History ShoutOut / TheBrotherhoodOfTheBlackFlag

* Niccolo Sabatini, Reynard’s first mate, gets his surname from Creator/RafaelSabatini, who wrote numerous historical adventure novels, several of which feature pirates as main characters, such as ''Literature/CaptainBlood'', ''Literature/TheSeaHawk'', and ''Scaramouche'', among others.
* Robert Hale is named for actor Alan Hale, who was Creaor/ErrolFlynn’s sidekick (and occasional adversary) in many of his films. His friends from the ''Keighley'' are likewise all named for actors who have played “sidekicks” and supporting roles in pirate and swashbuckler films.

* Fredrick Cavendish is named for Fred Cavens, Belgian fencer sword fight choreographer and fencing instructor for pretty much any decent Hollywood swashbuckler from the 1920s through the 1950s you can think of, as well as Disney’s classic ''Series/{{Zorro}}'' television series. He also trained Hollywood royalty such as Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Creator/ErrolFlynn, Tyrone Power, Creator/BasilRathbone, and Creator/RobertDonat.

* “Reynard” not only means “fox” in French, but the original Germanic name “Raginard” that Reynard is derived from refers to someone who gives strong counsel, making it a more than appropriate name for a smooth-talking character like Captain Reynard. Not at all coincidentally, the film studio Twentieth Century Fox produced a number of swashbucklers starring Creator/TyronePower in the 1940s, including ''Film/TheMarkOfZorro'' (1940) and ''The Black Swan'' (1942).

** Maureen Barnes is named for Creator/MaureenOHara and Binnie Barnes, both of whom appeared in ''The Spanish Main'' (1945). Maureen O'hara has also starred in numerous other swashbucklers and costumed adventure films.

** Maureen Barnes is named for Creator/MaureenOHara and Binnie Barnes.

* Brian Lancaster is named after Creator/BurtLancaster, star of ''Film/TheCrimsonPirate'' (1952). [[spoiler:To compensate for the movie not having any sword fights, something the author was very disappointed about, Lancaster was chosen to be the final pirate Reynard would hunt down and cross swords with.]]
* Thomas Byrne is named for Creator/GabrielByrne, who played a fugitive pirate in the movie ''Shipwrecked'' (1990).
* Henry Sanders is named for Creator/GeorgeSanders, who played the villainous Captain Billy Leech in ''TheBlackSwan'' (1942).
* Oliver Newton is named for Robert Newton, who popularized many pirate stereotypes with his portrayal of Long John Silver in Disney’s live-action ''Film/{{Treasure Island|1950}}'' (1950).
* Alvaro Quintero is named for Creator/AnthonyQuinn, who was in several pirate movies, including ''TheBlackSwan (1942), ''Against All Flags'' (1952), and ''A High Wind in Jamaica'' (1965).
* Thomas Fairbanks is named for Creator/DouglasFairbanks, swashbuckling action hero of the Silent Era and star of ''The Black Pirate'' (1926). Fairbanks doesn’t have a single line of dialogue throughout the book.
* Maureen Barnes is named for Creator/MaureenOHara and Binnie Barnes.

** Brian Lancaster is named after Creator/BurtLancaster, star of ''Film/TheCrimsonPirate'' (1952). [[spoiler:To compensate for the movie not having any sword fights, something the author was very disappointed about, Lancaster was chosen to be the final pirate Reynard would hunt down and cross swords with.]]
** Thomas Byrne is named for Creator/GabrielByrne, who played a fugitive pirate in the movie ''Shipwrecked'' (1990).
** Henry Sanders is named for Creator/GeorgeSanders, who played the villainous Captain Billy Leech in ''TheBlackSwan'' (1942).
** Oliver Newton is named for Robert Newton, who popularized many pirate stereotypes with his portrayal of Long John Silver in Disney’s live-action ''Film/{{Treasure Island|1950}}'' (1950).
** Alvaro Quintero is named for Creator/AnthonyQuinn, who was in several pirate movies, including ''TheBlackSwan (1942), ''Against All Flags'' (1952), and ''A High Wind in Jamaica'' (1965).
** Thomas Fairbanks is named for Creator/DouglasFairbanks, swashbuckling action hero of the Silent Era and star of ''The Black Pirate'' (1926). Fairbanks doesn’t have a single line of dialogue throughout the book.
** Maureen Barnes is named for Creator/MaureenOHara and Binnie Barnes.

