They uncovered a portrait dated 1680 of a wealthy, stern-looking man with long dark hair, a leather jerkin, and a cutlass at his hip. The name on the frame?
The short answer is sort of . The long answer involves a fascinating collision of history, a very famous painting, and one of the most successful fictional name-steals in movie history. Let’s get the biggest misconception out of the way first. If you search 17th-century pirate rolls for a Captain William Turner, you won’t find him. There was no infamous buccaneer with that name terrorizing Port Royal.
Sarah J. | June 10, 2024 | Categories: History vs. Hollywood, Maritime Lore
But here’s the twist: The man in the painting was later identified as —the real-life, infamous Scottish pirate who was hanged for piracy in 1701.
So why does his name feel so pirate-y? Because in the late 17th century, the line between a “privateer” (a legal pirate with government permission) and a “pirate” (an outlaw) was incredibly blurry. While Turner likely saw himself as a patriot, his enemies—the French and Spanish—would have called him a pirate without hesitation. Here is where the history gets truly interesting. In 2006, while researching for a documentary, maritime historians found a striking clue in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.
However, there a notable William Turner who lived in the maritime world of the 1600s—but he was on the opposite side of the law.
They uncovered a portrait dated 1680 of a wealthy, stern-looking man with long dark hair, a leather jerkin, and a cutlass at his hip. The name on the frame?
The short answer is sort of . The long answer involves a fascinating collision of history, a very famous painting, and one of the most successful fictional name-steals in movie history. Let’s get the biggest misconception out of the way first. If you search 17th-century pirate rolls for a Captain William Turner, you won’t find him. There was no infamous buccaneer with that name terrorizing Port Royal. william turner pirate
Sarah J. | June 10, 2024 | Categories: History vs. Hollywood, Maritime Lore They uncovered a portrait dated 1680 of a
But here’s the twist: The man in the painting was later identified as —the real-life, infamous Scottish pirate who was hanged for piracy in 1701. The long answer involves a fascinating collision of
So why does his name feel so pirate-y? Because in the late 17th century, the line between a “privateer” (a legal pirate with government permission) and a “pirate” (an outlaw) was incredibly blurry. While Turner likely saw himself as a patriot, his enemies—the French and Spanish—would have called him a pirate without hesitation. Here is where the history gets truly interesting. In 2006, while researching for a documentary, maritime historians found a striking clue in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.
However, there a notable William Turner who lived in the maritime world of the 1600s—but he was on the opposite side of the law.
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