MA Thesis  ·  History
The Wretched of the Sea
MA Thesis  ·  History  ·  2025

The Wretched
of the Sea

The case for historiophoty as reception-history in Black Sails (2014–2017)

AuthorEleni Belmehdi
SupervisorAllan Potofsky
InstitutionUniversité Paris Cité
Year2025
Introduction Open →
Part One
Historical and Methodological Foundations
I
Chapter I

Teaching the Pirate

1.1  Seize the means of education!
1.2  Towards a theory of critical reception of early America
1.3  History need not be done on the page
No video extracts Open →
II
Chapter II

Hostis Humani Generis

2.1  Mapping the Outlaw
2.2  A Republic of Pirates
2.3  The Motley Crew
No video extracts Open →
III
Chapter III

The Ship of State: Politics of Pirate Narratives

3.1  Truth convenient to none: fact and fiction
3.2  A floating fragment of land
3.3  Recovering the pirate: from imperial boyhood to Marxist rejoinder
No video extracts Open →
Part Two
Black Sails as Historiophoty
IV
Chapter IV

Of Monsters and Men

4.1  Sociocultural context
4.2  The stuff of nightmares: the Pirate as the Monster
4.3  Civilization is Coming: Empire as the Monster
Video extracts Open →
V
Chapter V

Dare To Struggle

5.1  Reform and revolution: false consciousness
5.2  We are many, they are few: class for itself
5.3  The landscape after cruelty: revolutionary optimism
Video extracts Open →
VI
Chapter VI

No Happy Plantations

6.1  Until all of us are safe: the problem of race
6.2  Bring it all down: Flint’s arc as race treason
6.3  Foreclosed horizons: locating the turning point
Video extracts Open →
Conclusion Open →
Scene Index

All video extracts used in this thesis, organised by chapter. Video extracts appear in Part Two only. Click any row to go to that chapter’s analysis page.

Part One — Historical and Methodological Foundations
I — Teaching the Pirate
No video extracts.
II — Hostis Humani Generis
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III — The Ship of State
No video extracts.
Part Two — Black Sails as Historiophoty
IV — Of Monsters and Men
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IV.1 — [Scene title]
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00:00–00:00
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IV.2 — [Scene title]
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IV.3 — [Scene title]
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V — Dare To Struggle
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V.1 — [Scene title]
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00:00–00:00
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V.2 — [Scene title]
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V.3 — [Scene title]
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VI — No Happy Plantations
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VI.1 — [Scene title]
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VI.2 — [Scene title]
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VI.3 — [Scene title]
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Bibliography
Primary Sources — Audiovisual

Black Sails. Created by Robert Levine and Jonathan Steinberg. Starz, 2014–2017.

Add further primary sources. Each entry uses the bib-entry class; wrap titles in <em>.

Primary Sources — Written

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Secondary Sources — History and Historiography

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Secondary Sources — Film and Television Studies

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Secondary Sources — Theory

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Introduction
Introduction

Introduction

Paste your introduction here. Italics: like this. Footnotes work as shown below.

Example footnote: the term historiophoty was coined by Hayden White1Hayden White, ‘Historiography and Historiophoty’, The American Historical Review 93:5 (1988), pp. 1193–1199. to describe the representation of history through visual images and filmic discourse.

Notes
1
Hayden White, ‘Historiography and Historiophoty’, The American Historical Review 93:5 (1988), pp. 1193–1199.
Section
Introduction
Part One  ·  Chapter I
Chapter I

Teaching the Pirate

1.1  Seize the means of education!

Paste section 1.1 text here.

1.2  Towards a theory of critical reception of early America

Paste section 1.2 text here.

1.3  History need not be done on the page

Paste section 1.3 text here.

Notes

Footnotes will appear here.

Chapter
I — Teaching the Pirate
Part
One — Historical and Methodological Foundations
Video extracts
None in this chapter
Part One  ·  Chapter II
Chapter II

Hostis Humani Generis

2.1  Mapping the Outlaw

Paste section 2.1 text here.

2.2  A Republic of Pirates

Paste section 2.2 text here.

2.3  The Motley Crew

Paste section 2.3 text here.

Notes

Footnotes will appear here.

Chapter
II — Hostis Humani Generis
Part
One — Historical and Methodological Foundations
Video extracts
None in this chapter
Part One  ·  Chapter III
Chapter III

The Ship of State

3.1  Truth convenient to none: fact and fiction

Paste section 3.1 text here.

3.2  A floating fragment of land

Paste section 3.2 text here.

3.3  Recovering the pirate: from imperial boyhood to Marxist rejoinder

Paste section 3.3 text here.

Notes

Footnotes will appear here.

Chapter
III — The Ship of State
Part
One — Historical and Methodological Foundations
Video extracts
None in this chapter
Part Two  ·  Chapter IV
Chapter IV  ·  Part Two

Of Monsters and Men

4.1  Sociocultural context

Paste your 4.1 text here. No video extracts in this section.

