As an aside, what we know as 'the pirate flag', the Jolly Roger, the skull and crossbones, is widely thought to have flown on every pirate ship: this is far from the actuality! In fact, each pirate had his own distinct flag and the jolly roger was that of a fairly minor and short lived pirate. Also, the career of even the most successful pirate was less than two years!
The closest flags to what has popularly become the pirate flag are these two replicas displayed at the New England Pirate Museum in Salem Mass.
Jud