The myriad characters from STARZ's Black Sails.

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Crew of The Walrus

Flint

Captain James Flint

"I'm through seeking anything from England except her departure from my island."

"I'm not just gonna make you rich. I'm not just gonna make you strong. I'm gonna make you the princes of the New World!"

Captain James Flint, real name James McGraw, is the Captain of the pirate ship Walrus, and known throughout the West Indies as the most feared of all the Golden Age pirates. His charisma masks a deep, simmering rage, and a propensity towards breathtaking violence. In order to hold off the British and Spanish forces he’ll make himself ruler of Nassau through any means necessary.

Actually Pretty Funny:
- His reaction to the Maroons' trusting Silver over everyone not to betray them for money.
- He can't help but chuckle when he realizes Silver's ridiculous daily updates are actually working as intended. He manages to simultaneously get the crew to like him and remind them how much they hate each other. It arguably saves both Silver's and Flint's lives.
A Father to His Men: Very much averted. Flint is repeatedly shown taking risks that he knows full well will likely result in the deaths of members of his crew in the furtherance of his own personal goals, to say nothing of the multiple occasions where he makes plans wherein those deaths are a key part of his strategy. And when a member of his crew stands directly between him and his goals, well...
Ambiguously Bi: Flint's orientation is hard to pinpoint. He is shown having sex with both Thomas and Miranda as Miranda was fine with Flint being involved with her own husband if Flint satisfied her strong sexual appetite. They continue to have sex with each other even after Thomas dies but Flint does not seem to enjoy it. He was also angry with Miranda at the time and they aren’t shown in any other sexual encounters after it.
Anti-Hero: Flint is a ruthless pirate with a tragic past, noble goals, and general civility.
Apologetic Attacker: Sobs out an apology after murdering Mr. Gates with his bare hands. Doesn't stop him from doing it though.
Arch-Enemy: As far as he's concerned, the whole of England. Charles Vane in Seasons 1 and 2.
Back-to-Back Badasses: With Vane, of all people, in the Season 2 finale.
Badass Longcoat: His default outfit.
Batman Gambit: In episode "X", he advises Dufresne to avoid the shipping lanes on their way back to Nassau, as he knows the crew will want to take any prize they come across despite their depleted numbers and fatigue from a long ordeal at sea. Dufresne, distrustful of Flint, does the exact opposite. Flint was counting on this, and that Dufresne's inexperience would result in failure, giving Flint the opportunity to retake command. It works.
Beard of Evil: In line with him being a Villain Protagonist.
Blood Knight: Miranda accused him of this.
But Not Too Gay: He had relationships with Miranda and Thomas, but despite his love for Thomas being claimed as the driving force behind the series — his relationships with Miranda gets much more on-screen focus as she haunts his consciousness (whereas Thomas is hardly mentioned). Flint has on-screen sex with Miranda (even if he doesn't seem to enjoy it) and kisses her in full-view to the camera. He is never shown engaging in sex with Thomas and their kiss is shadowed by the darkness. The entire series runs on this; with lesbian and straight sex scenes being common, and women constantly nude, but male nudity being rare and gay male sex scenes completely non-existent.
Byronic Hero: Shares many characteristics, though he predates the real Lord Byron by 150 years or so. Like many Byronic heroes, he comes from a troubled background, is handsome, talented, skilled, and respected by his peers, but also struggles with deep inner conflict that leaves him perenially unhappy.
The Captain: Of the Walrus, and the quintessential pirate example.
Combat Pragmatist: When it comes to fighting with swords, he's not above cheating. Of course, pirates aren't exactly known for rules.
Dark and Troubled Past: Kicked out of the Navy, exiled from England, and lost the two people he loved most.
Despair Event Horizon: After Miranda's death.
The Dreaded: Infamous as the most dreadful pirate in the New World.
Earn Your Happy Ending: Ends up reunited with Thomas Hamilton....or he's murdered by Silver. It depends how much of Silver's tale you believe. But considering that the flashbacks match, Treasure Island can't happen unless Flint lives, and the Odysseus references in the show only make sense if Flint lives, all the evidence points to the fact that he does.
Face Death with Dignity: What he was doing while on trial and awaiting execution. Then Vane comes in, cue Back-to-Back Badasses.
Gentleman and a Scholar: During his days in the Royal Navy. Part of what attracted him to Thomas and Miranda Hamilton.
Hair-Trigger Temper: He can go from being rather polite to pulling a gun on you within two seconds.
Foregone Conclusion: Subverted Trope. He was a Posthumous Character in Treasure Island. However, in Treasure Island, he died only a few years before the book, and given how the series is set twenty years before the book, it could go either way. He survives. If one believes that Silver is telling the truth.
Heartbroken Badass: The deaths of Thomas and Miranda hit him really hard, pushing him straight into a Despair Event Horizon.
My Greatest Failure: Everything he does throughout the series can be traced back to Thomas Hamilton's death. Not only did Flint originally feel responsible for his lover's imprisonment, but after spiriting both Miranda and himself out of England, he was unable to return in time to save Thomas from Bethlem Hospital.
Flint: The only thing I'm ashamed of is that I didn't do something to save him when we had the chance.
Named by the Adaptation: Treasure Island simply gives his name as "J. Flint" with no indication of what the "J" stands for. Here, his first name is James, and Flint is an alias, his real last name being McGraw.
No Place for Me There: Flint's life's work and ambition is to create a stable, profitable, and (as much as possible) free Nassau. When asked if he will be the one ruling that colony, he says that there are many things Captain Flint can do, but lead a colony is not one of them.
Flint: I can help establish the militia. I can organize the navy. But beyond that, I don't think there's a part for Captain Flint in Nassau's future. He will have to go away.
The Plan: He plans on raiding a Spanish treasure galleon carrying five million dollars worth of gold in order to finance the militarization of Nassau; he admits that he doesn't think that he can make it capable of withstanding an out and out war with either the Spanish or the British, but he hopes to make it strong enough to force a truce; instead of being wiped off the map as pirates, they may live as a relatively autonomous colony with a sympathetic governor.
Revenge: As Miranda points out, one of Flint's main reasons for his actions is getting revenge for what happened to Thomas Hamilton.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Amps it up to this after finding out what happened to Thomas was the result of betrayal by their friend Peter Ashe, and Miranda's murder due to her reaction to the revelation. Once Flint escapes custody, he orders a full bombardment of Charlestown from his warship, leaving the city a burning, smoking ruin in his wake.
Sanity Slippage: Grows steadily for unstable as the season passes. He gets over it by Season 2. Then goes right back in Season 3 after Miranda's death.
The Storyteller: His ability to weave words around his crew is what Mr. Scott says was the reason he gained power so quickly in Nassau.
Straight Gay: Flint has loved both men and women, though nothing in his demeanor suggests that he's anything but traditionally straight.
Then Let Me Be Evil: Practically says it word for word when tried in public, after Miranda's death. With her gone, and his chances for peaceful reconciliation on his terms with England gone, he decides to simply declare war on all of civilisation with all notion of mercy utterly shot away.
Tragic Keepsake: An old copy of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. It's eventually revealed that this was the last gift Flint received from Thomas before their betrayal.
Tranquil Fury: He doesn't say a word or move a muscle, but when the people of Charlestown start throwing fruit and vegetables at Miranda's corpse, it is clear Flint is utterly enraged.
Visionary Villain: He has a grand design of organizing the pirates into a stable force capable of opposing the British and the Spanish.
Undying Loyalty: To Thomas and Miranda Hamilton.
The Unfettered: Nothing will stand in the way of The Plan. Not Billy, not Gates.
Wicked Cultured: Part of what distances him from his crew is his classical education.
Worf Had the Flu: He's on the receiving end of a Curb-Stomp Battle at the hands of Blackbeard in their duel over control of the pirate fleet; it's explained that this is largely due to him having not yet recovered from weeks of starvation, and that at his best it would have been a more even contest.

John Silver

"Long" John Silver

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/silver_john_6552.jpg

"Whatever happens out here, one thing is certain. You will account for me."

Played By: Luke Arnold

"If your interests and mine were adverse to each other, there was a good chance I'd cross you to save myself. At the moment, I don't believe our interests are adverse to each other."

A lowly sailor turned pirate recruit, John Silver is a born opportunist. He insinuates himself into the crew of Captain Flint while secretly possessing the “schedule” Flint so dearly wants. A staunch individualist, Silver resents authority of any kind, a quality that brings him into direct conflict with Flint, even as events conspire to make them reluctant partners in the quest to take the Treasure Fleet.

Affably Evil: He's a very fun and "up" sort of chap, quick with a winning smile and just the right words to say, but his greed and manipulations only cause havoc. As he becomes more loyal, he also drops the affable part in favor of a more ruthless persona.
An Arm and a Leg: His left leg has to be amputated after it is brutalized by Vane's quartermaster with a sledgehammer for several minutes.
Becoming the Mask: He's able to secure his place in the crew by conning them into thinking he has their best interests at heart. The fact that they believe he has their best interest at heart, how much faith they place in him because of it, and the lengths they're willing to go to for him because of it has an effect on him, to the point that by the second season finale, he truly does have their best interests at heart.
- A more literal example is the legend of "Long John Silver", a story that Billy invented of a ruthless and dreaded pirate king. At first, Silver had no choice but to play along with it to strike fear into their enemies, but eventually, he genuinely became Long John Silver and was shown to be every bit as dangerous as the stories indicated.
Berserk Button: Insults regarding his missing leg; suggesting he's an invalid, weak and helpless because of it. Dufresne made this mistake while attempting to intimidate Silver, and paid for it with his life.
Black Spot: As part of the legend of "Long John Silver", Billy Bones sent out black spots to anyone who needed to die. It started off as a part of the story and pirate lore, but eventually John adopted the use of the spot for real to where it became his official marker.
Blatant Lies: Flint eventually learns that half of the shit he says are brazen lies.
Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Invoked by Silver when he memorizes and subsequently burns the Urca schedule, forcing Flint to keep him alive, at least until they've captured the Urca.
Character Development: Silver gradually progresses from a selfish and cowardly opportunist to a brave pirate quartermaster who feels burdened by his obligations to his fellows.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: It'd honestly be easier to list the people he didn't use, betray or manipulate. He grows out of this as the series progresses.
Dark and Troubled Past: Towards the end of Season 4 he reveals that his previous claim about growing up in an orphanage was a lie but refuses to talk about what actually happened to him. The only thing he does say is that the truth about his past would make Flint lose his faith in humanity.
Don't You Dare Pity Me!: After losing his leg, he insists on wearing a peg leg despite his stump failing to heal properly, refuses aid from other crew members and keeps knocking himself out trying to remain useful.
Silver: All this shit we've been through the last few months, do you wanna know what the most terrifying part of it's been? "We'll take care of you."
Divide and Conquer: How he secures his place amongst the crew. To use his words, it's not about getting the crew to like him, it's about reminding them about how much they dislike each other. Thanks to Randall, who's beneath notice, he gets a hold of lots of juicy gossip, revealing the actions of various crew-members, yet leaving them unnamed. They still react to his speeches, giving themselves away, but the rest of the crew finds it hilarious. It works, and soon, they can't go a day without it.
The Dreaded: By the fourth season, "Long John Silver" has become the most infamous and ruthless pirate in the Bahamas, whose name carries fear as far as London. No one, not even Flint himself, dare cross him without making an enemy of virtually everyone in Nassau and the surrounding islands.
Fire-Forged Friends: Silver and Flint start off in a rather antagonistic relationship, but after surviving hell and high water together across three seasons, Silver points out that he may be the closest friend Flint has left.
Foil: To Flint. Both are loners from dark backgrounds who seek their dreams in the pirate world, striving to protect their loved ones with relatively few real friends, but with Flint a mostly-honorable man and Silver a brazen and selfish opportunist. But over time their characters diverge, and Silver finds himself capable of deep and abiding honor and even true love that makes him a better person, where Flint only becomes worse and lets his love drive him to do some terrible things.
Guile Hero: Oh so very much, although he's not quite as smart as he thinks he is (or rather, everyone else is just as smart or smarter than he is).
Handicapped Badass: After the Season 2 finale, he is this. Special mention goes to what he did to Dufresne. After Dufresne insulted him for being a cripple, calling him a half-man, Silver brained him with a tankard and then proceeded to stomp him to death, making a point to use his steel peg-leg to crush Dufresne's skull.
Heel–Face Turn: While his morality has always been complicated, over the second half of Season 2 he gradually comes to care about the crew more than just himself.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: He and Silver eventually develop this dynamic, having deep mutual understanding and relying on each other frequently for success.
Hidden Depths: Glib and opportunistic for most of the show, by the last season it's clear that he's very deeply in love with Madi; ranking her safety above his own.
Irony: In Season 2, he betrays Flint to Rackham for a larger share of the Urca gold, though he later abandons his claim to it in order to stay on the Walrus crew as Quartermaster. In Season 3, the Maroons trust him above all the other pirates not to betray them for money, the irony of which isn't lost on either Rackham or Flint.
Laughably Evil: He's a complete scoundrel and unscrupulous manipulator, yet he gets away with his schemes half the time because of how he sells them and that he's just infectiously likable and personable. It helps that his schemes also tend to be pretty ridiculous.
Lovable Coward: In the first season and a half. He's a good deal of fun, even if he does abandon his post and keep his head down at the first sign of the odds stacking against him. However, as the crew becomes increasingly loyal to him, he becomes increasingly loyal to them, and it starts to overpower his self-preservation instinct.
Lovable Rogue: Silver gleefully declares himself an opportunist.
Manipulative Bastard: When he speaks, chances are he's playing you for his own ends.
Morality Pet: Madi ends up being one for him, genuinely driving him to be a better person and changing his perspective on life.
Non-Action Guy: John Silver has never been a seasoned fighter. With the loss of his leg, he's not expected to take part in the Walrus crew's battles.
- Took a Level in Badass: In Season 4, he's shown participating in combat quite effectively, even while using a crutch. It's eventually shown in flashback that Flint personally trained him in sword fighting to prepare him for the war.
Not Distracted by the Sexy: Almost to the point of being asexual. Even during his initiation to the crew, which is a visit from five prostitutes all at once, he was far more interested in the page of the logbook he stole, and as far as he was concerned, the girls were little more than an inconvenience.
Opportunistic Bastard: John Silver is a self described opportunist and will latch onto any chance to advance his position or at least keep himself from getting killed. When told that in a few months his usefulness will be gone and he will probably be killed he merely sees this as a time to make friends with his captors. Most of the other major characters have some sort of plan or goal they are working toward but Silver simply jumps at any opportunity that presents itself and goes where it takes him.
Perma-Stubble: He starts off sporting this look, but during his months at sea on the Walrus he lets it grow out into a full-blown beard.
Refuge in Audacity: His plans can be downright idiotic or suicidal, yet always manages to sell them with a lie or two. A prime example of it was when he was severely hated by the crew: He read daily updates for the crew about their status, sprinkled in with some rumor-mongering and gossip. He reminded the crew how much they disliked each other, and using that wormed his way into their trust. It helped that one of the crewmen fucked the dairy goat.
The So-Called Coward: Ultimately becomes this; when Vane's quartermaster demands that he name ten Walrus men that he can convince to crew jump so they can sail away, abandoning Flint, Vane, and the other men ashore, he refuses, having come to realize that the men look to him because they feel he has their interest at heart. He endures several minutes of brutal torture that ultimately costs him his leg, and still refuses to give in.
Scylla and Charybdis: Faces this choice in the first episode of Season 2, upon realizing that Flint was deadly serious about taking the Spanish Man-O-War and that he had just volunteered to help him. He immediately calls it quits and attempts to walk out on Flint, only for Flint to point out that they are smack in the middle of the Florida wilderness, that the nearest settlement is at least a weeks' hike and even if he heads in the right direction (Which he wasn't until Flint pointed it out), there are the local Tequesta natives to worry about. After a moments consideration, Silver decides that going with Flint and infiltrating the heavily armed and guarded Spanish warship is in fact the less suicidal option.
Undying Loyalty: To the men of the Walrus. This is best exemplified when he is below-decks with one of the ship's carpenters, patching up holes while the rest of the crew is trying to get the ship through a storm in one piece. The ship is hit hard, and a cannon traps the carpenter as water rushes in. Despite there being nobody there but him and the carpenter, Silver does everything he can to free the other man as the water-levels rise, and when he fails, he's reduced to desperate, anguished screaming as he tries and fails to pull the man above the water. When another member of the crew finally finds them, Silver is in the middle of a minor Heroic BSoD.

