History Characters / BlackSails

* PSadist: Was gleefully getting ready to torture Captain Parrish to death before the Royal Navy showed up.

* BoisterousBruiser: 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.

* AnAxeToGrind: Uses a Boarding Axe in combat.

* DumbMuscle: 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 [[ExploitedTrope exploit]] this by rigging the captain's vote in his favor; then once his limited capabilities compared to Flint become apparent, much of [[BadassCrew the Walrus men]] would defect, allowing Vane and Rackham to recruit them for their own crew.

* Sadist: Was gleefully getting ready to torture Captain Parrish to death before the Royal Navy showed up.

* ShooOutTheClowns: Randall provided a bit 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.

[[caption-width-right:250:''"You and I would be a hell of a lot better off as partners than as rivals."'']]

* [[YouWouldntShootMe You Woundnt 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 [[BadassCrew crew]] and his [[TheDreaded 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.

* [[YouWouldntShootMe YouWoundntStabMe]]: 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 [[BadassCrew crew]] and his [[TheDreaded 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.

* YouWouldntShootMe: Or "You wouldn't cut my throat" in this case. 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 [[BadassCrew crew]] and his [[TheDreaded 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.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Flint's orientation is hard to pin-point. 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. Though he was angry with Miranda at the time and they aren't shown in any other sexual encounters after it.

* EnemyMine: Despite the animosity he feels for Rogers personally, he is forced to acknowledge the threat represented by the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil pirates]] and their [[SlaveLiberation maroon allies]] and act accordingly.

* UndyingLoyalty: To Silver. [[spoiler: 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 kill Silver altogether and even volunteers to do it himself.]]

* LustMakesYouDumb: 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 favorite whore, Charlotte. Justified, as he has been at sea for too long and is too sexually frustrated to think clearly. This ultimately results in his and Charlotte's deaths at Anne's hands.
* MrExposition: Gives Silver a quick rundown on how the Pirates of Nassau make money from the cargo they seize.

* LeaderWannabe: He temporarily unseats Flint as captain, but soon realizes that despite his brains, he simply lacks Flint's commanding presence and ability to keep a cool head under pressure. 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.

[[folder:Featherstone]]

[[folder:Hornigold]]

[[folder:Teach]]

* BoomHeadshot: She is KilledMidSentence by Lord Ash's lackey Colonel Rhett in "XVII".

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: [[spoiler: When Rogers realises that he can count on no more support from the British Empire, he turns to the [[GodzillaThreshold Spanish naval forces in Cuba]] for support in his war against the pirates and the Spanish proceed to [[RapePillageAndBurn invade and brutally ravish New Providence Island.]] While a Spanish invasion of Nassau [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_Nassau_(1720) did take place at this time]], Rogers certainly did ''not'' invite them and in fact led the defence of the island ''against'' them.]]

* WatchingTroyBurn: [[spoiler: As he lays dying, he watches the city he built be destroyed by cannon bombardment.]]

* NotHyperbole: Threatens both James and Miranda that he'd shoot them where they stand if they get too close to Lord Ashe. [[spoiler: He makes good on his threat at the end of the episode.]]

* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: 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 knowing damn well the chaos it would cause for them.

[[/folder:Lord Peter Ashe]]

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.

[[/folder: Colonel William Rhett]]

* NotHyperbole: Threatens both James and Miranda that he'd shoot them where they stand if they stand too close to Lord Ashe. [[spoiler: He makes good on his threat at the end of the episode.]]
* RabidCop: While as a lawman he is certainly not obligated to be nice toward pirates, assaulting a man who surrendered in good faith does not do him any favors. [[spoiler: Nor does shooting an unarmed woman in the head.]]

[[folder: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
* AFatherToHisMen: One of his most sympathetic traits is that he cares greatly for each and every one of his men.
* AxCrazy: 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.
* DangerousDeserter: Berringer and the other Redcoats under Rogers's command have disobeyed orders to return back to Europe for the concurrent [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Quadruple_Alliance 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. DeGroot that if they ever see England again, they will all definitely be tried for Mutiny, [[ItsPersonal but he does]] [[WorthIt not care]].
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: 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.
* FatalFamilyPhoto: "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.
* GoodIsNotSoft: As evidenced by his page quote, coupled with HeWhoFightsMonsters and PayEvilUntoEvil. 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.
* ItsPersonal: 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.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: 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.
* SlashedThroat: How he meets his end at Israel Hands's... [[{{pun}} hands]].
* SmarterThanYouLook: 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.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler: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.]]

[[folder:Bryson]]


--->'''Played by:''' Langley Kirkwood
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2022_03_02_at_82059_pm.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:]]
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:
* AcePilot: Of a nautical variety; much is made of his skill as a sailor.
* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler: How he goes out, courtesy of a musket.]]
* TheCaptain: Of the ''Andromache''.
* CommandingCoolness: Always keeps his cool, even when challenges he's never faced come.
* KickTheDog: Is shown to be transporting 38 slaves and allowing his men to treat them badly.
* StarterVillain: He's the first character we see the ''Walrus'' pit itself against and come out on top of.
* WickedCultured: Has the same received pronunciation and alleged class that all the Brits do.
* TheWorfEffect: 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.
* WorthyOpponent
* XanatosSpeedChess: 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.



[[/folder]]

[[folder:Captain Francis Hume]]
!!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.

* TheCaptain: Of the HMS ''Scarborough''.
* TheDreaded: 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.
* KarmaHoudini: 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.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: 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. [[spoiler: He ends up having to make do with Eleanor Guthrie instead.]]
* TortureTechnician: 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.
* TheUnfought: 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. [[spoiler: 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.]]

[[folder: Parrish]]
!!Parrish
--->'''Played by: '''Graham Hopkins
An English merchant captain in possession of a very significant piece of information, which Captain Flint is after.