* Matthew Heston is named for Charlton Heston, who also played Silver in the classic ''[[Film/TreasureIsland1990 Treasure Island]]'' TV movie (1990) alongside Creator/ChristianBale, Oliver Reed, and Creator/ChristopherLee.

* Fredrick Cavendish is named for Fred Cavens, Belgian fencer sword fight choreographer and fencing instructor for pretty much any decent Hollywood swashbuckler from the 1920s through the 1950s you can think of, as well as Disney’s classic ''Series/{{Zorro}}'' television series. He also trained Hollywood royalty such as Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Basil Rathbone, and Robert Donat.

* The name of Catalina’s father Bartholomew Moore, a Shakesperean actor, is a play on the name Barrymore in honor of Creator/JohnBarrymore, acclaimed Shakesperean actor as well as one of the greats of the Silent Era - including the silent swashbuckler ''Don Juan'' (1926).

* Captain Fillion is obviously named for Creator/NathanFillion, star of the TV show ''Series/Firefly''. And no, the brown coat he wears is not a coincidence.

Odalis Cortez is semi-named after Warner Bros. film director Michael Curtiz, whose works not only include classics such as Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), Casablanca (1942), and Mildred Pierce (1945), but also some of Errol Flynn’s best swashbuckling movies, including Captain Blood (1936), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), and The Sea Hawk (1940).

Captain Fillion is named for Nathan Fillion, star of the TV show Firefly, where he plays the captain of a transport ship (and small-time crook for hire). It’s but one of numerous Firefly tributes I’ve sprinkled throughout the novel. It doesn’t take much of a stretch of the imagination to picture the crew of the Serenity as 17th and 18th century swashbucklers instead of outer space guns for hire.

Sumner, the crewman who sings the sea shanty I wrote, got his name from Sting’s real name. When I was coming up with the lyrics and tone, inspired by “Health to the Company” and the Firefly theme “The Ballad of Serenity,” I pictured Sting being the one to sing it.

The name Lincoln Parker, Reynard’s pirate “mentor,” was inspired by the Steve Goodman song “The Lincoln Park Pirates.”

The name of Catalina’s father, Bartholomew Moore, is a play on the name Barrymore in honor of John Barrymore, an acclaimed Shakesperean actor as well as one of the greats of the Silent Era (not to mention the grandfather of Drew Barrymore).

* Sergeant Donald Gilbert is named after Ron Gilbert, creator of the “Monkey Island” video game series.

The surname of McNamara’s student in the opening scene, Giles Prescott, was originally going to be McNamara’s own last name. When I learned what the name “McNamara” meant, I thought it would be more appropriate as a name for the hero of this story and gave him a Scottish/Irish background to go with it.

* The boatswain’s mate, Jason Reverte, gets his name from Creator/ArturoPerezReverte, author of ''Literature/TheClubDumas'', ''The Fencing Master'', and the Literature/CaptainAlatriste series (one entry of which has Alatriste crossing swords with pirates, and another having him engage in a pirate-esque escapade of his own).

The two pirates mentioned in the scene at Ciudad d’Esperanza, Langella and Rush, are named for Frank Langella and Geoffrey Rush, both of whom played prominent roles as pirate captains in Cutthroat Island (1990) and the Pirates of the Caribbean film series respectively.

Fredrick Cavendish is named for Fred Cavens, sword fight choreographer and fencing instructor for pretty much any decent Hollywood swashbuckler from the 1920s through the 1950s you can think of, as well as Disney’s classic “Zorro” television series. He also trained Hollywood royalty such as Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Basil Rathbone, and Robert Donat.

Sergeant Donald Gilbert is named after Ron Gilbert, creator of the “Monkey Island” video game series.

