An ideological battle rages over the political legacy and cultural symbolism of the golden age pirates who roamed the seas between the Caribbean islands and the Indian Ocean from 1690 to 1725. On the one hand pirates are romanticised as swash-buckling villains, whilst on the other they are realised as genuine social rebels. LIFE UNDER THE JOLLY ROGER examines the political and cultural significance of these nomadic outlaws by relating historical accounts to a wide range of theoretical concepts - ranging from Marshall Sahlins and Pierre Clastres to Nietzche.