Black Sails was always more than just a pirate drama. It was conceived as a direct prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, bridging the romantic adventure of the novel with a grittier and more realistic view of piracy in the early 18th century. The showrunners took considerable care in developing characters and backstories that could plausibly feed into the events of the book, while also grounding them in the historical context of the so-called Golden Age of Piracy.
Flint’s Descent and the Origins of the Treasure
At the centre of Black Sails is Captain James Flint, whose name looms over Treasure Island like a ghost. Stevenson’s novel never shows Flint alive, only referencing him through the fear he inspired and the treasure he buried. In Black Sails, Flint is given a full arc, from naval officer to pirate captain, shaped by personal loss, betrayal, and idealism warped into ruthlessness.
The series presents Flint’s pursuit of the Spanish gold as the driving force behind much of the chaos in Nassau. This is the same treasure that, years later, Billy Bones, Long John Silver, and others will seek with young Jim Hawkins. The hiding of the treasure and the subsequent creation of the map with the X marks the spot are directly alluded to in the final season, carefully setting the stage for Stevenson’s plot.
The Transformation of Long John Silver
Another key link is the evolution of John Silver. Introduced in Black Sails as a charming, self-serving cook with no clear allegiance, Silver gradually transforms into the feared and cunning pirate lord hinted at in Treasure Island. The series never tries to rush this transformation. Instead, it lets Silver evolve through circumstance, manipulation, and his deepening relationship with Flint, Madi, and the politics of Nassau.
By the series’ end, Silver’s decision to bury the treasure and part ways with Flint is not just an act of survival. It’s a pivot towards the persona readers of Treasure Island would recognise: a man who knows how to bide his time, hide his motives, and play a long game.
Billy Bones and the Shadow of the Past
Billy Bones, in Stevenson’s novel, is a paranoid drunk guarding Flint’s map. In Black Sails, he is shown as a loyal crewman turned increasingly disillusioned and unhinged. His rivalry with Silver and distrust of Flint becomes more pronounced as the show progresses. By the conclusion, Billy’s fate is left murky, but his trajectory points directly toward the broken, haunted figure seen in Treasure Island, clutching secrets and looking over his shoulder.
Other Key Characters
The show also weaves in characters like Ben Gunn, Israel Hands, and Captain Jack Rackham, giving them motivations and histories that add depth to their literary or historical counterparts. Ben Gunn, in particular, is introduced subtly, foreshadowing the marooned eccentric of Stevenson’s book. While not every connection is tied up neatly, the groundwork is there for viewers who know the novel to draw the lines.
A World in Transition
Black Sails also mirrors Treasure Island thematically. Both are concerned with the death of the pirate age. Flint fights against the creeping control of imperial order, while the novel deals with the remnants of that lawless world, already fading. The show treats piracy not as fantasy, but as rebellion. In doing so, it adds political weight to the events that precede the treasure map and the voyage of the Hispaniola.
The Seven Swords takeaway
Rather than offering a straightforward setup for Treasure Island, Black Sails builds a layered backstory that recontextualises the novel. The show enriches the mythos by humanising characters once treated as symbols or caricatures. It does not contradict Stevenson’s work, but rather deepens it, adding shadows and scars to the story of buried gold and mutiny. For fans of the novel, Black Sails offers a brutal but compelling lens through which to revisit the familiar tale.