Billy Bones

William "Billy Bones" Manderly

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bones_billy_2435.jpg

"You chose. Live with it."

Played By: Tom Hopper

Boatswain of the pirate ship Walrus, Billy Bones is key to smooth operations on the ship, and is widely assumed to be the next quartermaster should anything happen to Gates. Billy’s belief in the righteousness of the pirate cause will be continually tested as he’s drawn deeper and deeper into Flint’s plans for the future.

Audience Surrogate: Serves as one in the first season, as he's a skeptical newcomer to the Walrus who needs Captain Flint's plans and motivations explained to him.
Beard of Evil: Has grown one in the time-skip between Seasons 3 and 4, as well as becoming harder and more vicious, to the extent that he and his men attack Flint's outright over a disagreement as to who is in command.
The Big Guy: Although not a lot of attention is called to it, he's bigger and more muscular than near everyone on the show, and trusted to be a capable battle leader and fighter in part because of it.
Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Subverted. Billy is captured by Captain Hume and subjected to five days of torture, which included staking him out on a beach in a wet leather vest, which constricted in the heat and slowly cracked his ribs. Hume did this with the idea of breaking Billy and then offering him and nine men of his choice ten pardons, in exchange for capturing and delivering Flint to him. Hume believed him sufficiently broken from the torture, but all it really accomplished was to convince Billy of the inhumanity of the British authorities and solidified his resolve to make sure they never regain their foothold on Nassau, even if it means submitting to Flint's authority.
- Played straight in Season 4. Whatever the rebel slaves did to him after Silver turned him over to them, it was enough to make him join Rogers and turn on the pirates altogether, slaughtering those he once called his brothers.
Because You Were Nice to Me: During the fight with Flint's crew near the end of Season 4, while Billy is gunning down pirates who have fallen into the water, he spares Ben Gunn, apparently as a show of appreciation for releasing him earlier when he was held captive by Flint and the others.
Chekhov's Gun: Near the end of Season 2, Flint explains Billy's backstory: he was the son of anti-impressment activists before he was Press-Ganged into the Royal Navy, and later freed by the crew of the Walrus. At the end of Season 3, Billy wages a shadow war on Nassau using nothing but propaganda and precisely applied force. This seems somewhat out of character for him, until one remembers that Billy had been taught to do just that, ever since he was a child.
Cold-Blooded Torture: Is on the receiving end at the beginning of Season 2, courtesy of Captain Hume utilizing a technique learned from the Spanish, in which he's left exposed to the elements in a leather vest which is periodically soaked with water, causing it to constrict over a span of six days. Supposedly, on the seventh day, the vest will tighten to the point that it shatters the ribcage, puncturing internal organs.
Hume: And on the seventh day, you'll rest. Who knew? They have a sense of humour.
Doomed by Canon: He's fated to meet his end from illness as a paranoid old drunk after years of running from the remaining crew of the Walrus at the outset of Treasure Island.
- Alternatively, seeing as he washed up on Skeleton Island at the end, he'll be the maroonee instead of Ben Gunn.
The Dragon: Eventually ends up serving this role for the British in the last season, even having a climactic duel with Flint in the rigging of their ships.
Gentle Giant: Towers over pretty much everyone else, and is pretty much the nicest guy on Flint's crew.
Gone Horribly Right: He created "Long John Silver" as both a unifying power to be their King, and as a giant middle-finger to Flint in attempt to keep him from gathering any more power and authority. Needless to say, Billy created something which he couldn't even begin to hope to control and it gloriously backfired on him. John Silver was every bit as dangerous as the legend Billy invented.
Face–Heel Turn: Billy simply couldn't get over his hatred of Flint, and one too many confrontations turned into him outright trying to murder Flint several times. In the end, he sides with Woodes Rogers, attempting to kill everyone he once called a friend, and meets a pathetic fate as depicted in Treasure Island.
Never Found the Body: Apparently goes overboard in "VI.", with the strong implication that Flint pushed him, which is all but admitted to the next episode. He shows up again in Season 2.
Nice Guy: One of the nicest in the entire show. This has most definitely changed in Season 4, owing to his role as a rebel leader. It shows most clearly in his leitmotif, when he arrives to reinforce Silver and Flint's attack on Nassau. It's darker than Vane's or even Blackbeard's.
Not Quite Dead: Revealed in Season 2 to have survived his fall in to the sea (see above), having been picked up by the Scarborough and imprisoned by Captain Hume.
Only Sane Man: Along with Gates and the rest of the crew, he thinks the Captain's plan is utterly insane and wants to get back to just raiding ships.
Press-Ganged: He was picked off the street and forced into the Royal Navy while distributing pamphlets written by his parents who were anti-impressment activists.
Sanity Slippage: Over the course of the series, he goes from a genuine nice guy, to a jaded cynic, and finally a treasonous psychopath.
The Storyteller: Being the most literate among the Nassau resistance, he takes up this role in Season 3 to create the legend of "Long John" Silver, playing him up as a boogeyman to spook the occupying British forces.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He hates Flint for scheming against the crew, murdering Gates, and for in all likelihood having attempted to murder Billy himself. But he works with him because he believes Flint represents the best hope of defending Nassau and the pirates against the English. This breaks down during Season 4, with Billy outright ordering his men to attack Flint's when they argue over the proper course to take and who is in overall command. That said, he later leads his men to reinforce Flint and Silver when they attack Nassau directly.
Torture Always Works: Subverted. Hume believes he's gotten Billy on his side by torturing him into submission, but all he really managed to do was convince Billy of the monstrosity of the British forces moving against Nassau, resulting in Billy siding with Flint despite his grudge against the man because he knows it's their best chance against the British.
You Can't Go Home Again: He was Press-Ganged at a young age and forced into three years of indentured servitude, until the crew of the Walrus liberated him. When given the opportunity to face the man who'd pressed him, he killed that man where he stood. After that, Billy felt he could never return home as his father would not accept a murderer as a son.

Gates

Played By: Mark Ryan

"There are no legacies in this life, are there? No monuments, no history, just the water. It pays us and then it claims us, swallows us whole."

Gates is the Walrus’s Quartermaster, elected representative of the crew’s interests, and a check on the power of the ship’s captain. Gates is by far the most senior member of the crew; he is loyal to Captain Flint to a fault and is very much aware he’s playing a younger man’s game.

Bald of Authority: Played with. Gates is the most senior member of the crew and serves as the Walrus's Quartermaster, i.e. the elected representative of the crew's interests for practicality, understanding of the crew's needs; he'd arguably be the better choice for The Captain. However, he is not and he remains deeply loyal to Captain Flint, while still acting as a check on Flint's authority.
Character Death: Flint snaps his neck when he puts The Plan in jeopardy.
Death by Pragmatism: Is killed by Flint for attempting to abandon him when a Spanish warship shows up, which was not part of the plan.
Forensic Accounting: When tasked with finding Silver and the missing logbook page, he spends most of the day following the appraiser. He knows that anyone who tries to sell such a valuable item on New Providence will request payment in easily transportable jewels and will call in the appraiser to make sure the jewels are real. By following the man who is going to handle the money, Gates can figure out who is involved in the transaction and where it is taking place.
Honest Advisor: To Captain Flint. He tells him in no uncertain terms what the crew thinks of him and how tenuous his grip on leadership is, frequently calling him out for his actions.
Hypercompetent Sidekick: Again, to Flint. He pretty much handles most of the more practical day-to-day business while Flint plots and dreams.
Knuckle Tattoos: They read "HOLD FAST".
Like a Son to Me: Says this word for word of Billy, which pushes him to defy Flint when the latter pushed Billy overboard to silence him.
One Last Job: He views the treasure galleon as a chance at a final big score that will let him quit piracy on his own terms.
Gates: You can't thieve forever.
Only Sane Man: He'd likely make a better captain than Flint. He's practical, fair-minded and aware of the crew's needs.
Tattooed Crook: He sports an impressive collection of tattoos, likely acquired over a lifetime of piracy.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: All his good qualities mean that he ultimately can't stick it out amongst the cutthroat and bloodthirsty pirates of Nassau.
Villain Protagonist: At the end of the day, he's still a pirate.

Dufresne

Played By: Jannes Eiselen (Season 1), Roland Reed (Seasons 2-3)

The ship's accountant for the Walrus. His job is to add the prices of stolen goods and to make an account of the payments to be doled out to the crew.

Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He comes across as a bookish Non-Action Guy, who's understandably apprehensive about going into combat. After being drafted into the boarding party in the fifth episode, he ends up ripping a man's throat out with his teeth. Becomes even more pronounced in the Season 1 finale when of all the pirates, it's Dufresne who leads the crew's revolt against Flint and he even shoots Flint when Flint tries to ignore him.
- Subverted in Season 2, where despite being the de facto captain of the Walrus crew he just doesn't have the leadership or tactical skills that Flint does and is not only forced to ask for his help in securing the Urca gold but to relinquish command entirely after botching his first and only attempt at seizing another prize.
Demoted to Extra: After being a major presence in the first two seasons, Season 3 sees him mostly appearing in the background of Hornigold's scenes, with several episodes missing him altogether. His only pivotal scene in the season is his final appearance, in which he appears out of nowhere, has a few lines, and gets quickly killed.
Heroic BSoD: Has a minor one when the crew fails under his command in taking a British merchant sailor as a prize.
- Worth noting that it seems like most of his shock has nothing to do with his own failures as a leader, but rather about his realization that Flint manipulated him and orchestrated the whole thing, up to and including sacrificing members of their own crew to make himself captain again. It seems that the thing that disturbs him more than anything else is the realization of how cold Flint really is and how little he actually cares for the lives of the men under his command.
Important Haircut: After his first combat and promotion to Quartermaster, the crew has him shorn and tattooed as an "initiation."
Jumped Off The Slippery Slope: Way back in Season 1, he was a dorky accountant and then a reasonable quartermaster. However, in Season 2, once he let his hatred of Flint get the better of him, he became increasingly slimy and self-centered, and by the third season, he really only cares about himself.
Karmic Death: Is killed off in Season 3 by Silver. Dufresne let his personal hatred for Flint override his concern or loyalty for the Walrus crew and lead him to side with England. Silver took to his role as Quartermaster wholeheartedly, with his concern for the men trumping all else.
Leader Wannabe: He temporarily unseats Flint as captain, but soon realizes that despite his brains, he simply lacks Flint's commanding presence, his talent for tactics and ability to keep a cool head under pressure. When he discovers the Urca gold has washed up on a beach, he even summons the nerve to ask Flint for his help in retrieving it. Eventually, much to his shame, he realizes that he simply isn't captain material and ultimately agrees to surrender the captain role and give it back to Flint for the sake of the crew.
Man Bites Man: Pulls this the first time he goes into combat, killing his first opponent by ripping his throat out.
Underestimating Badassery: Fatally underestimated John Silver.

Randall

Played By: Lawrence Joffe

A pirate and member of Captain Flint's crew. Despite losing his sanity during a fight, he has not lost the loyalty from the crew.

Karma Houdini: Despite saving Silver's life by knocking out DeGroot, Randall is never put on trial by the crew alongside him and Flint. Possibly justified, as the rest of the crew think he's a half wit.
Life-or-Limb Decision: His left leg is trapped beneath the Walrus's keel during a careening accident and there's no time to dig him out. Silver quickly throws Flint a cleaver.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Silver plays with the possibility that Randall's half-wit persona is entirely an act. If it's true, he's not revealing anything.
Shoo Out the Clowns: Randall provided a bit of levity to the Walrus crew and the show at large through he and Silver's interactions. His death at the end of Season 2 marks a point where the show begins to shift in tone and where Silver starts become a much less "comedic" character and begins to morph into the ruthless pirate captain from the original novel.

DeGroot

Mr. DeGroot

Played By: Andre Jacobs

A pirate and ship's master on the Walrus. An extremely competent and knowledgeable sailor, DeGroot's job is seeing to the maintenance of the ship and advising on matters of sailing.

Badass Bookworm: Despite being an ageing man whose primary strength is his intellect and experience, DeGroot is no pushover in a fight, and he is quite often in the thick of things.
Boom, Headshot!: He takes a musket shot from Roger's troops during the evacuation of the Walrus in the penultimate episode.
Ear Ache: Has part of his ear hacked off by Captain Berringer after being taken captive by the Redcoats at the start of Season 4.
Ignored Expert: Quite often, such as the careening incident in Season 1, Mr. DeGroot's very sound advice is ignored, resulting in unnecessary deaths. This gradually decreases over the course of the series, to a point where John Silver treats DeGroot's word as the Bible.
The Smart Guy: DeGroot knows more about sailing a ship than most sailors will in their lifetimes. When it comes to matters such as maintaining the ship, making the best use of the wind, or general seamanship, he is the man to go to for advice. At one point, when Madi asks Silver how one can know exactly how to perform a complex piece of seamanship, Silver's response is essentially, "Let DeGroot speak, and wait until he's finished."
Tattooed Crook: He has a tattoo of a sea turtle on his neck.

Morley

Played By: Jeremy Crutchley

Morley is a veteran crewmember of the Walrus, having been with the crew since before Billy joined up with them. Despite having sailed with Flint for so long, he heavily distrusts his own captain.

Know When to Fold 'Em:
- After Singleton's death, Morley gives up any hope of deposing Flint since any lingering hostility to Flint's captaincy among the rest of the crew had all but bled away with the reveal of the Urca hunt and he all but resigns himself to the fact the crew will be used for Flint's unknown plans.
- When Billy confronts him about believing Singleton was set up by Flint, Morley sticks to his guns. When Billy tells him that to maintain this belief would be accusing him of lying, Morley backs down almost straight away knowing he cannot match Billy in a fight.
Small Role, Big Impact: While his time in the show was short, his witnessing Flint's murder of Alfred Hamilton and his mistress on the Maria Aleyne and his telling Billy about it years later were what sowed the first seeds of doubt within Billy in Flint's leadership. His story also shows the audience their first glimpses into Flint and Miranda's true motivations.
Undying Loyalty: His loyalty to his fellow crew members is total. The reason why he hates Flint so much is because many of their men were killed carrying out his personal agenda on the Maria Aleyne with nothing to show for it, while he had manipulated and lied to them into doing it for him. Best shown when Randall was caught underneath the Walrus during a careening accident and he immediately ran to save him. This ended up costing him his life.

Dr. Howell

Played By: Alistair Anthony Moulton Black

A pirate and doctor on the Walrus. His job mostly involves him working on the injured crew after they take another ship.

Bring My Brown Pants: Warns Silver that patients often loose their bowels during amputations.
Combat Medic: On the Walrus.
Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: When Randall accuses Silver of thievery, Howell is in favour of killing Randall rather than missing out on his share of the five million dollar prize they stand to acquire with Silver's knowledge of the Urca's schedule.
Sacrificial Lamb: After being tried and sentenced to die in Season 4, Howell is hanged alongside two other pirates by Captain Berringer.

Joji

Played By: Winston Chong

A Japanese pirate aboard the Walrus.

Black Viking: Joji is a Japanese swordsman and member of a predominantly white Caribbean crew in 1715, at a time when his home country was in self-imposed seclusion. That said, there were Japanese Catholics that settled in Mexico in the 17th century, so it is possible for Joji to be descended from them.
Katanas Are Just Better: He seems to think so, and it's made clear in a throw-away scene that he has exacting standards for the sharpness of his blades.
Master Swordsman: Aside from having high standards for the sharpness of his blade, he is one of only a handful of fighters in the cast who can match Flint.
Mysterious Past: Other than being from Japan, we know nothing else about Joji.
The Stoic: Joji always seems to have a grim frown on his face. The one exception is when Billy returns to the crew after being thought dead.
Token Minority: He's the only Asian in the cast, likely Japanese, given his preference for katanas. How he got to the Atlantic is anybody's guess.
Torture Technician: It's never seen, but Gates and Billy threaten Silver with a session with him. When Silver tells them it wouldn't help much, they reply "You haven't seen Joji work," implying he is very good.
The Voiceless: He never says a word in any language, though appears to understand English well enough.

Dooley

Played By: Laudo Liebenberg

A pirate on board the Walrus, and one of the crew's most skilled fighters.

The Brute: After Silver's appointment as quartermaster, Dooley tends to act as his right-hand-man and muscle.
Dumb Muscle: Has trouble wrapping his head around why they cannot sail into Nassau in a Spanish warship without warning the fort first.
Mauve Shirt: He appears in every major battle starting with season 2, and slowly rose to an important position among the crew. His position as Silver’s right-hand-man was maintained until he was killed assisting Flint bury the Urca gold.
Undying Loyalty: To Silver. Subverted in Season 4, where Flint recruits him for his plan to bury the Urca cache behind Silver's back. Dooley takes it even further by suggesting they just kill Silver altogether and even volunteers to do it himself.

Joshua

Played By: Richard Lukunku

A pirate who serves on the Walrus under Captain Flint.

The Big Guy: Is pretty big, and is one of the crew's foremost fighters, being the first one to charge into the merchant ship's hold in the first episode.
Covered with Scars: Some might be battle scars, but others look to be self inflicted.
Mauve Shirt: A series regular on the Walrus crew and recognized as one of their most skilled fighters until he is killed during the fight with Vane's men on the Spanish Man-o-War at the end of Season 2.
More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Invoked. He wears a set of piranha teeth in battle to be intimidating, but actually has a normal amount of teeth.
Scary Black Man: Puts out this image in battle at least, otherwise he's rather relaxed and playful.

Logan

Played By:Dylan Skews

Armorer for the Walrus crew.

Lust Makes You Dumb: Despite having received clear orders to stay away from whores so as to maintain the Urca gold's secrecy, he disobeys and goes to see his favourite whore, Charlotte. This ultimately results in his and Charlotte's deaths at Anne's hands.
Mauve Shirt: A series regular and core member of the Walrus crew until his sudden death.
Mr. Exposition: In the first episode, he gives Silver a quick rundown on how the Pirates of Nassau make money from the cargo they seize.
You Woundn't Stab Me: Anne tries to get him into revealing where the Urca gold is washed up under threat of death. Logan calls her bluff, saying that killing him would only get both his crew and his captain to come after her. Normally this would be enough to make Anne back down but she was not in the right head space at the time and this only induced her into murdering him then and there.

Singleton

Played By: Anthony Bishop

A crew member for the Walrus, and the assumed next in line under Captain Flint. Singleton is fairly open about his dislike for the captain, and it's known that he is attempting to bring the majority of the crew to his side so he can replace Flint.

Bald of Evil: Suitably for a Starter Villain, his scalp is bare.
Barbaric Battleaxe: Uses a Boarding Axe in combat.
Boisterous Bruiser: Violent, angry and one of the best fighters on the crew. When he fights Flint for the captaincy, he favors a screaming hack-and-slash style in contrast for Flint's more graceful, educated style.
Bludgeoned to Death: Flint kills him this way.
Due to the Dead: Averted. After his death, the crew celebrate their incoming wealth and piss on his corpse.
Dumb Muscle: Downplayed. While he's an excellent fighter and he does not seem to be particularly dumb either, none of the main cast have a high opinion of his leadership or sailing abilities. Vane and Rackham actually planned to exploit this by rigging the captain's vote in his favor; then once his incompetence become apparent, much of the Walrus men would defect, allowing Vane and Rackham to recruit them for their own crew.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: His face is covered in jagged scars, which suit his rather unpleasant personality.
P Sadist: Was gleefully getting ready to torture Captain Parrish to death before the Royal Navy showed up.
The Starscream: He plots to overthrow Flint and become captain. However, it's not as devious as many other examples of the trope. He makes it clear from the get-go that he wants to be captain, and he goes about it through the proper channels of getting crew support to make it happen.
Starter Villain: Set up to be the rival to Flint who will oppose him at every turn, then Flint kills him at the end of the first episode.

Crew of The Ranger

Charles Vane

Captain Charles Vane

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vane_charles_4091.jpg

Played By: Zach McGowan

"As I am free, I hereby claim the same for Nassau. She is free today, and so long as I draw breath, she shall remain free."

Charles Vane is captain of the pirate ship Ranger. Possibly the next great pirate captain on New Providence Island, he is known for his vicious temper as well as his tremendous financial success.

