Netflix Documentary Series Reveals Real Pirates Of The Caribbean
The Pirates of the Caribbean movies are pretty entertaining adventure films, but with things like Davy Jones, the Kraken, and ghost ships, they’re not necessarily the most accurate way to learn about real pirates from that era. If you’re more interested in the actual Pirates of the Caribbean, then you could check out the 2021 docuseries The Lost Pirate Kingdom. It’s currently streaming on Netflix.
The Lives Of The Real Pirates
The Lost Pirate Kingdom is a dramatic, six-episode documentary series that shows the rise and fall of the Nassau-based pirate republic that ran the high seas in the early 18th century. Despite the typical pirate habits of looting and plundering, this republic was interestingly one of the first truly democratic “governments” in the New World.
The series also tells us more about real historical figures like Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, Benjamin Hornigold, Black Sam Bellamy, Black Caesar, Woodes Roger, Henry Jennings, Anne Bonny, and more.
The Golden Age Of Piracy
The Lost Pirate Kingdom takes viewers from the end of the War of the Spanish Succession to the end of the Pirate Republic era. Overall, reviewers say that it’s a pretty entertaining series, and it even holds a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes by critics. With that being said, there are only five critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes for the series, so it’s safe to say that not everyone will enjoy it that much.
Romanticizes The Era
As far as historical accuracy goes, some reviewers of The Lost Pirate Kingdom say the series plays pretty fast and loose. Redditors in a thread on the subreddit r/pirates call the historical integrity outright “terrible” and say that the docuseries isn’t opposed to portraying speculation as fact. As you might expect from a docuseries, the dramatization of the material also romanticizes the era more than it probably should be romanticized.
Fun, But Not As Educational As You’d Think
Other fans also say that the special effects aren’t great and that the docuseries can feel cheaply made at times. Based on what the reviews are saying, The Lost Pirate Kingdom is a fun watch, but you shouldn’t expect to come out of watching it with an encyclopedic knowledge of real pirate history.
If you want something especially accurate, there are probably better documentaries out there, but this can at least give you some interesting baseline information about the real-life Pirates of the Caribbean.
Fortunately for fans of historical accuracy, there is plenty of information about this era out there if The Lost Pirate Kingdom piques your interest.
Available On Netflix
For people who just want to watch more stuff with pirates in it, you might be better off checking out Black Sails, Our Flag Means Death, or the Pirates of the Caribbean movies for more high-budget, high-seas fun. But if you’ve already burned through all that stuff and are looking for something new, then it sounds like it’s at least watchable.
Fortunately for fans of the more fantastical Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, there’s a new movie currently in development. It may be a while before we see it, so you can at least equip yourself with some quasi-lore by checking out The Lost Pirate Kingdom in the meantime. Stream it on Netflix now.
