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Lisa Lim

Pirates, ahoy! You may be visualising RL Stevenson’s Treasure Island, legendary figures like Blackbeard, fictional pirates like Peter Pan’s Captain Hook or The Pirates of the Caribbean’s Captain Jack Sparrow – and, of course, the familiar and much-feared flag featuring a white skull and crossbones on a black background, known as the Jolly Roger.
Flags, comprising a piece of fabric, usually oblong, with particular colours or designs, are well recognised as symbols for sovereign states, organisations, armed forces, offices and individuals.
A paragon of such meaning-making is the pirate flag – designed to identify its owner as a pirate, inspire fear and intimidate enemies to surrender. A black flag raised would signify that, if the target surrendered cargo and valuables, they would be given quarter – that is, guaranteed mercy. A red flag, used when the black flag was not acquiesced to, indicated that force would be used and no quarter given.
Such messages were delivered at a timely, tactical moment: false flags flown were replaced only when targets were in firing range – they would thus have no chance of escape, and the crew would choose to surrender rather than face likely bloodshed.

The origins of the Jolly Roger’s design are not verified, though its roots may lie in the flag of the Barbary pirates – Muslim pirates operating from the coast of North Africa, at their zenith during the 17th century – who added a skull to their green flag from the 16th century on.
At the same time, the skull and crossbones had, since the Middle Ages and early Christian tradition, signified death and was used by captains as shorthand in ships’ logs to note sailors who had died. The first flag with both skull and crossbones was, according to historians, flown by 18th-century French pirate Emanuel Wynn, whose realm spanned the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
The human skull motif on a black field soon became the key element of most pirate flags, most notably used during the early 18th century, the latter half of the Golden Age of Piracy. Variations included skeletons, cutlasses, hourglasses, hearts, blood and teardrops.
The origin of the moniker, the Jolly Roger, is also not established. A widely touted account is that it derives from joli rouge, meaning “pretty red” in French, but no such phrase has been attested. A more plausible explanation lies in “Roger” or “Old Roger” being English cant for the devil or death.

Recently, across Asia, the Jolly Roger has again been widely unfurled.
In response to Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s call to “raise the red and white flag wherever you are” for the country’s 80th Independence Day on August 17, Jolly Roger flags were hoisted – only that skull bore a wide cartoonish grin and a straw hat.
This is the Jolly Roger of One Piece, a Japanese anime based on a manga series by Eiichiro Oda published since 1997, and which has a 2023 live-action Netflix series. It is one of the longest-running and most popular franchises worldwide, especially in Southeast Asia.
Its band of young protagonists, the Straw Hat Pirates, named for their leader Monkey D. Luffy’s headgear, seek the legendary One Piece treasure, fly their banner against corrupt, tyrannical authorities and fight for the liberation of the oppressed.

Initially displayed by Indonesian truckers, who typically attach the national flag to their vehicles, it was adopted in symbolic resistance not only by students, but also across age groups and social classes, expressing discontent with economic policies, corruption and democratic decline.
Similarly, in Nepal this week – as well as the Philippines and France – the Straw Hat Pirates’ Jolly Roger, embodying the spirit of rebellion and pursuit of freedom, was waved by the mostly Gen Z demonstrators protesting government censorship, corruption and inequality.
Once a symbol of intimidation, the Jolly Roger is reimagined through popular culture and global digital citizenship, imbued with new meaning in contemporary political participation, a symbol of social justice, freedom, friendship and the pursuit of dreams.


