'Black Sails' the Series (Part One) Quiz

Answer: Pirate Adventure

'Black Sails' is a pirate adventure series. It is, in fact, the prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's novel 'Treasure Island.'

The show, which is set in 1715, revolves around a certain Captain Flint who is played by Toby Stephens (you might remember him as the villain in 'Die Another Day'). In the series, Captain Flint enjoys the reputation of being a brilliant and very feared Golden Age pirate. Supporting actors include Hannah New as Eleanor Guthrie, Zach McGowan as Charles Vane, Tom Hopper as Billy Bones and Luke Arnold as Long John Silver.

To be honest, I thought this show would mainly appeal to men when I saw the trailer, however I ended up absolutely loving it, and have watched it twice. There are many swashbuckling adventures in the show, a lot of alliance changes and betrayals, quite a lot of violent deaths, some funny parts, and several love stories... basically something for everyone.

Answer: Nassau

The pivotal location of 'Black Sails' is Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. In the series, Nassau is a bustling town with an impressive fort, beautiful beaches, a brothel, and Eleanor Guthrie's home and business empire. It is also home to our pirates, Charles Vane, Captain Flint, John Silver, Billy Bones, Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny... and they are all prepared to fight very hard to keep it.

It is no surprise that Nassau was chosen as the backdrop to the series since Nassau was historically at the heart of the the Golden Age of Piracy, which lasted from 1690 to 1720. The people who governed it were known as the Republic of Pirates.

For those interested, the series was actually shot at Cape Town Film Studios in Cape Town, South Africa, with the help of a local production company called Film Afrika.

Answer: Spain

The galleon of gold belongs to the Spanish. The hunt for the Urca de Lima starts when John Silver (who, if you remember, was captured in the first episode and only survives by saying he is the cook, which he most certainly is not) finally divulges the schedule for the Spanish galleon to Captain Flint. Flint and crew - including Silver - then set off to find the galleon, but getting the gold isn't as easy as they think.

It takes many episodes for our pirates to finally get their hands on the gold, which they eventually place in the fort in Nassau for safekeeping. Naturally the Spanish aren't happy about this state of affairs and set things in motion to get their gold back.

Answer: Captain Flint

In one of the biggest reveals of the series, we find it is James McGraw, who later becomes Captain Flint, who has an illicit relationship with Thomas Hamilton.

McGraw started life as a naval officer in London. A rising star in the Admiralty, McGraw is sent to meet Lord Thomas Hamilton, who is the son of the former Lord Proprietor of the Bahamas, Alfred Hamilton. McGraw and Thomas Hamilton work closely together to try and reform Nassau, which is now teeming with pirates thanks to a governor who was more than happy to accept bribes from the swashbuckling corsairs.

McGraw and Thomas' wife, Lady Miranda Hamilton, end up having something of an affair, however we eventually discover that it is not Miranda that McGraw is in love with, but rather her husband, Thomas Hamilton. Thomas' father, Alfred, when he finds out about this state of affairs, has a bit of a conniption and has McGraw thrown out of the navy, while he has his son, Thomas, sent to a mental asylum.

After the scandal, Miranda Hamilton and James McGraw move from London to Nassau, where she becomes known as Mrs. Barlow, and he becomes the increasingly dangerous and notorious Captain Flint.

Answer: He is hanged in Nassau

Vane (who incidentally employs a very enjoyable practice of walking around without a shirt on) unfortunately doesn't live happily ever after, rather he is hanged in Nassau's town square. Vane, who is a protege of Edward Teach, has a lot of high of adventures in 'Black Sails' including taking control of Captain Hornigold's fort in Nassau, which also gives him considerable control over the whole of Nassau.

Vane though, who has always loved Eleanor, isn't a fan of English rule, and so when Eleanor's father, Richard Guthrie, tries to return Nassau to English rule, Vane kills him. He leaves Richard's crucified corpse in the fortress with a note explaining that Richard Guthrie was a traitor, and that he therefore deserved a traitor's death. This, as expected, doesn't go down well with Eleanor and she makes it her life's work to get revenge on Vane.

At this point, Britain has control of Nassau, and it is during this period that Vane unfortunately gets captured while trying to secure a cache of gems from the British. He is supposed to be sent to England for trial, however Eleanor gets wind of this and instead fast-tracks his conviction so that he can be hanged the very next morning in Nassau.

Vane's pirate friends are forced to put together a very hasty escape plan overnight. However, seconds before Vane is to be executed, when the escape plan committee look at Vane for approval across the crowded square, Vane shakes his head slightly, indicating he doesn't want to be saved (much to my personal anguish). His fellow pirates are saddened but they also understand: with Charles Vane's death, a rebellion against British rule in Nassau is assured.

Answer: A shark they have speared

They do indeed eat a shark. The reason why the crew get becalmed in the first place is because earlier on, Captain Flint and crew are at sea when they are approached by Captain Hornigold on another ship. He yells out to them that if they surrender, they will all get pardons from the British Government. If they don't however, his ship, which has more guns than theirs, will blow them to bits. Flint doesn't like either option much, and so goes for option three - sail into an horrendous storm. Most of the crew survive this, but then the wind drops entirely and the ship is completely becalmed.