** Captain Lancaster is named after Creator/BurtLancaster, star of ''Film/TheCrimsonPirate'' (1952). [[spoiler:To compensate for the movie not having any sword fights, something the author was very disappointed about, Lancaster was chosen to be the final pirate Reynard would hunt down and cross swords with.]]
** Captain Byrne is named for Creator/GabrielByrne, who played a fugitive pirate in the movie ''Film/Shipwrecked'' (1990).
** Captain Sanders is named for Creator/GeorgeSanders, who played the villainous Captain Billy Leech in ''TheBlackSwan'' (1942).
** Captain Newton is named for Robert Newton, who popularized many pirate stereotypes with his portrayal of Long John Silver in Disney’s live-action Treasure Island (1950).
Captain Quintero is named for Anthony Quinn, who was in more than one pirate movie, including The Black Swan (1942) alongside the aforementioned George Sanders, Against All Flags (1952), and A High Wind in Jamaica (1965).
Captain Fairbanks is named for Douglas Fairbanks Sr., swashbuckling action hero of the Silent Era and star of The Black Pirate (1926). Fairbanks doesn’t have a single line of dialogue throughout The Brotherhood of the Black Flag.


John Curry, the pirate captain who was killed by Reynard before the events of this story, is named for Tim Curry, who portrayed Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island (1996). Matthew Heston is named for Charlton Heston, who also played Silver in the classic Treasure Island TV movie (1990) alongside Christian Bale, Oliver Reed, and Christopher Lee.

* The boatswain’s mate, Jason Reverte, gets his name from Creator/ArturoPerezReverte, author of Literature/TheClubDumas, ''The Fencing Master'', and the Literature/Alatriste series (one entry of which has Alatriste crossing swords with pirates, and another having him engage in a pirate-esque escapade of his own).

* Niccolo Sabatini, Reynard’s first mate, gets his surname from Creator/RafaelSabatini, who wrote numerous historical adventure novels, several of which feature pirates as main characters, such as ''Literature/CaptainBlood'', ''Literature/TheSeaHawk'', and ''Literature/Scaramouche'', among others.

The six pirate captains that Reynard “collects” are named after actors who have portrayed pirates in movies.

Captain Lancaster is named after Burt Lancaster, star of The Crimson Pirate (1952). To compensate for the movie not having any sword fights, something I was very disappointed about, Lancaster was chosen to be the final pirate Reynard would hunt down and cross swords with.
Captain Byrne is named for Gabriel Byrne, who played a fugitive pirate in the movie Shipwrecked! (1990), a childhood favorite of mine.
Captain Sanders is named for George Sanders, who played the villainous Captain Billy Leech in The Black Swan (1942).
Captain Newton is named for Robert Newton, who popularized many pirate stereotypes with his portrayal of Long John Silver in Disney’s live-action Treasure Island (1950).

* Niccolo Sabatini, Reynard’s first mate, gets his surname from Creator/RafaelSabatini, who wrote numerous historical adventure novels, several of which feature pirates as main characters, such as ''[[Captain Blood]]'', ''[The Sea Hawk]'', and [[Fortune's Fool]], among others.

* “Reynard” not only means “fox” in French, but the original Germanic name “Raginard” that Reynard is derived from refers to someone who gives strong counsel, making it a more than appropriate name for a smooth-talking character like Captain Reynard. Not at all coincidentally, the film studio Twentieth Century Fox produced a number of swashbucklers starring Creator/TyronePower in the 1940s, including ''Film/TheMarkOfZorro''(1940) and ''The Black Swan'' (1942).

* “Reynard” not only means “fox” in French, but the original Germanic name “Raginard” that Reynard is derived from refers to someone who gives strong counsel, making it a more than appropriate name for a smooth-talking character like Captain Reynard. Not at all coincidentally, the film studio Twentieth Century Fox produced a number of swashbucklers starring Creator/TyronePower in the 1940s, including [[The Mark of Zorro]] (1940) and ''The Black Swan'' (1942).

* Esau Tynan, the boatswain, is named for David Tynan, the writer of numerous episodes of Series/Highlander.

* Esau Tynan, the boatswain, is named for David Tynan, the writer of numerous episodes of TVShow/Highlander.

The boatswain’s mate, Jason Reverte, gets his name from Arturo Perez-Reverte, author of The Club Dumas, The Fencing Master, and the “Captain Alatriste” series (one entry of which has Alatriste crossing swords with pirates, and another having him engage in a pirate-esque escapade of his own).

Lord Edmund Alleyn gets his surname from Edward Alleyn, acclaimed actor of the Elizabethan era. Among Alleyn’s starring roles was his portrayal of Faustus in Christopher Marlowe’s play of the same name.

Esau Tynan, the boatswain, is named for David Tynan, the writer of numerous episodes of Highlander: The Series, one of my favorite television shows and a great source of swordfight inspirations.