Amazon Chaser: Of a sort. Though Eleanor isn't a fighter, she is an extremely strong-willed young woman, and Charles' hallucination of her in "IV" makes it very clear that it was her inner steel, her refusal to play the part of the weak little girl, that made him fall in love with her.
All Girls Want Bad Boys: Eleanor’s attraction to him is in part this. He’s also self-admittedly trapped in this dynamic, as he sees her as the Girl Next Door he’s got to prove himself to.
Anti-Villain: Back in the first and second seasons, when he was still a villain, Charles Vane had standards that he didn't like breaking. He was disgusted with what his men did to Max, and made it clear that he only allowed it because he had no choice. He later had Jack put an end to it, although that "end" involved killing her, and it's not clear if he did so as a mercy or because he didn't want Eleanor to find out. Though he was as ruthless as Flint, he was not nearly as cruel as many of the other pirates, such as Ned Low.
Badass Boast: Charles Vane is a veritable fount of these:
- Early in Season 1, simply introducing himself as "Charles Vane, of the Ranger" is enough to make an obstinate captain back down.
- In "XVI", after killing Richard Guthrie, Charles pins his plans for Nassau to Guthrie's dead body:
  "I was once a slave. I know too well the pain of the yoke on my shoulders and of the freedom of having cast it off. So I'm resolved, I will be no slave again. And as I am free, I hereby claim the same for Nassau. She is free today, and so long as I draw breath, she shall remain free. Richard Guthrie was engaged in an effort to see her return to the rule of a king, to see the yoke returned. He betrayed Nassau, and thus, as always, to traitors... I made clear the price for the girl (the Spanish man-o-war). You should have known me well enough to know, one way or another, I was going to claim it. And once I do, I'll be returning to Nassau to settle the rest of my accounts."
Barbarian Long Hair: Charles Vane's long hair serves as an easy visual short-hand for him being more wild and savage than the rest of the pirates. The only pirates who have hair as long as his are his second crew, who originate from Albinus's settlement and are very much like him in temperament.
Berserk Button: The mere mention of slavery of any kind results in a sharp Death Glare. When Jack tasks a group of slaves to fix up the Nassau fort, Charles damn nearly loses it and chews him out. But he ultimately, and very begrudgingly, relents knowing that the fort HAS to be fixed as soon as possible, and that Jack is as disgusted about it as he is.
Big Bad: He was shaping up to be the first in the show, which was only reinforced when he decapitated Ned Low. However, as of the Season 2 finale, what with the threat of Britain taking center stage, he and Flint resolve their differences and ally against a common foe.
The Captain: Of the Ranger, until Eleanor blackmails most of his crew into defecting to Flint, taking the ship with them. In season 2, he finds a replacement in the Fancy.
Chick Magnet: Is often seen with a prostitute on his arm, and job or not, they enjoy his company a little more than an average man’s.
Cigar Chomper: Usually seen with a cigar between his teeth.
Domestic Abuser: Subverted. At first, it seems like he was this to Eleanor, given how he hit her (after she hit him first) in the first episode and his generally vicious and uncompromising demeanor. However, it's made clear that he truly loved Eleanor, and both times they entered into a relationship with each other, she ended up using him and betraying him, breaking his heart in the process.
The Dragon: Serves as one to the Nassau coalition. He’s comparatively simple-minded and violent, but very dangerous when aimed in the right direction.
The Dreaded: Demonstrated when another captain sheepishly backs down from a confrontation as soon as Vane reveals his name.
Even Evil Has Standards: Because of his Freudian Excuse, Vane despises slavers. In the Season 3 premiere, in response to a slave-ship captain throwing his cargo overboard, Vane brutally kills him by throwing him overboard as well. He even lampshades it, telling the captain that if he had known where Vane had come from, he would have made very different choices.
Face Death with Dignity: Coupled with Defiant to the End. Charles refuses all attempts to get him to renounce piracy; when asked for final words, he delivers a speech to the crowd gathered to watch his hanging, urging them to fight British rule; tells the hangman to "Get on with it, motherfucker," and when the cart he's on begins to pull away, he makes a point of walking to the edge and jumping off instead of letting it be pulled out from under him.
Freudian Excuse: Vane was raised a slave, and this fuels his desire to never be bound to servitude again, either personally, or on a grander scale of submitting to England.
Full-Frontal Assault: Kills a man in episode seven while wearing nothing but sand.
Genius Bruiser: Make no mistake, Vane may be an impulsive brute now and then but he is extremely intelligent, cunning, and observant, with a surprising capacity for eloquence. He was one of the few people who saw how vulnerable Eleanor's position was in Season 2, why Ned Low was dangerous to Nassau, why Flint had to be saved from the hangman of Charlestown, and eventually why he himself had to hang to rekindle Nassau's rebellious nature when everybody else thought it would have the opposite effect.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Bears a distinctive brand on his chest which marks him as a former slave labourer in Albinus' lumber camp.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Especially in the first season, Vane was frequently on the verge of attacking everyone. He mellows out in the second season.
Heroic Sacrifice: He has two: in "XXVI", when he, Flint, and Anne Bonny raid the convoy carrying Jack and a cache of gems to be shipped off to Havana, Flint leaves with the cache, but Charles stays behind to break Jack's chains. When he's shot and wounded by Woodes Rogers, and with colonial militia incoming, he orders Jack and Anne to flee while he stays behind to hold them off. Then, in "XXVII", as he is about to be executed with Billy about to stage a rescue attempt, Charles catches Billy's eye and signals him to stop, as he, unlike the rest of the cast, understands that his death is exactly what Nassau needs.
Historical Domain Character: Charles Vane was a real person, and he was just as violent and psychotic.
Historical Hero Upgrade: Downplayed. This Charles Vane is no hero by any means, but whereas his real-life counterpart was so pointlessly cruel that nobody, not even other pirates, wanted anything to do with him by the end of his career, this Vane is more ruthless than cruel. He'll kill anybody who gets in his way, and he won't feel a shred of remorse, but he won't go out of his way to Kick the Dog like his real-life counterpart did.
Hollywood History: He kills Ned Low even though in real life Vane was hanged before Low became active. His backstory as a slave is also pretty unlikely, as Vane was born in England, almost certainly grew up there, and some accounts claimed to have been among the crowd at London's Execution Dock that witnessed the hanging of Captain William Kidd.
Hot-Blooded: Vane can be rather temperamental, and has a tendency to not think before acting. However, when he manages to put a leash on these tendencies, he is capable of being extremely cunning.
Inspirational Martyr: While Flint and Billy worry that his hanging would further demoralize Nassau's population and encourage the British, Charles himself turns out to understand his former pirate brothers a lot better. More shockingly, he also willingly goes to his death to move the town towards rebellion, refusing rescue when Billy gets into position.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Make no mistake, Charles Vane is a hard man who is, by his very nature, blunt and unyielding, even before one takes into account all the various acts of piracy. However, if you earn his friendship and loyalty, as long as you don't do anything to lose it, there are few better friends to have.
Just a Gangster: Vane is the only leader among the main characters who doesn't want to "legitimize" Nassau, since he views 'legitimization' by its very nature as a surrender. Even when Flint and Eleanor present him with a plan that would give him money and freedom under the resumed rule of England, he would rather continue to live — and die — as a pirate.
Mr. Fanservice: Very handsome and muscular, with a deep voice and piercing gaze. He’s also the first man seen naked on the show, although that’s part of a Full-Frontal Assault.
Oh, Crap!: He does not lose his cool often, even when his plans go awry. However, one of the few times he does is in "II", when the crew of the Walrus enters Eleanor's tavern, with Flint at their head and Singleton nowhere to be seen. It is at this point he realizes his plan to depose Flint of his captaincy has failed, and he is not happy.
Pet the Dog: After (just barely) defeating a Spanish marine, he not only gives the mortally wounded man a drink when asked, he compliments the man on his fighting ability. Also, Worthy Opponent.
The Pornomancer: Seen having the most sex out of all the characters.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: He gives Eleanor one of these before he is set to be executed. When she makes him out to be the big villain and her the innocent victim, he calls her out on all the times she betrayed him first, and when she accuses him of taking away the father who loved her, he shoots right back with all the ample proof that her father never cared about her and that until shortly before she betrayed him (Vane), she never cared much for her father either.
Sadistic Choice: He's given one in the Season 3 premiere. He's given a choice of keeping captured slaves and forcing them to work on Fort Nassau, or letting them go and letting the fort remain unrepaired, and Nassau defenseless. He chooses the former, and hates himself for it.
Shipper on Deck: He finds Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny's relationship to be adorable.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Rackham, at first. They end up becoming like brothers as the show goes on. He also had this with Flint during their brief, brief partnership in Season 1, although by Season 3, their relationship has changed to one of mutual respect.
Token Evil Teammate: Spends the most time being antagonistic to Flint and his crew while not being an outright Navy opponent. But he can be counted on to close ranks in a few ways and serves an important role for the Nassau crew.
Walking Shirtless Scene: Spends much of his screentime stripped to the waist.
Would Hit a Girl: When Eleanor punches him in the face, he doesn't hesitate to punch her right back.
Would You Like to Hear How They Died?: Not so much out of malice as to shatter her illusion that her father cared about her, he tells Eleanor that Richard Guthrie died begging for his life, and offered up Eleanor's life in exchange for his own.

Jack Rackham

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rackham_7113.jpg

"To be underestimated is an incredible gift."

Played By: Toby Schmitz

"When I came here, I had nothing but my name and my wits. A man in a place like this, surviving on those two things alone, he suffers indignities, slights, ridicule... But I overcame it. I used the wits to build the name."

Rackham is the Quartermaster on the pirate ship Ranger, is the brains behind Captain Charles Vane's brawn, and in some ways even more dangerous than him.

Agent Peacock: His foppish appearance and effete mannerisms tend to lead others to underestimate him or dismiss him entirely as a buffoon. He has, however proved time and again that he is very good at what he does.
Arch-Enemy: When Woodes Rogers takes control in Nassau, Jack becomes determined to put himself in the position of Woodes Rogers' nemesis.
Brains and Bondage: Definitely seems to be among the most cunning of all the pirates and is seen engaging in bondage play with Anne in Season 1 (albeit unsuccessfully, as his current woes make him unable to perform).
Brains and Brawn: The brain to Anne's brawn.
Camp Straight: He's rather effeminate at times, but straight.
Combat Pragmatist: He's not above throwing booze in a man's face as an opening move to a fight, or going for his pistol when he's outmatched in hand-to-hand.
- On another level, throwing the booze had a different purpose: the red wine staining the man's shirt and skin made it difficult to tell just how much he was bleeding from the first (and only) cut Jack inflicted, so by the time he realized that Jack had cut an artery, it was too late — Jack knew he'd only have to withstand the man for a few seconds after that first slice.
Deadpan Snarker: Rackham tends to have some of the best lines.
The Dragon: For Vane, when he was still his quartermaster.
Dragon-in-Chief: Back when he was still Vane's Quartermaster, he was an able manipulator and very good at 'helping' Vane make decisions.
Even Evil Has Standards: Like Vane, he despises slavery, though for different reasons (mostly relating to Anne). It doesn't stop him from resorting to Pragmatic Villainy to fix the fort using slaves when pushed into a corner, but he at least goes out of his way to make sure they're as treated as close to fairly as everyone else.
Foil: To John Silver. While both are conniving gangsters who live by their wits, Rackham’s relationship with Bonny always means he has to explain his plans to someone, and always has someone on his side. John, in contrast, is often alone or living off the goodwill he’s only just earned.
Historical Badass Upgrade: He's significantly more clever than he really was. The real Jack Rackham was a foolish alcoholic who eventually got caught because he was too hammered to fight back, leaving Anne and Mary to fight alone. This Jack wouldn't make a mistake like that.
Historical Domain Character: He's better known as 'Calico Jack' Rackham. However, this version of Jack Rackham is far more intelligent and competent than his real life counterpart, who was a raging drunk.
Honest Advisor: As Vane's quartermaster, he wasn't afraid of Vane or of telling him the truth of their situation. This led to quite a bit of tension.
Honor Before Reason: Jack and Anne manage to hide a portion of the Urca gold and are on their way out of Nassau when the British arrive to reestablish colonial rule, with enough wealth to last them a lifetime. However, Jack realizes that to enjoy it, they'd have to live under assumed identities. Anne doesn't mind, but Jack's obsession with his legacy means he cannot bear leaving his name behind. He elects to go back and take the pardon so he can at least live under his real name. Jack assures Anne that he need only stroll into town, sign a piece of paper and he'd be back in only a few hours. Unfortunately for him, the British really need that gold and they know that Jack knows where it is...
Hypercompetent Sidekick: To Vane, although it's a downplayed example. Really, it's not so much that he's any more intelligent or competent than Vane, he just has better impulse control, which is sometimes needed to rein his captain in.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Rackham's a talker and negotiator, while his lover Anne Bonny tends more toward solving problems with violence.
Morality Pet: Anne is one to him, as he usually tries to do what's best for her. He also serves as one in a way for Charles Vane, capable of reining in his worst instincts.
Outlaw Couple: With Anne Bonny. Though they may argue and have their disagreements, and the business with Max in the second season made things touch and go for a while, the two are completely in love with each other.
Phrase Catcher: People are always telling him "Fuck you, Jack!"
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: He has an impressive vocabulary which he takes every opportunity to flaunt.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In Season 4, he's in full-blown revenge mode against Rogers' occupying force after Vane's execution.
The Smart Guy: He's very proud of his wits, and very quick to point out that they are his greatest asset. He even invokes the part of the trope about being a weak fighter.
Surrounded by Idiots: Being the smart one, he often finds himself in this situation.
Idelle: Just how fucking stupid are your men?
Jack: It's hard to say.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Vane, at first. They end up becoming like brothers as the show goes on.

Anne Bonny

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bonney_anne_3790.jpg

Played By: Clara Paget

"When someone gives you a life, it ain't truly your own. You owe some part of it back."

Beautiful but cold-blooded, Bonny is Rackham's lover, and Vane's deadliest henchman. Her youthful looks mask a borderline psychopathic personality.

