Heroic rascals or violent criminals? Discover the truth behind pirate life in a major exhibition at the National Maritime Museum. Pirates traces the changing depictions of pirates through the ages and reveals the brutal reality behind the fiction. The exhibition explores the perception of piracy in popular culture – from comical characters like Captain Pugwash and Captain Hook to anti-heroes like Long John Silver and Captain Jack Sparrow – and examines why the idea of a pirate’s life still fascinates us today. While often portrayed as swashbuckling scoundrels, the real history of pirates is far more complex. Pirates follows the global history of piracy from the South China Sea to the coast of North Africa and explores the issues of modern piracy facing seafarers today. The exhibition illuminates real-life figures, including Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach, William Kidd, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, and reflects on how perceptions of pirates, both past and present, are shifting. Image credit © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.