The popular image of a pirate is a drunken long-haired man with rotting teeth, a black hat, and a skull-and-crossbones flag. You know, Captain Pugwash, Captain Hook, and, of course, Captain Jack Sparrow. But the real history of pirates is more complex. The golden age of piracy came at the turn of the 18th century, when notorious figures such as William Kidd, Jack Rackham, Henry Morgan, and Edward “Blackbeard” Teach prowled the Atlantic, plundering ships and distributing goods across Europe and the Caribbean. This exhibition explores piracy past and present, revealing that pirates were often much more than mere “swashbuckling scoundrels.” —Elena Clavarino