Ax-Crazy: Anne is psychologically fragile, and while this can make her extremely endearing and vulnerable, it can just as easily switch to murderous rage at the drop of a hat.
Badass Longcoat: She has one.
The Brute: When she and Jack were still on Vane's crew, she was his muscle.
Dark Action Girl: She's very handy with twin blades, and is extremely ruthless.
Death Glare: She has a permanent glare from beneath her hat. It only drops when she's emotionally vulnerable.
Dual Wielding: She carries a pair of swords which she wields with deadly efficiency.
Eating the Eye Candy: At the end of Season 1, she stares at Max for quite a long time when she sees her naked.
Even Evil Has Standards: She's visibly disgusted and upset when she sees and hears Max being raped and otherwise brutalized. When confronted by the fact that she's the one that turned Max over to the angry crew, her response is that she "only thought they'd kill you."
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Her back is heavily scarred from multiple floggings courtesy of her late husband.
Historical Domain Character: Anne Bonny is of course a famous figure in piracy.
The Lad-ette: She's more masculine then her flamboyant lover, Rackham.
Living Emotional Crutch: Jack is hers. In the second season, when he seemingly abandons her for Max, she is devastated, and she becomes increasingly depressed in between bouts of violence.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: With Rackham. See The Lad-ette.
Never Bareheaded: Anne is rarely seen without her hat, which shadows most of her face, and in fact only ever takes it off behind closed doors. We don't even see her entire face until well into the first season.
Outlaw Couple: With Rackham. Though they may argue and have their disagreements, and the business with Max in the second season made things touch and go for a while, the two are completely in love with each other.

Hamund

Played By: Neels Clasen

An cruel and unhinged member of the Ranger crew, Hamund has no scruples beyond his next payday and his next chance at pleasure, which usually involves the infliction of pain.

Ax-Crazy: Uncouth, sadistic and rapacious, Hamund is a piece of work.
Bald of Evil: Has a shaved head, like many sailors at the time.
Sadist: Definitely. He and every man on his crew rape Max every night, but Hamund is one who does it purely because he loves making Max suffer. At one point, Max attempts to mitigate the pain by seducing one of the other crew members and convincing him to tell the others that the intercourse could be much better when it is consensual. Upon hearing this, Hamund goes to Max and without a word begins to beat the shit out of her.
Defiant to the End: Even while Anne kills him, he still attempts to strangle her as he dies.
Gutted Like a Fish: Meets his end this way at the hands of Anne Bonny.
Hate Sink: Has no redeeming qualities outside of his loyalty to Vane, and even that is questionable.
Resignations Not Accepted: When Jack loses the crew's stash of gems, Hamund leads the men in confronting him. Jack vocally accepts responsibility for the loss but then attempts to duck out by "humbly" resigning as quartermaster. Hamund isn't having it and pointedly tells Jack to get their money back or else.
Undying Loyalty: Is one of only a handful of Ranger men to stick by Vane even after most of them desert him to join Flint, taking the ship with them. Downplayed, since this gives him opportunity to rape Max every night.

Other Pirates

Benjamin Hornigold

Played by: Patrick Lyster

No matter how many lies we tell ourselves or how many stories we convince ourselves we're a part of...we're all just thieves awaiting a noose.

A respected captain on Nassau, and the warden of the fort that provides security for the bay.

Adaptational Wimp: The real Benjamin Hornigold never really "retired" from piracy like his show counterpart did and never lost his ship (the Adventure Galley) to the very end. He stayed one of the most cunning and feared pirates of his time until the time he switched sides, at which point he just became a feared pirate hunter until his death.
Arch-Enemy: His first was Charles Vane, who snuck into and overtook his fort at the end of Season 1. Flint joins the list when he promises to help Hornigold retake his fort, and then reneges on his promise, as does Eleanor.
Butt-Monkey: During Season 2. Charles Vane has his fort, and every single one of Hornigold's attempts to get it back are shot in the foot by his own "allies."
The Captain: Of the Royal Lion.
Character Death: After he's led into an ambush, he tries to ride down and kill Flint, only for Flint to shoot him with a musket.
Cool Old Guy: During the first season, he's a grizzled old veteran who is, though authoritative, rather chill. It starts to wear away in Season 2 as his frustration over the lack of support for his attempts to retake the fort mounts.
The Dog Bites Back: At the end of Season 2, after being stabbed in the back by virtually everybody on Nassau, Hornigold joins Dufresne in kidnapping Eleanor Guthrie and turning her over to Captain Hume of the Scarborough in return for pardons.
Evil Wears Black: After swapping sides, he also swaps out his blue frock coat and white shirt for a black coat and dark blue-grey waistcoat.
Face–Heel Turn: Switches sides at the end of Season 2.
Historical Domain Character: Benjamin Hornigold was indeed a pirate and later pirate hunter who operated in the West Indies.
Historical Villain Upgrade: In real life Hornigold, though ruthless, was one of the noblest pirates of Nassau known for his good treatment of prisoners and civilians and his mentorship of several other pirate Captains. He's a good deal more ruthless and conniving in the show, with a lot less scruples.
Hunter of His Own Kind: After accepting the crown's pardons, he and Dufresne become pirate hunters under Woodes Rogers.
Nerves of Steel: Whenever Hornigold is put into a fight, he is always eerily calm, and kills with calm precision.
Nominal Hero: When he becomes a Hero Antagonist. Unlike Rogers, who is a reasonable man trying to restore order to the Bahamas, Hornigold is just as ruthless, selfish, and even cruel as the men he hunts. He just flies a different flag.
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Justified. During the first season, being an influential captain in possession of a fort, Hornigold doesn't do much pirating himself, and is content to sit in his chair overlooking the bay. During the second season, he didn't have a ship, and so was forced to sit around on the beach, trying to retake his fort.

Edward Teach

Played by: Ray Stevenson

"Strife is good. Strife makes a man strong. For if a man is capable of confronting death daily, functioning in the face of it, there's no telling what else that man can do, and a man whose limits cannot be known... is a very hard man to defeat in battle."

The infamous pirate captain Edward "Blackbeard" Teach.

Affably Evil: Impeccably and genuinely polite to most people, whether he's just asking for directions or is about to brutally kill you.
The Captain: Of the Revenge.
Captain Colorbeard: The Trope Codifier.
Defiant to the End: Even after being keelhauled three times, he spits blood at Rogers and laughs at him.
The Dreaded: His piratical career has progressed to the point that the mere mention of his name strikes terror in honest men and pirates alike.
Genius Bruiser: He is one, being both an extremely dangerous fighter and an excellent tactician, both militarily and otherwise. Also, he appears to only respect other genius bruisers, like Vane and Flint. He has no respect for Jack, despite his obvious wit and cunning, because he doesn't have the strength to back it up.
The Gunslinger: Though all pirates use pistols, Blackbeard has a particular love for them. Whereas most pirates carry one pistol, maybe two, he carries a brace of four of them, and if given a choice, he'll default to pistols over swords even in the close-quarters fighting on a ship.
Historical Domain Character: Edward Teach was probably history's most infamous pirate.
Large and in Charge: He stands 6' 4", towering over pretty much everybody else. This is accurate to historical accounts which describe him as a very tall man.
Like a Son to Me: He feels this way towards Vane, bearing him no ill will for his betrayal. He even claims that the only reason he walked away instead of fighting the coalition against him — which he seems confident he could have defeated — was because he didn't want to kill Charles.
Made of Iron: See Rasputinian Death.
Not in This for Your Revolution: In the Season 3 finale, he enters into a partnership with Flint, Rackham, and the Maroons to retake Nassau from Rogers. His previously stated position regarding the fate of Nassau — that he doesn't care about it — doesn't appear to have changed; he just wants revenge against Rogers and Eleanor for killing Charles.
Rasputinian Death: Gets keelhauled three times, then gets shot through the head.
Revenge: His motivation after Vane's hanging.
Social Darwinist: As the quote suggests, he finds himself disgusted by the prosperity that the Urca gold and Flint's terror campaign have brought to Nassau, with crews that have only taken prizes by surrender without being tested and hardened in battle, and captains unfit to lead going un-deposed because their crews are comfortable.
The Worf Effect: Retroactively put into place; Eleanor reveals that she earned the respect of the pirates of Nassau by forcing out Teach, specifically because he was the strongest of them, the one they all feared. Zig-Zagged in that he claims that despite Eleanor, Hornigold, and Vane conspiring against him, he chose to leave rather than kill his protégé.
Tranquil Fury: He doesn't say a word when he learns of Vane's death. He barely even moves. But you can tell just by the look in his eyes that he's furious.
Your Days Are Numbered: He's got a bit of shrapnel in his chest that's been making its way closer to his heart for years now. He refers to it as a "grim timepiece" that motivated him to go back on the account and seek out Vane's partnership.

Augustus Featherstone

Played by: Craig Jackson

A pirate of good reputation in Nassau; not much of a fighter, but a man who knows his sailingcraft. He becomes Jack Rackham's first quartermaster.

Beta Couple: Goes steady with Idelle.
Big Fun: Featherstone is a big guy, and quite jovial.
The Creon: He's an able quartermaster who has his crew's respect, but he seems to have no interest in becoming a captain. After the conflict between Hornigold and Vane split his crew's loyalties, he left with most of his men, and his ship. Instead of setting out under his own banner, he went looking for another crew to join, and ended up in Jack's camp.
Reasonable Authority Figure: He does have a respectable position on Jack's ship, and he listens to his crew when he talks to them and tries his best (honestly) to make a workable solution for them. And eventually becomes Nassau's new governor after Rogers' defeat.
Surrounded by Idiots: Though he's not as smart as Jack, he's got a good head on his shoulders, and like Jack, he becomes increasingly dismayed by the idiocy of his crew.

Ned Low

Played by: Tadhg Murphy

"But with me, when the men see me slaughter the crew of the Good Fortune, when they see me cut out a man's tongue from his mouth for lying, when they see me burn a boy alive in front of his father's eyes, they know, they can see it in my eyes ... there's no lie there. There's no secret remorse there. I simply don't have it in me."

Apologetic Attacker: When the captain of the Good Fortune surrenders without a fight, Low says that ordinarily he would return the favor and leave without killing anyone. Unfortunately, the captain has something Low wants, and he can't afford to leave witnesses.
Asshole Victim: No one would have missed his chaotic presence especially as he inadvertently carried his entire crew with him in his demise and certainly not Eleanor and Abigail.
Ax-Crazy: Truth in Television: Captain Ned Low is to this day considered one of few pirates who genuinely lived up to the (frequently exaggerated) reputation of pirates being vicious, bloodthirsty maniacs.
The Captain: Of the Fancy. At least until Vane kills him and takes over the ship.
Card-Carrying Villain: He is the conventional evil, one-eyed pirate and the stereotype which this fictionalised version of Ned Low contests as the "true" embodiment of piracy—unruly and unrepentant monsters who revel in intimidation and violence—as he frighteningly explained to Eleanor in his introductory monologue excerpted in the above character quote.
Decapitation Presentation: First with Vane emerging from the Fancy's cabin with his disembodied head following his crew's ambush on the ship and shortly afterwards with it being mounted on a spike on Nassau's beach as a warning.
Diabolus ex Nihilo: A foreign pirate primarily introduced to serve as a brief antagonistic plot device in Eleanor and Vane's storyline.
Establishing Character Moment: The capture of the Good Fortune. It quickly introduces Ned Low as a particularly blunt and vicious captain with a inclination for unrestrained violence towards achieving his goals and commanding an extremely loyal and subservient crew. Or the bar exchange with Eleanor where he effectively spells it out for her.
Feet-First Introduction: He makes his entrance traversing the plank bridge between the Fancy and the Good Fortune until his face eventually comes into frame as he boards the latter ship.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a distinct, intimidating scar over his right eye.
Historical Domain Character: Edward Low was indeed a British pirate active in the Caribbean with a reputation for being uncommonly vicious and brutal by the standards of most pirates. His career started a bit later than it's portrayed here, though.
Hollywood History: Vane kills him even though in real life his career began long after Vane was executed.
Karmic Death: Brutally decapitated his own First Mate after he discovered he planned to betray him, and he did it in Eleanor's tavern in broad daylight for the sole purpose of intimidating her and everyone else in Nassau. Earlier, his crew of the Fancy massacred the crew of the Good Fortune during Abigail Ashe's abduction. Guess how he ends up dying and the fate of his crew?
Leave No Witnesses: Upon learning of the valuable Abigail Ashe being aboard the captured Good Fortune, Low immediately has the crew massacred and the ship burned before departing with his prize.
Off with His Head!: Charles Vane decapitates him and leaves his head on a pike with a note below it in order to send a message. The note read, "I angered Charles Vane."
Reluctant Psycho: Downplayed Trope. Ned Low seems to be aware of how fundamentally messed up he is, doesn't much like it, and doesn't seem to derive any particular joy out of being a psychotic murderer - but he's still, well, a psychotic murderer.
Sadist: Boasted about burning a man's son alive before him, candidly fantasized to his crew about raping Eleanor to the verge of death, and slowly decapitated his quartermaster, Meeks, with a dagger to his nape. Enough said. However, a slight departure from the infamy of the historical Ned Low whose rage and brutality was never known to extend to women and children.
Smarter Than You Look: Despite his admitting to be short-sighted and a savage killer, Low is surprisingly cunning. He was articulate (if blunt) and was able to charm Eleanor briefly before threatening her life. Low was very perceptive (noticing Vane was a major power on the island not to be crossed and that Eleanor wasn’t going to be able to withstand him without Vane’s support). He also readily deduced that the concerned Meeks might hastily attempt to seek outside alliance to depose him from their brief conversation and preemptively had another loyal crew member, Holmes, shadow him. And both his fights showcase his quick thinking and dirty tactics. While he lacked skill in navigation or politics, his immense charisma and honesty won over his crew.
The Sociopath: A sadistic, violent lunatic who rapes, maims and kills on a whim and with a complete lack of remorse. And while capable of being charming, it is a superficial charm, and inevitably followed with gleeful savagery.
Starter Villain: He seems to be set up as Season 2's Big Bad but is decapitated by Charles Vane in the third episode of the season.
Stupid Evil: He is actually very conscious of the irrational extent of his aggression and cruelty but is simply prone to surrendering to his impulses as shown in his confession to Vane.
The Teaser: Season 2 starts off with the introduction of Captain Low and the crew of the Fancy.
Too Dumb to Live: Ned's active belligerence to Eleanor's authority with her being his new merchant on an unfamiliar island and with an exceptionally valuable hostage on his hands was far from sensible but the coup de grâce was him going directly to Vane and openly threatening her life.
Wham Line: His monologue to Eleanor in her tavern which ostensibly starts off as sincere but quickly switches to the above quote excerpt.

