A major new exhibition, which has opened at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, and runs until 6 January 2026, traces the changing depictions of pirates throughout the ages and reveals the brutal history often obscured by fiction.

A General History of the Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson, published by J. Watts, 1725 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

While sometimes portrayed as tricksters or scoundrels in popular culture, pirates are often presented as swashbuckling adventurers associated with lush islands, flamboyant dress and buried treasure. Pirates will deconstruct these myths and illuminate the realities of pirate life, including those of the pirates Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach, William Kidd, Anne Bonny and Mary Read.                    
                                                                       
Although we traditionally think of pirates as operating in the Caribbean seas, historically pirate activity was much more far-reaching, taking different forms throughout the world. The exhibition will look at piracy across the globe including the South China Sea, Indian Ocean and Barbary pirates who operated off the coast of North Africa. 

Captain Pugwash 'dummy' book - ink and watercolour on paper with metal binding, by John Ryan, 1953–55 © Isabel Ryan / Estate of John Ryan

Covering theatre, film and fashion, the exhibition brings together material from early literature on piracy in the eighteenth century to 1980s fashion. The exhibition will show nearly 200 objects including loans from the National Archives, V&A and BFI.

The National Maritime Museum holds the world’s largest maritime collection. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich which also incorporates the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the 17th-century Queen’s House and clipper ship Cutty Sark. This unique collection of museums and heritage buildings, which form a key part of the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site, welcomes visitors from around the world every year and is a major centre of education and research.

Original costume for Will Turner from The Curse of the Black Pearl, cotton, leather, wool and other materials, designed by Penny Rose, about 2002 © Penny Rose / CosProp

The first section of the exhibition ‘The Pirate Image’ will explore why pirates generate such fascination in popular culture. Whether as comical characters, like Captain Pugwash, villains like Captain Hook and Long John Silver, or anti-heroes like Captain Jack Sparrow, pirates have captured the imagination for generations. 

From television to theatre, pirates are portrayed as bearded outlaws dressed in seventeenth-century fashion and sporting a tricorn hat. Much of this comes from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, the novel that popularised myths such as walking the plank, pet parrots and hiding treasure.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, published by Cassell, London, 1886 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

The exhibition will show how these tropes have been incorporated into a range of characters. A highlight loan will be a selection of original illustrations from the comedy animation Captain Pugwash. The artist and writer John Ryan (1921–2009) created the character of Captain Horatio Pugwash. He first appeared in cartoon-strips in the UK before being featured in a television series using hand-animated figures. These simple but highly distinctive pirates continued to be popular off screen with more than twenty Pugwash books published.

Textile loans include the costume worn by Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and a Vivienne Westwood ensemble from the 1981 ‘Pirate’ collection. Westwood’s designs, created with Malcom McLaren, were immediately impactful coinciding with the New Romantic movement popular in the early 1980s. 

Davy Jones’s Locker, oil on canvas, by William Lionel Wyllie, 1890 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. Purchased with the assistance of the Society for Nautical Research Macpherson Collection Endowment Fund

Moving beyond fiction, ‘Real Pirates’ will delve into tales of specific pirates focusing on the so-called ‘golden age’ of piracy from the 1680s to the 1720s. A key text informing this period was A General History of the Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson which narrates the lives of famous piratical figures. First published in 1724, it was an instant hit.

The exhibition will show how various editions of Johnson’s work fed into and responded to popular ideas of pirates across Europe, tracking how illustrations of pirates became more elaborate and theatrical to appeal to the public. Though flawed, this book has remained an important historical source. 

Hanging seized from one of Chinese pirate Shap Ng-tsai’s junks. Painted cotton, made in China, before 1849 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

In ‘Global Pirates’, highlight objects include a hanging captured from a junk in the fleet of the Chinese pirate Shap Ng-tsai, who was active in the mid-nineteenth century. Originally thought to be a flag, it is now believed to have been used in a shrine on board the ship dedicated to T'ien Hou, regarded as a calmer of storms and protectoress of marine commerce, fishermen and sailors.

Exploring Barbary piracy, the exhibition will focus on 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.

The Bombardment of Algiers, 27 August 1816, oil on canvas, by George Chambers, 1836 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. Greenwich Hospital Collection

Janet Redler, Managing Director of Janet Redler Travel, said: “This incredible new exhibition will look at pirates throughout history – from the bloodthirsty villains of reality to the tongue-in-cheek outlaws of popular culture. There is sure to be something for all the family to discover and enjoy at this eye-opening National Maritime Museum exhibition.”

If you or your group would like to visit Pirates on a tailor-made tour of Greenwich or London in 2025, please do contact our swashbuckling team today!