4.2  The stuff of nightmares: the Pirate as the Monster

Paste your 4.2 opening analysis here, up to the Singleton speech.

Extract IV.1 S01E01  ·  [Episode title]  ·  09:26–10:26
Vimeo embed  ·  S01E01  ·  09:26–10:26
Singleton addresses the captured crew of the merchantman 09:26–10:26

Continue your 4.2 analysis here, between Singleton and the Flint/Billy scene.

Extract IV.2 S01E01  ·  [Episode title]  ·  50:24–50:57
Vimeo embed  ·  S01E01  ·  50:24–50:57
Flint to Billy Bones: “Civilization is coming.” 50:24–50:57

Continue 4.2 analysis after the Flint/Billy scene, up to McGraw/Thomas flashback (S02E09 25:18).

Extract IV.3 S02E09  ·  [Episode title]  ·  25:18
Vimeo embed  ·  S02E09  ·  25:18
McGraw to Thomas Hamilton: “Civilization needs its monsters.” 25:18

Continue 4.2 analysis — court official execution speech (Ep. XXVII), Billy Bones (Ep. XIV), Kensington trial (Ep. XVIII).

Extract IV.4 S03E07  ·  [Episode title]  ·  43:36–44:40
Vimeo embed  ·  Ep. XXVII  ·  43:36–44:40
Court official presides over Vane’s execution: “beasts governed by base instinct” 43:36–44:40
Extract IV.5 S02E04  ·  [Episode title]  ·  45:55–46:10
Vimeo embed  ·  Ep. XIV  ·  45:55–46:10
Billy Bones: “We aren’t criminals to them. We aren’t even men.” 45:55–46:10
Extract IV.6 S02E08  ·  [Episode title]  ·  21:10–23:03
Vimeo embed  ·  Ep. XVIII  ·  21:10–23:03
Kensington charges Flint / Flint: “Everyone is a monster to someone.” 21:10–23:03

Continue 4.2 — closing analysis including the first-scene visual trap argument.

4.3  Civilization is Coming: Empire as the Monster

Paste your 4.3 opening, up to Billy torture monologue (Ep. XV 30:35–32:55).

Extract IV.7 S02E05  ·  [Episode title]  ·  30:35–32:55
Vimeo embed  ·  Ep. XV  ·  30:35–32:55
Billy Bones on torture and dehumanization: “they’ve changed you” 30:35–32:55

Continue 4.3, up to Rackham speech (Ep. XXVI 26:38–29:33).

Extract IV.8 S03E06  ·  [Episode title]  ·  26:38–29:33
Vimeo embed  ·  Ep. XXVI  ·  26:38–29:33
Rackham to Rogers: the tailor of Leeds, the embargo, the debt 26:38–29:33

Continue 4.3 — Eleanor/grandfather (Ep. XXX), Rogers/Spanish official (Ep. XXXIII), Abigail speech (Ep. XVI).

Extract IV.9 S04E03  ·  [Episode title]  ·  34:57–37:03
Vimeo embed  ·  Ep. XXXIII  ·  34:57–37:03
Rogers to Spanish official: “Labor fuels commerce and commerce fuels security.” 34:57–37:03
Extract IV.10 S02E06  ·  [Episode title]  ·  32:45–33:38
Vimeo embed  ·  Ep. XVI  ·  32:45–33:38
Abigail Ashe: “These monsters are men — sons, brothers, fathers.” 32:45–33:38

Continue and complete 4.3 analysis — closing argument on emotional register and historiophoty.

Notes

Footnotes will appear here when you paste your text.

Chapter
IV — Of Monsters and Men
Part
Two — Black Sails as Historiophoty
Video extracts
10 extracts across sections 4.2 and 4.3
QR code links here
in the print version
Part Two  ·  Chapter V
Chapter V  ·  Part Two

Dare To Struggle

5.1  Reform and revolution: false consciousness

Paste 5.1 text here.

5.2  We are many, they are few: class for itself

Paste 5.2 text here. Add clip blocks where needed using the template above.

5.3  The landscape after cruelty: revolutionary optimism

Paste 5.3 text here.

Notes

Footnotes will appear here.

Chapter
V — Dare To Struggle
Part
Two — Black Sails as Historiophoty
Video extracts
To be added
QR code links here
in the print version
Part Two  ·  Chapter VI
Chapter VI  ·  Part Two

No Happy Plantations

6.1  Until all of us are safe: the problem of race

Paste 6.1 text here. Use clip template from Chapter V comments.

6.2  Bring it all down: Flint’s arc as race treason

Paste 6.2 text here.

6.3  Foreclosed horizons: locating the turning point

Paste 6.3 text here.

Notes

Footnotes will appear here.

Chapter
VI — No Happy Plantations
Part
Two — Black Sails as Historiophoty
Video extracts
To be added
QR code links here
in the print version
Conclusion
Conclusion

Conclusion

Paste your conclusion here.

Notes

Footnotes will appear here.

Section
Conclusion