Israel Hands

Played by: David Wilmot

"You don't know? Why should I follow you if you don't know? Why would anyone? .... I don't give a shit what you choose but fucking choose! And don't make me suffer the thinking!"

A mysterious, scarred, and extremely dangerous outcast living among the wrecks of Nassau Island — until Silver brings him into the main plot.

Bludgeoned to Death: When looting the bodies washed up on the shores of Nassau, he finishes off anyone still breathing with a blow from his hammer.
Composite Character: Of the historical figure (Blackbeard's second in command) and the Treasure Island character.
Doomed by Canon: His ultimate fate of being killed aboard the Hispaniola by Jim Hawkins is a well-known element of the Treasure Island novel.
The Dragon: He becomes Silver's.
Dual Wielding: A sword and a hammer.
Lightning Bruiser: Fast enough to take on multiple armed men and kill them, strong enough to easily take down Berringer and Billy.
- Flint, however, easily takes him down.
No Holds Barred Beat Down: Surprisingly, he was on the receiving end of one in his backstory, at the hands of Teach no less. The beating was apparently so thorough and humiliating that the memory of it actually leaves Hands shaken for a bit after Silver reminds him of it.
Powerful Pick: Has used the sharp end of his hammer like a one-handed pickaxe.
Scars Are Forever: Blackbeard shot him in the face. He still bears the marks.
Would Hurt a Child: It is revealed that the first time the pirates drove out the British authorities, it was Hands who personally slit the throats of Governor Thompson's wife and child.

Guthrie Trading

Eleanor Guthrie

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guthrie_eleanor_2896.jpg

Played By: Hannah New

"Nassau is my father's house. It is my birthright, and I am obligated to see it set right."

Eleanor Guthrie is the beautiful and determined daughter of Richard Guthrie, the wealthiest black marketer in the Bahamas and the chief fence/supplier for the many pirate crews of New Providence Island. Left by her father to oversee all his dealings with the pirates in Nassau, she owns and operates the tavern on Nassau’s main street. In contrast to her snooty, self-interested father, Eleanor dreams of building something lasting by making Nassau self-sufficient. She wields considerable influence, leading her to form a pact with Captain Flint that will either bring her dream of complete independence to fruition, or doom it entirely.

Big Good: Is attempting to become this for Nassau. As it's a lawless island run by pirates, her results are mixed.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: She's managed to betray almost every other main character at some point — usually for understandable reasons, but she's definitely placing her own interests above her friendships.
Died in Your Arms Tonight: After suffering a grievous injury during a protracted struggle with a wounded Spanish soldier, she is found bleeding outside the Barlow house by Flint, who cradles her in her last moments.
Establishing Character Moment: Being a walking Cluster F-Bomb.
Fatal Flaw: Immaturity. As Vane points out, whenever somebody who cares for her ends up telling her hard truths, Eleanor ends up betraying that person for somebody who will tell her what she wants to hear. In other words, for a determined and intelligent woman, she can be very self-centered and childish, leading to her making decisions she ends up regretting.
Guile Hero: Max learned from her. This is also why she and Flint get on so well and team up often.
Hypocrite: Eleanor has a bad tendency to become enraged when others do things to her that she's done to them. For instance, in the first season, she promises Mr. Scott that she won't try to coerce Captain Bryson into giving her his cannons if he refuses to comply while planning to do just that. In other words, she looked him in the eye and lied to his face. When her father did the same thing to her, she got angry, not seeming to realize her own hypocrisy.
It's All About Me: After learning about Scott's death and the survival of his wife and child, she goes from mournful to angry and self-pitying, lumping Scott in with her father, Vane and Flint as men who tried to use the trading empire she built to their own advantage and how that diminished her accomplishment. Nevermind that Scott was protecting his family and freeing slaves while Eleanor was acting as a glorified middle-man for the pirates and the loot they stole.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Can appear incredibly selfish but her concern is Nassau and she's incredibly loyal to those she loves, including Mr. Scott, Flint, Max, Madi and Woodes Rogers.
The Lad-ette: Not to the same degree as Anne Bonny, but she's perfectly capable of meeting very uncouth men on their level and swears like a... pirate.
Let Them Die Happy: Flint lies to her in her final moments, telling her that Rogers (her husband and father of her unborn child) wasn't with the Spanish when they invaded Nassau, something she has denied fiercely despite evidence to the contrary.
Like a Son to Me: Both Flint and Mr. Scott treat her with almost paternal affection. In contrast to her real father.
One of the Boys: Runs an island of pirates who are almost entirely men and commands their respect if not their loyalty.
Self-Made Woman: While most people think she simply inherited her father's empire, she claims that it was she and her mother that actually made the empire, leaving him to be the necessary male figurehead in the patriarchal world. In any case, after her father's empire crumbles, she quickly rebuilds her own in "VI".
Spanner in the Works: To many of the plans the pirates make, as her concern is Nassau as a whole. Even after death, her memory and work in Nassau convinces her grandmother to step in and restore order.
Violently Protective Girlfriend: She and Anne are the only ones who seem to care that Max is being used as a Sex Slave.

Mr Scott

Played By: Hakeem Kae-Kazim

Eleanor Guthrie’s right-hand. Formerly Richard Guthrie’s house slave, his loyalties will be put to the test as Eleanor allies herself more closely with Captain Flint.

Honest Advisor: To Eleanor, whom he continuously warns against making bad decisions.
Living a Double Life: As we find out in Season 3, he has a wife and daughter living in a secret location on an otherwise deserted island. His wife is the queen of the settlement there, and Scott sporadically sends her escaped/liberated slaves. All this is a total secret to his friends and associates.
Number Two: He begins the series as Eleanor's right hand man. Eventually, after serving on Ben Hornigold's crew, he is promoted to Flint's quartermaster during their joint venture to retake Nassau's fort from Charles Vane. He stays on even after Flint and Hornigold's alliance is dissolved, only to be voted out in favour of John Silver.
Only Sane Man: All Scott wants to do is keep the business stable, make some money, and minimize risk. Season 3 reveals he has a deeper reason for this: namely his family.

Richard Guthrie

Played By: Sean Michael

A smuggler and the richest black marketer in the Bahamas. Because of this, he has become a powerful and dangerous man.

Character Death: Charles Vane has him crucified at the end of "XVI". in order to send a message to Eleanor.
Cruel to Be Kind: His reasoning for conspiring against Eleanor with Captain Bryson and Mr. Scott is that Eleanor is going to get herself killed if he allows her to continue on her current course.
Dirty Coward: By Vane's account, he died begging for his life and even offered Eleanor's life in exchange for his own. We have no way of knowing if this is actually true, but given everything that we've seen of him, this wouldn't be out of character for him.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: According to his mother anyway.
The Un-Favourite: He seems to occupy this spot among his siblings.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: He has a huge chip on his shoulder about his father and brothers considering him a failure.

Providence Island

Max

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxbs_8751.jpg

Played By: Jessica Parker Kennedy

Max is a seductive, cunning, and cool-headed prostitute in the brothel on Nassau. In Eleanor Guthrie, she’s found a kindred spirit, a lover, maybe even a savior, but when her aspirations and Eleanor’s begin to conflict, their relationship, and Max’s well-being, take a dark turn for the worse…

Ambiguously Gay: As a prostitute she is required to sleep with men, but has only had serious relationships with women, specifically Anne Bonny and Eleanor. Mrs. Mapleton even recruits Georgia to be Max's lover as Max will not sleep with men unless she is coerced into it meaning it is likely that Max is a lesbian.
Badass Boast: Max indulges in these frequently, often focusing on her sexual prowess.
- In Season 2, Jack brings out this trait in Max when they compete over Anne.
  "I believe that somewhere, somehow, you have known that she has wanted this, needed this for a very long time. I am giving it to her. And now that she has it, it would be exceeding difficult for her to let it go. This upsets you, this threatens you. I am sorry. There is nothing you can do about it."
  "The conflict within her. I had it under control. Right until the moment you walked in on her and me, for that was the moment you began the competition between you and me. What is happening here, the three of us, it is only temporary. A state of denial until she finally makes a choice."
  In response to Jack's incredulity that Max could expect Anne to forsake a lifelong bond after sleeping with her for only a week, her only response is, "You'd be amazed what can change in a week in my bed."
- And in Season 3, she's still in fine form.
  To Anne: "I own a tavern, a brothel, a tanner, a butcher... interests in a dozen other concerns on the street. I am the one they come to here when they need things, want things, fear things. In another time and another place, they would call me a queen."
  To Woodes Rogers: "You say you want to be a friend of Nassau. Well, I am Nassau."
Born into Slavery: Her mother was a slave belonging to a wealthy landowner. Her father was the landowner.
Child by Rape: Max was born to a slave woman and the landowner who had owned her mother.
Closet Key: She serves as this for Anne figuring out she is bisexual.
Lipstick Lesbian: In love with Eleanor, ends up bedding Anne quite frequently, and in Season 3 ends up in bed with a prostitute who looks a lot like Eleanor. Yes, she's had relations with men but being a prostitute it may have been no more than business, especially since she was being kept as a sex slave in the brothel.
Ms. Fanservice: In case her cleavagey outfits and tendency to get nude didn't tip you off.
Rape as Drama: She's kidnapped by Vane and 'punished' by locking her in a room and letting the entire crew rape her. This later happens again on the beach.
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Max is incredibly articulate, especially for someone who wasn't allowed an education as a child, and she'll never use one word when ten will suffice. In scenes where she is paired with the equally gabby Jack, a simple question and response could stretch out for minutes.
Sex Slave: Like other prostitutes in her establishment, she was a slave forced to work in the brothel. When Vane takes her prisoner, he keeps her as a sex slave for his crew.
Tomboyish Name: It's not stated if Max is a nickname (say for Maxine) but she's a very assertive, bold young woman in a way that would have been deemed very unfeminine then (not that pirates care about the conventional mores), though she still has a very feminine style in her appearance.
Twofer Token Minority: For most of the series Max, a biracial queer woman, is the main person of color in the cast.

Miranda Barlow/Hamilton

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/barlowpro2.jpg

"If you and I are to be partners... then we ought to be partners."

Played By: Louise Barnes

"Thomas was my husband. I loved him, and he loved me. But what he shared with you? It was entirely something else."

A mysterious woman connected with Flint. It is hinted at that she is the motivation for his hidden agendas.

