Rogue History

Songs like “A Pirate’s Life for Me” and “Dead Man’s Chest” are as prevalent in pirate lore as eye patches or treasure maps. These tunes, however, were written more than a hundred years after the golden age of piracy. Join us as we trace the roots of TikTok’s viral sea shanties and examine the types of music pirates likely heard on the open seas.

Why is the woman pirate Zheng Yi Sao not as well known as the male pirate Blackbeard? Zheng Yi Sao had a fleet of 1,200 ships at the height of her powers whereas Blackbeard had just four or five. Join us as we explore the incredible and unsung stories of history’s most notorious women pirates.

You may have heard of the larger-than-life “Black Caesar” who plundered alongside Blackbeard. But as it turns out, there were dozens of pirates of African descent referred to as “Black Caesar.” In this episode of Rogue History, we will unearth the stories of some lesser-known Black Caesars and examine how certain forces shape the stories we remember today.

Stories of pirates are hugely popular but what do we really know about the history of piracy? Let’s explore common assumptions about pirates and figure out which ones are true and which are myths.