A new exhibition digs into the rich history (and myths) of pirates.
Their widespread depiction as swashbuckling adventurers in search of buried booty is challenged in Pirates at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, which reveals the lesser-known, and altogether brutal, history of the trade.
Stories of real-life pirates including Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach, William Kidd, Anne Bonny and Mary Read are touched on, as well as pirates from theatre, film and books. Feast your eyes on almost 200 objects relating to piracy, with loans from the National Archives, V&A and BFI — including a costume worn by Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Find out why we're so obsessed with pirates, through comical characters like Captain Pugwash, villains like Captain Hook and Long John Silver and anti-heroes like Captain Jack Sparrow — all extensions of tropes originating from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (a book which also popularised myths such as walking the plank, pet parrots and hiding treasure).
A 'Real Pirates' section points a telescope towards the so-called 'golden age' of piracy from the 1680s to the 1720s, and delves into piracy around the world — not just in the Caribbean, as it often portrayed. You'll learn about events including the Bombardment of Algiers 1816, when a combined British Dutch force attacked Algiers in an attempt to resolve the longstanding issue of piracy on the North coast of Africa.
This exhibition promises cultural treasure aplenty.
Pirates is at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, 29 March 2025-4 January 2026. Tickets are available now. Recommended for ages 10+.