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War and conflict

How the Jolly Roger evolved from feared pirate flag to One Piece social justice symbol

An activist holds a poster as a flag from the Japanese anime One Piece is displayed during a rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 3, 2025. Photo: AP

The skull and crossbones has, since the Middle Ages and early Christian tradition, signified death. Photo: Shutterstock

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in a still from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Photo: Disney Enterprises and Jerry Bruckheimer

A still from the Netflix series One Piece. Photo: Netflix

Wplace takes the internet by storm as millions of users ‘paint the world’ together

The landing page of Wplace, an online collaborative digital canvas that has already drawn more than 10 million users since launching in July. Photo: Wplace

A page of user-created pixelated art on Wplace. Photo: Wplace

Love One Piece? Inside the new viral US cafe based on hit Japanese anime

People queue for lunch at One Piece Cafe in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles on July 18, 2025, during the cafe’s soft opening. Photo: TNS

The cafe opened during July’s Los Angeles Anime Convention. Photo: TNS

Customers enjoy the themed snacks at One Piece Cafe. Photo: TNS

People queue to get in One Piece Cafe. Photo: TNS

How Yu Yu Hakusho and One Piece show Netflix is overcoming past mistakes with live-action manga adaptations such as Cowboy Bebop – and striking gold

Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the popular manga “Yu Yu Hakusho” (pictured) was the streamer’s most-watched non-English-language show for the week of December 18 to 24, 2023. One Piece was similarly successful, garnering 18.5 million views in its first week. Photo: Netflix

A still “Yu Yu Hakusho”. Photo: Netflix

A still from “Alice in Borderland” Season 2. Photo: Netflix

A still from “One Piece”. Photo: Casey Crafford/Netflix

A still from “One Piece”. Photo: Netflix

A still from “Yu Yu Hakusho”. Photo: Netflix

A still from “Alice in Borderland” Season 2. Photo: Kumiko Tsuchiya

When a Hong Kong-based submarine hunting pirates fired on a ferry carrying 200 and it sank

The Royal Navy’s HMS L9 submarine, sent to Hong Kong to fight piracy.

The HMS L9, which sank to the bottom of Victoria Harbour in 1923 when a typhoon hit Hong Kong, was one of several submarines Britain’s Royal Navy sent to Hong Kong after World War I to tackle South China’s pirate infestation.

The HMS L9 was one of several submarines Britain’s Royal Navy sent to Hong Kong after World War I to tackle South China’s pirate infestation.

A section of the Pearl River, in southern China, around the turn of the 20th century. Pirates in the region around this time would elude patrols by hiding in the innumerable inlets and creeks. Photo: Getty Images

L-class submarines at Gosport, England, in 1933.

Officers and crew stand on the deck of Royal Navy C-class submarines as they prepare for a voyage to Hong Kong. Photo: Getty Images

A drawing of the HMS Ambrose, the British Royal Navy depot ship that accompanied L-class submarines on their voyage from Britain to Hong Kong which ended in early 1920.

A painting of the Asia-bound L-class submarines by Scottish watercolourist John Duncan Fergusson. Photo: Perth & Kinross Council

A sketch by Fergusson of Royal Navy submarines HMS L5 and HMS L6.

A cutting from American newspaper the Boston Evening Transcript, on Wednesday November 16, 1910, reports submarines are to be permanently stationed in Hong Kong by British authorities.

The partially submerged L9 in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, in August, 1923.

A painting of the HMS L4 submarine by English artist William Lionel Wyllie.

A cutting from West African newspaper the Monrovia Daily’s Friday, October 21,1927 edition reports British submarines’ sinking of the Chinese steamer SS Irene after it had been seized by pirates.

The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Stormcloud, which rescued passengers and crew from the stricken SS Irene.

Lifestyle

Once the herald of Blackbeards and Jack Sparrows, the Jolly Roger is now being used by protesters as a symbol of justice and freedom


Once the herald of Blackbeards and Jack Sparrows, the Jolly Roger is now being used by protesters as a symbol of justice and freedom.


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History

How the Jolly Roger evolved from feared pirate flag to One Piece social justice symbol

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Once the herald of Blackbeards and Jack Sparrows, the Jolly Roger is now being used by protesters as a symbol of justice and freedom

Once the herald of Blackbeards and Jack Sparrows, the Jolly Roger is now being used by protesters as a symbol of justice and freedom