Just when people are dying of starvation, a very weak Captain Flint and John Silver spot the hulk of a dead or dying whale off in the sea. They take a small boat to investigate whether it is edible or not. It isn't, as it is rotting and smells putrid, however several sharks are circling the carcass. Flint uses a spear to kill a shark and then the pair somehow manoeuvre the shark onto their very small boat. Back onboard the Walrus, they eat the shark raw, thus getting some nutrients into their weakened bodies and those of the crew. In true Hollywood fashion, just as they are eating, they notice the wind has picked up and they can finally resume sailing.

Answer: Keelhauling

This practice is called keelhauling. The first mention of keelhauling was c. 700 BCE by the Greeks, who had it in their Rhodian Maritime Code as a punishment for piracy. Though not common, keelhauling was practised by some of the world's navies and some pirates. Not always meant as a death sentence, so many things could happen, it often was. The subject could drown, get eaten by a shark, they could get concussion on the way up or down, or they could simply die from infection as a result of the lacerations caused by the barnacles.

In the show, Edward Teach (better known as Blackbeard) finally meets his match on 'Black Sails' when he is outfoxed by the new Governor of Nassau, Woodes Rogers, when they are both trying to win a ship. Even though Rogers has set a trap, fierce fighting occurs on the deck of the ship, the climax of which sees Rogers and Teach having a duel. Surprisingly Rogers wins, putting Teach at his mercy.

Unfortunately, Rogers has a history with Teach and, as such, isn't inclined to show him any mercy whatsoever. In front of hundreds of his crew and prisoners, he has Teach strung up and then dropped into the water, dragged under the keel of the ship and then back up the other side. When Teach looks like a remnant from a horror movie, but still shows signs of life after three keelhauls, Rogers gets frustrated and simply shoots Teach dead.

Answer: A pig

John Silver is not a cook at all, but since he has professed to be the cook, he goes about trying to roast a pig. Some of the crew, after eating the pig, start experiencing diarrhoea-like symptoms. As one of the crew members is admonishing Silver for making the crew sick, Captain Flint arrives. Flint asks what's going on, listens as the crew member gripes, then takes a piece of the cooked pig off a platter. After a few chews, Flint declares it 'delicious' and that it wouldn't be the pig making the crew sick. He adds that he's heard of some bug going around and that this would, no doubt, be the culprit.

As the crew member moves out of sight and hearing, Silver looks smug and begins to say that at least someone likes what he cooks. At this point, Flint spits the pig out, says it is absolutely disgusting and asks what on earth Silver did to it. Silver replies that he cooked it, to which Flint replies 'you absolutely did not!' Flint then instructs Silver to go and get another pig ... and then to follow his cooking instructions very, very carefully.

Answer: His prosthetic leg

Long John Silver uses his prosthetic leg. It comes about when, in episode XXV, Long John Silver decides to make an appearance at a tavern in Nassau to proclaim that Captain Flint is still alive. The tavern is filled with people, many of whom have deserted the cause of the pirates. One of these is a central character, Dufresne, who was once the accountant, then the quartermaster, on the Walrus. He is now, however, on the side of the British.

Silver tells the assembled group that they can return to Flint's good graces by rejoining him in the fight against the British. Dufresne steps forward and starts taunting Silver, saying the men are not afraid of Flint and that nobody can take Silver seriously. He goes on to say that Flint must be awfully desperate if he is sending a mere handful of men with his message, and worse, the handful are led by half a man. It is at this point that Silver grabs a tankard and smashes it into Dufresne's head. Dufresne falls to the ground with the impact and while he is there, Silver essentially stomps Dufresne to death by smashing his prosthetic leg repeatedly into Dufresne's skull.

Answer: 'I angered Charles Vane'

It is Charles Vane who kills Low and leaves the sign, although I think it is fair to say any number of people would have been happy to do it - Ned Low being the kind of pirate who gives pirates a bad name. He is sadistic, ruthless, brutal, and all-round scary. When we first meet Low, he has taken a ship called the Good Fortune and essentially massacred everyone on board, despite them having surrendered peacefully. While on the Good Fortune, Low finds Abigail Ashe, the daughter of a British nobleman. She is the only one he spares - but only so he can take her as a hostage, so he can ransom her later.

Low is betrayed by his quartermaster, Meeks, who seeks help from Eleanor to depose Low. Low finds this out and goes to the tavern where he first tortures Meeks and then, in the view of Eleanor, Charles Vane and a tavern full of people, decapitates Meeks.

Clearly Low has to be stopped and Charles Vane takes it upon himself to make this happen. He does this by engineering a dinner with Low on Low's ship, the Fancy, while it lies at anchor. Vane chats away about a partnership deal between Low and himself. While they are discussing what the terms of the deal would look like, Vane's crew sneak onto the Fancy and kill all of Low's men.

Low is meanwhile still in his cabin with Vane. Low asks what he gets in return, in the deal. Vane replies 'a head start,' which stops Low in his tracks. Next, Low - rather desperately - calls for his right-hand man, Mr. Holmes, but Vane replies, 'Mr. Holmes doesn't work here anymore.' Low then lunges at Vane and a fight ensues. Vane wins the day, kills Low and sticks his head on the beach with the sign, 'I angered Charles Vane.'