Eiichiro Oda loves to base his stories on the real world. That’s probably why the betrayals and twists in One Piece feel so much more relatable. Many characters in One Piece are inspired or named after pirates who actually existed in history.
From Eustass Kid to Edward Newgate (Whitebeard) the list of inspired pirates is quite long. In fact, even the beloved swordsman Zoro is a member of the club.
Who inspired Zoro’s Last Name in One Piece?
In a fan question-answer session, Eiichiro Oda revealed that Zoro‘s last name was inspired by the “Most Fierce & Cruel Pirate François l’Olonnais of the Caribbean Sea.”
François l’Olonnais was a French pirate, who was active during the 1660s in the Caribbean. The Japanese translation of l’Olonnois is Roronoa, which served as inspiration for Zoro’s last name.
Another character based on the same pirate is Dracule Mihawk. He is likely to be based on a 1684 portrait of L’Olonnais. If you compare images, Mihawk’s face shape, along with his beard, resembles the pirate a lot.
L’Olonnais was often described as inhuman during his career as a pirate. He even captured and beheaded an entire ship’s crew sent by the governor of Cuba. He was an expert torturer and could slice the flesh off a victim with a sword. His other methods included burning people alive or tying ship rope around a victim’s head till his eyes bulged out. Such was the reputation of the infamous pirate. He was also termed “The Bane of Spain.”
Which other One Piece characters were inspired by real pirates?
The list of One Piece characters who were inspired by real pirates is bigger than you think. Firstly, let’s talk about the most obvious one, Marshall D. Teach or Blackbeard, who was inspired by Edward Teach, a notorious English pirate who reigned on the Caribbean Sea from the late 1600s to early 1700s. Both the original and the fictional pirates are immoral by nature.
Next is Jewelry Bonney, who is inspired by Anne Bonny, an 18th-century lady pirate. Anne Boney was a cunning woman, who placed herself above all else.
Alvida, one of Luffy’s first enemies, is based on Alfhildr, a Danish princess, who later became a pirate when she did not want to marry the suitor her father presented. She dressed up like a man and teamed up with another female pirate to lead a band of pirates.
Bartholomew Kuma is named after Bartholomew Roberts, another pirate who was not as kind as the former. He generally burned captured ships till nothing was left of it, which is opposite to Kuma’s nature.
Several other well-known characters like Sadie, Lafitte, and Bellamy have also been inspired by real pirates, although their natures have been changed to fit the story.
You can read the One Piece manga on Viz Media. The anime is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
