Pirates Who Inspired One Piece Characters
From the terrifying Blackbeard to the rather just Sir Francis Drake, many real-life pirates have inspired our favorite One Piece Characters!
Humans are curious creatures, and in the past, many have tried to conquer the sea as well. While they haven’t been as successful as the cast of One Piece, they were still bold enough to leave a lasting impression on the author! In this article, we’re going to talk about 10 Pirates who became the inspiration behind certain One Piece characters!
1) Alvida Is Inspired By The Legendary Awilda:
Alvida is both the first female pirate and the first female Devil Fruit user we come across in One Piece! Her Devil Fruit, Sube Sube no Mi makes her skin slippery, allowing her to dodge most attacks. “Awilda”, a female pirate inspired the One Piece Character!
While she’s more of a legend than a historical figure, Awlida’s story is quite interesting. Her father was a Scandinavian King who arranged her marriage with the crown prince of Denmark at the time. In response, Awilda and a few of her friends snuck out as pirates into the sea and ran into the same Prince; the Princess turned pirate fell in love with the Prince’s bravery. The two then married and lived happily after.
Well, we don’t know if something similar will happen with Alvida from One Piece, but you can see a clear inspiration here!
2) Cavendish Is Inspired By Thomas Cavendish:
Cavendish made his debut in the Dressrosa arc, originally as an antagonist figure. He later changes sides and helps Luffy in the arc. He’s one of the most beautiful men in the series and has a split personality called Hakuba.
His inspiration seems to be Sir Thomas Cavendish, a popular English privateer known as “The Navigator”. Sir Cavendish became rich from the goods he captured during his journey to circumvent the Earth! The real-life pirate clearly inspires Cavendish’s elegant nature, although the two have a harsher side to them!
3) X Drake Is Based On Sir Francis Drake:
X Drake’s character is arguably one of the most influenced out of all characters on the list! While he was one of the Tobi Roppo in the Beast Pirates, X Drake’s true identity is that of a marine! In the same way, Francis Drake an English explorer and Naval Officer received accolades from the English government. At the same time, he was “El Draque” for the Spanish due to his privateering activities.
King Philip II of Spain branded him as a pirate and the bounty on his head translates to roughly 8.8 USD in 2022! Among all the pirates who inspired One Piece characters, this is arguably the most interesting and similar, as both of them are just in their own ways!
4) Calico Jack inspired Yorki:
Yorki, the captain of Brook’s former Rumbar Pirates is another character who has his roots in the real world! His nickname was “Calico Jack”. In the real world, John Rackham went by the nickname Calico Jack as well!
He operated in the Bahamas and near Cuba. Interestingly, he was the love interest of Anne Bonny, a female pirate!
5) Anne Bonny inspired Jewelry Bonney:
Jewelry Bonney is the daughter of Bartholomew Kuma, a former Warlord. Bonney herself is one of the lead members of the Worst Generation. Her Devil Fruit allows her to change her age, which can be quite useful in sticky situations, although it’s not the best for a fight!
Turns out, the love interest of Calico Jack was a big pirate too! Anne Bonny was originally a noblewoman, who ran away with Jack. Apart from the name, Bonny being a noble might have inspired Jewelry Bonney’s royalty connection too! For those unaware, Kuma was the king of the Sorbet Kingdom! With Jewelry becoming more relevant in the manga, we might get to know more similarities between the two!
6) François l’Olonnais inspired Roronoa Zoro:
Zoro is one of the most popular characters in One Piece and anime in general! He is famous for both his skill with a sword and his astounding sense of direction!
A famous pirate during the 1660s, François’ last name, “l’Olonnais” roughly translates to Zoro’s last name, “Roronoa”. This pirate is the clear inspiration for One Piece’s Zoro’s name.
7) Charlotte “Big Mom” Linlin Is Based On Charlotte de Berry:
Charlotte Linlin, better known as Big Mom, was one of the four emperors for decades. Originally a part of the Rock Pirates, Big Mom has a fierce reputation. She also boasts one of the highest bounties in the history of One Piece at 4,388,000,000 beris!
Charlotte de Berry, one of the fiercest female pirates is the real-life inspiration behind Big Mom’s real name, Charlotte Linlin!
8) Blackbeard Is Inspired By Edward Teach:
Marshall D. Teach, better known as Blackbeard is one of the most hated and notorious pirates in the manga. Now an Emperor, Blackbeard has amassed a bounty of 3,996,000,000 beris!
He is directly inspired by Edward Teach, the real-life Blackbeard. This man is arguably the most notorious pirate in history as well! The real Blackbeard was intimidating, shrewd, and calculated. Sounds just like someone from the manga too!
9) Edward Teach also inspired Whitebeard:
Edward Newgate, a former Yonko was considered to be the strongest man in the world by many even during his death. He had the Gura Gura no Mi, giving him the power to create quakes. Edward was known by many names like Whitebeard and the King of the Seas. As you might have noticed, he has Edward in his name, which was the first name of the real Blackbeard, Edward Teach.
His last name might be a reference to the Newgate Prison, where many famous pirates spent their jail time. Ironically, some people say that when Whitebeard’s powers were absorbed by Blackbeard, he became Edward Teach, referring to the real Blackbeard.
10) Gol D. Roger Is Inspired By Olivier Levasseur:
Gol D. Roger, better known as the King of Pirates is the man who gave rise to piracy in the world of One Piece. During his final moments, Roger announced that he has hidden all of his wealth somewhere in a treasure known as the “One Piece”.
Similarly, Olivier Levasseur, a pirate left a cryptogram with hints to locate his wealth, estimated to be more than 1 Billion USD!
Which of these inspirations were you aware of? Which surprised you? Comment below!
