[2] Secrets in the Attic + Blackbeard in Battle

IN THE FILM: The film begins with Mikey and his group of rambunctious friends -- who call themselves “The Goonies” -- who decide to snoop around in his father’s (a museum curator) attic, much to Mikey's dismay. The first glimpse of pirates we see is when Mikey’s big brother Brand flips through a book with pictures of pirates and their artifacts. On one page (pictured below), there is a pirate dressed in a red coat and wide leg trousers with a tricorn hat on his head and a couple of pistols on his belt. He is striking a fearsome pose with his sword in hand, about to strike his opponent dressed in a blue coat. In the background, there is chaos as his rugged crew engage in battle with the enemy.

IN REAL LIFE: The intense battle scene depicted in the pictures above is actually a real-life painting created in 1920 by American artist Jean Leon Jerome Ferris. During my internet search of this painting, I came across a lot of different titles -- "Blackbeard's Fight to the Death," "Capture of the Pirate Blackbeard," and "Battle at Ocracoke" -- but regardless of its true name, we get the general idea: the big bad red-clad pirate in the picture is none other than Edward Teach, more widely known as the infamous Blackbeard. His opponent, donned in blue, is Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard. According to the World History Encyclopedia, this painting is an illustration of the battle at Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina, in 1718. This fateful day marks Blackbeard's bloody demise, in which he and his crew of pirates -- depicted in battle in the background of the painting -- were ultimately defeated by Lt. Maynard and his Royal Navy sailors. While the significance of this painting's contents may go unnoticed by most, it's a subtle but clever nod to actual historical piracy and its infamous Golden Age pirates. 

Sources

Duffus, Kevin. “Blackbeard's Final Battle: Sorting Facts, Fiction: Coastal Review.” Coastal Review Online, North Carolina Coastal Federation, 18 Dec. 2020, https://coastalreview.org/2020/11/blackbeards-final-battle-sorting-facts-fiction/.  

Ferris, Jean Leon Gerome. "Blackbeard's Fight to the Death." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 18 Aug 2021. Web. 05 Dec 2021.