Bookworm: Always reading. Captain Flint brings her books from the prizes he takes.
Boom, Headshot!: She is Killed Mid-Sentence by Lord Ashe's lackey Colonel Rhett in "XVII".
Dead Person Conversation / Spirit Advisor: After her death at the end of Season 2, she appears to Flint to give him advice in his Dreams/Visions/Hallucinations.
Declaration of Protection: Thomas Hamilton and James McGraw. She would do anything for them.
Elegant Classical Musician: The first shot of her is when she is playing the virginal.
Guile Hero: Seems to have had public affairs in order to hide her husband's sexuality.
Happily Married: Despite Thomas' orientation, Miranda was more than happy in their marriage, accepted Flint with no small amount of glee, and remained in deep mourning for her husband ten years later.
Incompatible Orientation: Zig-zagged with Thomas. They were Happily Married and loved each other but he was most likely gay and so could not satiate her sexual desires, leading her to have multiple affairs with other men. None of which he minded at all.
Lady And A Scholar: Like her husband, she's very intelligent and spends much of her time reading or writing.
The Lost Lenore: Becomes this to Flint. He dreams about her constantly and leads to him relapsing into a Sanity Slippage.
Morality Chain: She and Thomas formed both ends of Flint's. With Miranda's death, said chain is finally destroyed and the English learn just how vital the Hamiltons were to containing Flint's wrath.
Nice Girl: Respectful and kind to everyone. She's much better at understanding and working around people's prejudices than Thomas or James.
Really Gets Around: Rumoured to carry on a bunch of affairs with men who were not her husband (probably because he was gay), with Lord Alfred Hamilton even reprimanding her to "close her legs". Despite being a rumour, this may have well been true as she was confirmed to have sexual relations with Flint...she even manages to seduce and have sex with a pastor.
Undying Loyalty: To Thomas and James. Her fierce devotion to Thomas is also what ultimately led to her death.
Widow Witch: Thought to be one by many of the residents of New Providence. Local gossip pegs her as a Voodoo Priestess who raised Captain Flint as a Zombie and controls him with her magic.
Worst Aid: While redressing Flint's chest wound, she comments that "whoever tied this bandage was either blind or drunk."
Flint: I think both.

Idelle

Played by: Lise Slabber

A prostitute on Nassau with a talent for extracting information from men. In the first season, she is the closest thing Max had to a friend, and in the second, she becomes Max's Number Two in the brothel.

Ascended Extra: In the first season, she was just one of Max's colleagues, albeit the closest she had to a friend and the one with the most characterization. By the end of the third season, she had become a key member of Billy's conspiracy.
Becoming the Mask: In a sense. She originally seduced Featherstone to get him to join Jack's crew, but as of the third season, though the precise nature of their relationship isn't clear, they have become at least somewhat closer, and she seems genuinely fond of him.
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Max knows she's conspiring against the governor, but keeps her around anyway because that way she knows where the leaks are coming from.
Hidden Depths: Is more perceptive then one would think. She reveals toward the end of Season 4 that she never believed the official story that Charlotte and Logan ran away to Providence and that she twigged that Anne killed them both. As such, she had dug into her savings to hire some men to kill Anne in revenge and only held off because Max told her to.
Honey Trap: She's an expert at getting people to give her information during sex.
Ms. Fanservice: Is a very buxom woman with several nude scenes throughout the show.
Number Two: From the time when Max becomes madam of the brothel at the end of Season 1 to when Mrs. Mapleton is reinstated as madam in Season 3, Idelle serves as Max's number two.

Maroon Island

Madi

Played By: Zethu Dlomo

The daughter of the Maroon Queen and Mr. Scott. Deeply concerned about her people's welfare and heir to her mother. Future wife of John Silver.

Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: She knows this, but is still a little reserved when she sees her father.
Disney Death: Apparently burns to death when the Barlow Estate is torched, but it's eventually revealed that she survived, only to be imprisoned by Woodes Rogers.
Good Is Not Soft: She is a worthy successor to her mother for this reason.
The Leader: Of the Maroons.
Named by the Adaptation: Heavily implied that she will eventually become Silver's wife, who was unnamed in the Treasure Island novel.
Politically-Active Princess: Silver doesn't try to flirt with her to get her on his side when he first meets her, he appeals to her role as future leader.
Relationship Reveal: We know she and Silver are friends, but don't realize they're lovers until a surprise post-coital shot.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Kind but strong and reserved.
Young and in Charge: Easily commands the Maroon army and civilians. A source of some tension for her mother, who is nevertheless very supportive.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Both she and her mother.

The Maroon Queen

Played By: Moshidi Motshegwa

The wife of Mr. Scott and the mother of Madi. Ruler of Maroon Island and trying to balance the safety of her people with being a refuge for escaped slaves and fighting off the attacks from the British Empire.

No Name Given: Her real name is never revealed.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Both she and her daughter.

Julius

Played By:Tony Kgoroge

An escaped slave who led an uprising and later found Maroon Island. Does not trust Silver and the Pirates.

Enemy Mine: Leads his band of rebel slaves alongside Silver's pirates when the Spanish invade.
Only Sane Man: Considers himself this among the other slaves and pirates on Maroon Island. While many of them are pressing to escalate the war with the British, Julius knows that a protracted war with the British Empire can only end one way: with all of them dead.
Slave Liberation: Uses the chaos caused by the fall of Nassau to start a slave uprising in the island's interior.

The British Empire

Thomas Hamilton

"And the moral of the story: everybody needs a partner."

Played By: Rupert Penry-Jones

"Thomas Hamilton fought to introduce the pardons to make a point. To seek change in England. And he was killed for it."

The son of Lord Alfred Hamilton. Ordered to find a solution for the pirates of Nassau before the series began.

Abusive Parents: What Alfred Hamilton did to him was horrific.
Ambiguously Bi: Thomas was a good husband and loved Miranda, but he also seemed unable to satisfy her sexual appetite so she had affairs with other men, and he himself fell in love with Flint — calling him his "truest love".
Chronic Hero Syndrome: Always strove to right wrongs wherever he found them.
Cloud Cuckoolander: What the Court and the Admiralty think of him.
Driven to Suicide: After he was institutionalized by his father, faced with the crumbling of his plans for Nassau, and the prospect of never seeing James or Miranda again, he killed himself. Except he didn't, he ended up in Savannah, Georgia.
The Gadfly: Miranda said Thomas would do this to get those around him to think.
Gentleman and a Scholar: What draws him to both James and Miranda.
Happily Married: To Miranda. Even if their sexualities didn't perfectly align, they were more than happy to stay together while also accepting Flint into their relationship.
The Idealist: What inspired those around him, but led to his downfall.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Even Peter Ashe thought so.
Intelligence Equals Isolation: His freethinking ideas cause him to be abandoned by his peers and even his family.
The Lost Lenore: To Flint and Miranda.
Morality Chain: One half of Flint's. It was Thomas' death that transformed James McGraw into the violently charismatic man that became Captain Flint.
Preserve Your Gays: Silver eventually learns that Thomas didn't kill himself, he was shipped off to a penal colony in Georgia. Flint is eventually sent to the same colony allowing the two of them to reunite.
Small Role, Big Impact: Thomas may have died ten years before the series began, but he's still a crucial driving force behind the plot and everything Flint does against the British is done in Thomas' name.
Straight Gay: Thomas is seemingly a happily married man with a high standing political position in 1700s London and a wide and healthy social circle, who appears for all intents and purposes to be a good, old-fashioned heterosexual aristocrat. Until he initiates a kiss with James McGraw.
Too Good for This Sinful Earth: James certainly seems to think of him this way. Compassionate, outspoken, forward-thinking, and pacifistic, all traits that worked against Thomas in 18th-century England.
Trauma Conga Line: His life went tragically wrong.

Woodes Rogers

Played by: Luke Roberts

"Somewhere on the other side of the world, Spain and England are fighting yet another war over what king will sit upon what throne. Meanwhile, we fight an enemy here determined to see all of civilisation collapse. The only thing standing between them an their goal is you and I. And no one else seems willing to lift a finger to help. I hope at some point someone will explain to me what sort of sense any of that makes."

The newly-appointed governor sent to Nassau to stamp out Piracy in the Bahamas.

Badass Bureaucrat: The royal governor, whose preferred method of dealing with the pirates is rooted in guile, diplomacy, and appealing to their instinct toward self-preservation, but an asskicker as well. During the battle on the road, he's able to fight off Jack Rackham while the latter is trying to strangle him with his chains, gets out onto the back of his carriage to participate in a running gun battle, survives his carriage toppling over while he's still hanging on off the back, and despite being bloody and battered, gets up, shoots Vane, and nearly clubs him to death. Furthermore, he actually survives a one-on-one with Teach, going so far as to score first blood before his men interfere.
Big Bad: For Seasons 3 and 4.
Determinator: A man of implacability and no known limits who will let nothing stand in his way to restore order to Nassau; not Flint, not Teach not even the fact that his country and Spain are supposed to be at war with each other.
Did Not Think This Through: While his plan to reach out to the Spanish for help was understandable, if desperate, he neglects to negotiate for the lives of the people of Nassau he wants spared. Not only does it allow the governor of Havana to give his men free rein in Nassau, his wife Eleanor Guthrie dies of her wounds shortly after being attacked by a Spanish marine.
Famed In-Story: His career as an explorer and privateer, and his autobiographical book detailing his adventures has made him something of a celebrity.
Fatal Flaw: He's a little too Hot-Blooded for his own good. Almost all of his actions, while smart, are the results of impulsive decisions. While he can see five steps ahead, he can't see ten steps ahead. Nearly everything he does bites him in the ass.
Fate Worse than Death: When he is defeated in the end of Season 4, Jack doesn't have him keelhauled. Instead, Marion Guthrie buys up his debt and forces a default, making all of his failures a matter of public record. To add insult to injury, Jack personally helps draft the affidavit to ensure it's as humiliating an experience as possible while forcing him to sit through every single audit to make sure he knows his life and future are over. It's to be noted in real life something similar happened but in the end Rogers's debts were forgiven and he served a second term as Governor of the Bahamas, though his health would remain frail and he'd die a few years into his term.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a jagged scar down the left side of his face which he received in the same battle that claimed his brother's life.
Historical Domain Character: Woodes Rogers was a prominent figure during the later years of the Golden Age of Piracy.
Historical Villain Upgrade: When Rogers realizes that he can count on no more support from the British Empire, he turns to the Spanish naval forces in Cuba for support in his war against the pirates and the Spanish proceed to invade and brutally ravish New Providence Island. While a Spanish invasion of Nassau did take place at this time, Rogers certainly did not invite them and in fact led the defense of the island against them.
Made of Iron: He survives having his carriage overturned while hanging onto the back of it, and is still able to get up and club Charles Vane half to death.
Minored in Ass-Kicking: He's a politician and manipulator first and foremost, but damn can the man fight. He was almost dead even against Charles Vane, bested Blackbeard, and damn near killed Flint if Jack hadn't jumped into the fray.
Mr. Fanservice: Luke Roberts is a very well built man, which is put on full display during Rogers's love scene with Eleanor.
My God, What Have I Done?: His reckless involvement of Havana's navy resulted in Nassau getting razed, with many of her people ending up brutally butchered, raped or both. His reaction is nothing short of abject horror.
No Social Skills: While he tries to play up the image of a suave and sophisticated gentleman always in control, he can be a little awkward in social situations and is regarded as somewhat shy. During his first face-to-face meeting with Flint, he practically blushes when the pirate praises his intellect.
"Not So Different" Remark: Rackham believes this about the two of them, but Rogers doesn't seem to agree. Played straighter with Flint; it's all but acknowledged that Woodes Rogers is exactly the same as Flint, aka James McGraw, used to be, minus the personal tragedies. Even their tactics are the same, as Rogers actually ends up starting his campaign with the very same blanket-pardon Flint worked so hard to make possible in London.
Sanity Slippage: After the death of his wife, he completely falls off the deep end and becomes utterly savage in nearly all actions. To say nothing of the fact that he outright starts hallucinating and behaving erratically — all signs of a psychiatric break.
Took a Level in Jerkass: After suffering a personal tragedy, completely gone is the decent and honorable man he used to be.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Though Rogers is more than capable of putting his foot down when needs be, he is willing to give his employees and subjects the benefit of the doubt, and he will always try to keep his word whenever possible.
Villain Team-Up: With the governor of Havana, to help quell the pirate rebellion. Bonus points for the governor being the brother of the Spanish captain Rogers killed in revenge for his own brother. He later teams up with Billy in an attempt to land a finishing blow to Flint and Silver.

Lord Peter Ashe

Played by:Nick Boraine

Governor of the Carolinas and former friend of James McGraw, Thomas Hamilton and Miranda Hamilton. Once a political idealist like them, he has grown into a powerful and influential power broker with connections both in the colonies and in London. He is also a ruthless pirate hunter.

Ambiguous Situation: Exactly what leverage Alfred Hamilton had over him that caused him to betray Thomas and James is not specified. James had an inkling, but whatever it was he chose not to say.
An Offer You Can't Refuse: It is revealed that he betrayed Thomas and James's affair to the Admiralty after Lord Hamilton made an unspecified threat against him and his family.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Would do anything for his daughter and he makes it clear that the only reason he didn't hang Flint straight away was because he brought her alive and unharmed, former friend or no.
Fallen Hero: Even after his betrayal, he still attempted to put Thomas's ideals into practice after taking up governorship of the Carolinas. It was the cold blooded murder of Lord Hamilton that hardened him toward pirates for good.
Hanging Judge: Shows no mercy to captured pirates nor those who do business with them.
Watching Troy Burn: As he lays dying, he watches the city he helped to build be destroyed by cannon bombardment.
We Used to Be Friends: Was a close friend of James and the Hamiltons and an ally in their endeavor to restore colonial rule to New Providence. James and Miranda wonder if their friendship will be enough to try and make Ashe see the sense of their renewed effort to see it done. The revelation of his betrayal all those years ago is what kills both the quest for pardons and their friendship stone dead.

