native Americans
that had been in contact with Europeans had been tattooed, and Dampier even mentioned
the Jerusalem Cross pilgrim tattoo, confirming it was at least fairly well known.
it also explains the process how Europeans were tattooed. This wasn’t scarification
or something like that, rather the same method that is used across the world. This, combined
with the fact that tattoos were usually reserved for people in the lower social classes, leads
me to believe that sailors probably were tattooed long before Cook’s expedition, at least
some of them anyway.
A June 1738 newspaper notice from Augustine Washington, the father of George Washington,
mentioned how he was searching for 4 run away indentured servants. The notice read as follows:
RAN away from Capt. McCarty’s Plantation, on Pope’s Creek, in Westmoreland County,
a Servant Man belonging to me the Subscriber, in Prince William County; his Christian Name
is John, but Sirname [sic] forgot, is pretty tall, a Bricklayer by Trade, and is a Kentishman;
he came to Patowmack, in the Forward, Capt. Major, last Year; is suppos’d to have the Figure
of our Saviour mark’d with Gunpowder on one of his Arms. He went away about the 20th
of April last, in Company with three other Servants… First, sailor Richard Martin was
“a middle siz’d Man, fresh colour’d, and 22 Years of Age.” Next, tailor Edward
Ormsby was “a small thin Fellow, of a swarthy Complexion . . . has a Hesitation or Stammering
in his Speech, and being an Irishman, has a good deal of the Brogue.” Finally, carpenter
Richard Kibble was “a middle siz’d young Fellow, has several Marks made with Gunpowder
on his Arms, but particularly one on his Breast, being the Figures of a Woman and a Cherry
Tree.” Yet again, this tells us that people were
definitely tattooed before Cook’s expedition. It also gives us a description of the method
of tattooing as well as the types of tattoos these people had. The golden age of piracy
had officially been over for 8 years but it would be silly to think that the practice
had just caught on. While we can’t definitively state that pirates would have had tattoos
- they would have known them as gunpowder spots - these documents show it’s HIGHLY
likely that at least some of them did. So what exactly was a "gunpowder spot”?
Well, in the simplest sense, it was stick and poke tattoo. First, the tattoo artist
would sketch out the design, probably using a mixture of charcoal and water. Then, using
a needle or a piece of sharpened bone, he would have tapped over the design to break
the skin before rubbing gunpowder in to color it.
While Cook’s expedition may have brought back the word “tattoo” it’s clear that
sailors had been getting inked —well technically “powdered”— for a long time. I came
across an archived copy of the March 17, 1720 issue of the American Weekly Mercury, the
first newspaper in Philadelphia. In it there is another advertisement for an escaped indentured
servant named Samuel Penbook. The advertisement explains that Penbook, who
used to be a sailor, was 21 years old and had on one hand his initials, S.P. in blue
letters and on the other had blue spots, which could have been the result of a premature
gunpowder ignition. The author goes on to describe how Samuel had a likeness of Jesus
on the cross on one arm and Adam and Eve on the other arm, and explains that they were
all done in gunpowder. Sadly, I was unable to find more information
about Samuel Penbook, but it’s still really interesting to see that a 21 year old sailor
in 1720 —still within the golden age of piracy— had 3 different tattoos. While this
doesn’t prove that pirates had tattoos it would now be silly to think otherwise.
So, what would have been some common tattoos? Well, we can look at the Philadelphia Seamen’s
Protection Certificate applications from the U.S. national archives, which were made between
1796 and 1818. Obviously these descriptions came long after the golden age had ended but
there are still some similarities here, like initials for example.
Mainly, the designs consist of hearts, initials, and anchors and it makes sense to assume that
these designs had been common for many years before the sailors got tattooed. It’s very
likely that sailors had been getting tattooed in the golden age of piracy, and of course
some of those sailors went on to become pirates. It’s likely these pirates would have had
tattoos similar to these as well as the style that Samuel Penbook had, but I’d bet against
them being tattooed with a skull and crossbones. I hope you enjoyed this episode! Several weeks
back I reached 10,000 subscribers and I just want to thank you all for helping this channel
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