Which Black Sails characters are from history and which are from Treasure Island?

The Starz pirate drama Black Sails is now on Netflix, which means you can set sail with one of the most underrated gems of our recent genre television boom. Black Sails ran for four seasons on Starz from 2014 to 2017, and deftly weaves together fiction and historical fact to tell a compelling, emotionally wrought story set during the early 18th Century's Golden Age of Piracy.

Black Sails is unique as these sorts of shows go in that it's one half historical fiction, and one half a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel Treasure Island. That means some characters and situations are drawn right from the history books, while others are entirely fictional. Unless you're steeped in pirate lore and familiar with Stevenson's book, you might have a hard time knowing which characters are based on real people and which aren't.

Fortunately for you, we've put together this handy guide. Spoilers for the series will be kept to a minimum, though in a few csaes mentioning that a character exists constitutes a spoiler in and of itself. We'll flag them appropriately when we get there!

Captain Flint

The fearsome Captain Flint, played by Toby Stephens, is a key figure from Treasure Island. Flint is long dead by the time the book takes place, but everyone in Treasure Island is looking for his hidden treasure. Black Sails explores this fictional captain's life while he's at the peak of his power and renown.

John Silver

Another Treasure Island pirate is John Silver, played by Luke Arnold. You probably know him better as Long John Silver, which is the name this character goes by in Treasure Island, where he serves as an unassuming cook with a secret agenda. Silver has a massive arc throughout the series, where we see how he came into contact with Captain Flint and earned that "Long" in front of his name.

Billy Bones

The last of our three main Treasure Island pirates is Billy Bones, played by Tom Hopper. This character appears at the beginning of Treasure Island, where he's a world-weary seafarer with a drinking problem and a map that leads to Flint's lost treasure. As with Silver and Flint, Black Sails shows us a younger version of Billy, who begins the story as a well-regarded member of Flint's crew. What he's like at the end of Black Sails, you'll just have to watch and see. Billy is an important Treasure Island character and he's got an important role to play on Black Sails as well.

Charles Vane

Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) is not from Treasure Island, but is based on a real-life pirate. Captain Charles Vane was a skilled and feared pirate captain in the Caribbean, mostly active from 1716 to 1720. His crew had a reputation for violence, but also for being unruly to the point where Vane was once abandoned by his own men who then installed "Calico" Jack Rackham as a new captain in his place.

Jack Rackham

Speaking of Jack Rackham (Toby Schmitz), obviously he's another historical pirate. He earned the "Calico Jack" nickname thanks to his love of colorful cotton clothing. Rackham begins Black Sails as Captain Vane's quartermaster, and that is true to history. So is his relationship with Anne Bonny, a famous woman pirate who sailed as part of Rackham's crew.

Anne Bonny

Like Vane and Rackham, Anne Bonny (Clara Paget) is also based on a real-life pirate. Anne is perhaps the most famous female pirate of all time, and was an active raider of the seas during the early 1700s. Born in Ireland and married to a man named John Bonny, Anne escaped her husband to join Rackham on the high seas. The basis for her pirating as well as her relationship with Jack is drawn from history. Anne Bonny is one of the few famous pirates who actually managed to escape the Golden Age of Piracy's decline with her life.

Eleanor Guthrie

Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah New) isn't drawn from real history or Treasure Island. The Guthrie clan was a real-life family of Scottish merchants who did make quite a lot of money by working with the pirates of New Providence Island (Nassau), but the show takes liberties with just how much influence the Guthries. Black Sails took a real historical family and invented Eleanor's character to explore it from a different angle.

Max

Max (Jessica Parker Kennedy) is a protitute on New Providence Island who rises up through the ranks to become a canny power broker. She isn't based on any real historical figure, and isn't from Treasure Island either. Max's story is all Black Sails, all the way.

Next we get into some characters who are relevant in season 2 and beyond. If you're just starting the series and avoiding spoilers, this is your chance to turn back.

Edward "Blackbeard" Teach

Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, is played by Ray Stevenson in Black Sails. Blackbeard is one of the most famous real-life pirates of them all. The show adds in some elements which aren't a part of established history — such as Blackbeard's complicated relationship with Charles Vane — but keeps others intact, like his ship the Queen Anne's Revenge.

Ned Low

Another historical pirate is Edward "Ned" Low (Tadhg Murphy), who appears in Black Sails' second season. Low was even more notorious in real life than he was in the television series, gaining a dark reputation for his vicious management of the English ships he captured at sea.

Madi

Madi comes onto the scene late in Black Sails, and to talk too much about who she is or how she fits into the narrative overall would reveal more than necessary. She is built off a character who appears in Treasure Island in a small but crucial role. The television show vastly expands Madi's character, bringing viewers along on her journey as she comes into contact with the infamous Long John Silver.

Woodes Rogers

First introduced in Black Sails season 3, Woodes Rogers (Luke Roberts) is a key historical figure whose arrival at Nassau signals the beginning of the end for the Golden Age of Piracy. He was a British sea captain who was named the royal governor of the Bahamas in hopes that he could bring the unruly colonies back under the control of the crown. The show changes a few details about Rogers, especially his ultimate fate, but many others — including the pardons he offers the pirates —are drawn directly from the history books.

All four seasons of Black Sails are streaming now on Netflix.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.