Colonel William Rhett

William Rhett

Played by:Lars Arentz-Hansen

Commander of the Charles Town militia and Lord Ashe's right hand man.

The Dragon: To Peter Ashe.
Historical Domain Character: Is based on the real Colonel Rhett who defeated and captured the pirate Stede Bonnet.
Knight Templar: Takes a hardline against pirates.
Ludicrous Gibs: Is blown to bits alongside some of his men by a broadside from the Spanish Man-O-War.
Not Hyperbole: Threatens both James and Miranda that he'd shoot them where they stood if they get too close to Lord Ashe. He makes good on his threat at the end of the episode.
Rabid Cop: As a lawman he is certainly not obligated to be civil toward pirates, but assaulting a man who surrendered in good faith does not do him any favors. Nor does shooting an unarmed woman in the head.

Berringer

Capt. Berringer

Played by: Chris Larkin

"There isn't a good man among them. Not anymore. Some of them may have been, before all this. Some of them may be again on the other side of it. But right now, good men are not what the moment requires. Right now, the time calls for dark men to do dark things. Do not be afraid to lead them to it."

An officer of the British Army and Woodes Rogers's new second in command who elected to remain in Nassau when the fleet was recalled.

Tropes

A Father to His Men: One of his most sympathetic traits is that he cares greatly for each and every one of his men.
Ax-Crazy: Is regarded as a fanatic by pretty much everyone but Rogers. Hell, in his introductory episode, it's revealed he mutinied against his admiral because they were pulling out of Nassau. In battle (and show), he's also shown to be exceptionally brutal.
Dangerous Deserter: Berringer and the other Redcoats under Rogers's command have disobeyed orders to return back to Europe for the concurrent War of the Quadruple Alliance and instead stayed behind to help in the fight against the pirates, whom they loathe for the defeat they suffered on Maroon Island. What makes them this trope is that they are exceptionally unhinged and fanatical in their hatred of the pirates and with no higher military command to real them in, they are free to do whatever they see fit to prosecute their war. Lampshaded by Berringer, who tells a captive Mr. De Groot that if they ever see England again, they will all definitely be tried for Mutiny, but he does not care.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Or rather, the strong cannot understand the weak. Berringer's greatest weakness is that he cannot understand why repeatedly enforcing fear and oppression won't solve the problems in Nassau, and will in fact lead the people to rise up against him.
Fatal Family Photo: "XXXI" opens with him wistfully viewing a locket containing pictures of his wife and child. The episode ends with Israel Hands cutting his throat, and the bloody locket falling into the dirt.
Good Is Not Soft: As evidenced by his page quote, coupled with He Who Fights Monsters and Pay Evil unto Evil. He believes that to fight the pirates of Nassau, one must be willing to sink to their level to do it. He reacts to pirate savagery with savagery of his own, and he gets started on trying and executing the prisoners his men had taken as soon as possible. Soon after we see Berringer's methods for ourselves, Bones tells Flint that Berringer's ruthless tactics were enough to completely negate Billy's terror campaign simply because people were more scared of him instead.
It's Personal: He clearly cares for his men, and the whole reason he refused to return to England was so that he could stay behind and force the pirates to pay for slaughtering and mutilating his friends at the end of Season 3.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Though he's a hard bastard, he's loyal to Woodes Rogers, giving him advice and encouragement in the face of a dangerous mission, and he clearly cares for the family he has home in England.
Slashed Throat: How he meets his end at Israel Hands's... hands.
Smarter Than You Look: Though he's something of a blunt instrument, and he doesn't play the long game like other characters do, he's not stupid. Instead of trusting someone who has a history of having her own agenda, he uses threats and coercion to ensure Max's cooperation. When he discovers Silver is still alive, he wastes no time in sending a full detachment of soldiers to find him, and when he lays a trap for the pirates, he makes sure he has a backup plan, and if they hadn't received two separate waves of reinforcements, he would have won.
We Hardly Knew Ye: He's only around for three episodes, and it's only in his last episode that we start to learn something about him, namely his personal philosophy and the fact he has a family, and start to sympathize with him.

Bryson

Played by: Langley Kirkwood

Captain Bryson is an associate of Richard Guthrie's who appears in the first season. Flint needs the twelve-pounder cannons of his ship The Andromache if he wants a chance to take the Urca. After promising them in initial negotiations, Bryson betrays them and flees to the open sea, forcing the Walrus to pursue and take them by force.

Tropes:

Ace Pilot: Of a nautical variety; much is made of his skill as a sailor.
Boom, Headshot!: How he goes out, courtesy of a musket.
The Captain: Of the Andromache.
Commanding Coolness: Always keeps his cool, even when challenges he's never faced come.
Kick the Dog: Is shown to be transporting 38 slaves and allowing his men to treat them badly.
Starter Villain: He's the first character we see the Walrus pit itself against and come out on top of.
Wicked Cultured: Has the same received pronunciation and alleged class that all the Brits do.
The Worf Effect: Guthrie states that in ten years of sailing the same route, he has never been boarded. This makes it all the more exciting when the heroes do.
Worthy Opponent
Xanatos Speed Chess: When his ship is successfully boarded, he has most of the crew hole up on a lower deck behind the door to the gunpowder magazine. The door is thick enough to withstand conventional attack, and if the pirates try to blow their way in, they'll ignite the magazine and kill themselves as well. At the same time, he signals for help from another ship, and starts enabling other plans to disable the crew.

Captain Francis Hume

Played by: David Dukas

A Royal Navy officer and captain of the HMS Scarborough, tasked with arresting Richard Guthrie and patrolling the Bahamas against the Pirates of Nassau. He and his ship were originally stationed in Boston, and their arrival is taken as a sign that the British plan to restore colonial rule to New Providence Island.

Tropes

The Captain: Of the HMS Scarborough.
The Dreaded: Of a sort, as Hume's ship is a full masted Man-O-War staffed with trained soldiers and possesses more firepower then anything the pirates of Nassau can field against it. Both Flint and Gates know the ship by sight and reputation, which is strong enough that even experienced and lethal fighters like Flint choose to flee rather then face it in battle.
Karma Houdini: Receives no comeuppance for torturing Billy and is one of only a handful of characters to dip out of the story with his life, career and fortune intact.
Reassigned to Antarctica: It is obvious that this is how he sees his posting to the Caribbean. In Season 2, he even uses up every last bit of leverage and influence he has to secure ten pardons so he can bribe Billy and nine other pirates into kidnapping Captain Flint and delivering him to the Navy, so he can use the favor this would get him to secure a better posting somewhere else. He ends up having to make do with Eleanor Guthrie instead.
Torture Technician: Downplayed, since he does not display any technical expertise with the infliction of pain like most examples of this trope but the way he tortures Billy is one he learned from the Spanish, and he displays the casual disinterest that some variants of this archetype possess.
The Unfought: For the first two seasons, he and his crew are built up as a harbinger of the return of British rule and a great threat to the pirates' way of life. According to Billy, his ship and a full company of Royal Marines were assembled on Harbor Island, waiting for the order to invade Nassau. Aside from the Andromache incident and the scuffle he has with Flint in "I", he and his crew never come close to invading Nassau. Presumably after turning in Eleanor, Captain Hume was able to write his own ticket and secure the better posting he was looking for. While a British effort to restore colonial rule to Nassau is eventually undertaken with Navy support, Hume and his men take no part in it.

Parrish

Played by: Graham Hopkins

An English merchant captain in possession of a very significant piece of information, which Captain Flint is after.

Tropes

Defiant to the End: Attempts to put on a brave face when his death by torture is all but certain. Flint isn't impressed.
General Failure: Every one of his attempts to fight off the crew of the Walrus are ineffectual.
Properly Paranoid: Assumed that Captain Flint was hunting his ship down because he knew about the Urcas course and schedule, and attempted to fight him off despite the obvious disadvantages between his ship and Flint's so as to keep it a secret. He was proven right when Flint discreetly asked him where the missing log page was.
Sherlock Scan: Realizes within seconds of meeting Flint that his position as captain of the Walrus was tenuous, and mocked him for it.
Parrish: How long before you're the one they tie to the mast?
Small Role, Big Impact: Vazquez apparently telling him the full details of the Urcas course and schedule and him setting the information down within his log is what sets the series' plot in motion.
Uncertain Doom: Was about to be tortured to death before the Scarborough arrived. While he was certainly saved from a slow and painful death, it isn't clear if Singleton decided to let him live or to kill him anyway before the Walrus fled. Either way, he is never seen again.
The Unreveal: It is never revealed what he hoped to accomplish himself with the Urcas schedule.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Only appears for the first ten minutes of the first episode before he disappears from the story for good, one way or another.

The Spanish Empire

Vasquez

Tropes

The Ghost: Both figuratively as he had no screen time at all and literally as he is dead.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Apparently he did not take being mortally wounded by his own bosses lightly; he passed on everything he knew about the Urca's course and schedule to the English knowing damn well the chaos it would cause for them.
No Name Given: As he was essentially a spy by profession, Vasquez could be a pseudonym.
Ignored Expert: He urged his superiors to postpone the launch of the Urca due to fact that the Hurricane season was beginning and that an Naval escort could not be arranged. His superiors were so adamant that the Urca launch ASAP that not only did they demand the ship launch anyway but tried to have Vasquez killed when he refused and threatened to take his concerns higher up the chain of command. The result? Vasquez not only survived the attempt long enough to pass everything his knew onto a random English merchant captain named Parrish before he died, but the Urca ended up being shipwrecked on the coast of Florida due to a storm exactly as Vasquez warned. Worse, the shipwreck resulted not just in the Urca gold being being stolen by pirates but a fully armed, square rigged Spanish Man-O-War as well, which was later used to level Charlestown. Piracy in the Bahamas was emboldened more then ever all because the Spanish authorities failed to heed Vasquez.
Posthumous Character: Died before the events of the series.
Small Role, Big Impact: Though he had no screen time and died before the series began, his actions are what set the series's plot in motion.
The Spymaster: Was one of the top colonial agents for Casa de Contratación.

Juan Antonio Grandal

A Spanish Army officer and intelligence agent tasked with making sure the British deliver on their promise to secure the Urca gold and send it back to Spain.

Played by: James Gracie (season 3) Jorge Suquet (season 4)

Tropes

Colonel Badass: Personally leads the Spanish forces during the invasion of Nassau.
The Handler: Serves as one of these for Mrs. Hudson.
Would Hurt a Child: Coerced Mrs. Hudson into spying for him by threatening her children.
Rape, Pillage, and Burn: Acknowledges this as a reality of war and that setting soldiers loose on a civilian populace cannot be undone once done.

Governor Vicente de Raja

The Spanish governor of Cuba.

Played by: Ilay Kurelovic

Tropes

Enemy Mine: Despite the animosity he feels for Rogers personally, as well as the fact that Spain and England are supposed to be at war, he is forced to acknowledge the threat to both their empires represented by the pirates and their maroon allies and act accordingly.
Know When to Fold 'Em: Offscreen, Raja and Gandal assured Rogers that the Spanish authorities have all but given up trying to secure the last of the Urca gold with the War of the Quadruple Alliance now having top priority.
La Résistance: Invoked by Raja when Rogers tries to convince him to aid in subduing Nassau. Raja brings up a valid concern that if he commits his forces, he could be sending them to conduct a long and arduous counter insurgency campaign that could take months or even years to complete. Rogers gains his support by assuring him that all he requires of his soldiers is that they leave Fort Nassau alone; everybody outside of it is fair game.
You Killed My Brother: Holds a grudge against Rogers due to the fact that one of the men that he brutally tortured and murdered during his famous voyage happened to have been his brother, Simon.

Characters / Black Sails

Edit Locked

Crew of The Walrus

Captain James Flint

"Long" John Silver

William "Billy Bones" Manderly

Gates

Dufresne

Randall

Mr. DeGroot

Morley

Dr. Howell

Joji

Dooley

Joshua

Logan

Singleton

Crew of The Ranger

Captain Charles Vane

Jack Rackham

Anne Bonny

Hamund

Other Pirates

Benjamin Hornigold

Edward Teach

Augustus Featherstone

Ned Low

Israel Hands

Guthrie Trading

Eleanor Guthrie

Mr Scott

Richard Guthrie

Providence Island

Max

Miranda Barlow/Hamilton

Idelle

Maroon Island

The British Empire

Thomas Hamilton

Woodes Rogers

Lord Peter Ashe

William Rhett

Capt. Berringer

Tropes

Tropes:

Captain Francis Hume

Tropes

Parrish

Tropes

The Spanish Empire

Vasquez

Tropes

Juan Antonio Grandal

Tropes

Governor Vicente de Raja

Tropes

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