eli5 what was the point of the skull and bones pirate flag? why would you give away that you are a pirate?

Question

eli5 what was the point of the skull and bones pirate flag? why would you give away that you are a pirate?

In: 10371

Answer 1

An important note is that not all pirates flew the classic skull and crossbones flag. Many notorious pirates had their very own flag designs and it was a calling card of sorts.

For example, the flag of the infamous Edward Teach AKA Blackbeard was a horned skeleton piercing a heart with a spear.

Some pirates had red flags too. If you look up pirate flag designs it is really quite interesting.