Black Spot
The Black Spot is the pirates' formal summons of doom in Treasure Island, a small paper token that serves as the buccaneers' legal instrument for deposing or condemning a captain. It appears twice in the novel—first delivered to Billy Bones by Blind Pew, and later to Long John Silver by his mutinous crew—and in both cases it precipitates a violent crisis. More than a plot device, the Black Spot embodies the pirates' inverted legal system, their superstition, and the constant threat of betrayal that defines their world.
Definition and Appearance
The Black Spot is a small piece of paper, roughly the size of a crown piece, with one side blackened and the other bearing a written message. In the first instance, Jim Hawkins finds it on the floor beside the dead captain's hand: a little round of paper, blackened on one side, with the message "You have till ten tonight" written on the other in a very good, clear hand. The second Black Spot, delivered to Silver, is cut from the last leaf of a Bible, with a verse from Revelation on the printed side—"Without are dogs and murderers"—and the word "Deposed" written on the blank side with wood ash. The pirates' use of a Bible for this purpose is a sacrilege that even they recognize as unlucky, and it becomes a point of contention among them.
The First Delivery: Billy Bones's Doom
The Black Spot first appears in the novel as the instrument of Billy Bones's death. After the captain has been weakened by a stroke and confined to bed, Blind Pew arrives at the Admiral Benbow Inn, forces Jim to lead him to the captain, and passes the Black Spot from his hand to the captain's palm. The message "You have till ten tonight" gives Bones a deadline of six hours, and he cries out "Ten o'clock! Six hours. We'll do them yet," springing to his feet in a desperate attempt to escape. But the shock is too much for his already broken body; he reels, clutches his throat, and falls dead of apoplexy on the floor. The Black Spot thus functions as a death sentence, delivered by a blind emissary, and its mere presentation is enough to kill a man already on the edge of the grave.
The Second Delivery: Silver's Deposition
The Black Spot appears again when Silver's own crew turns against him. After the failure of the treasure hunt and the loss of the ship, the mutineers hold a council and decide to depose Silver. They cut the Black Spot from a Bible, blacken it with wood ash, and write "Deposed" on the blank side. George Merry, the ringleader of the faction, presents it to Silver with the words "This crew has tipped you the black spot in full council, as in dooty bound." Silver, however, is not so easily undone. He uses the very instrument against his accusers, pointing out that the Bible from which it was cut has been spoiled, and that the spot is therefore "not worth a biscuit." He then produces the treasure map, which the doctor had given him, and turns the crew's anger into renewed hope. The Black Spot, meant to strip him of power, instead becomes the occasion for his most brilliant display of cunning, as he outmaneuvers George Merry and retains his captaincy.
The Black Spot as Pirate Law
The Black Spot is the central artifact of the pirates' legal code, a system that mirrors and parodies the law of the land. Where Dr. Livesey is a magistrate who threatens Billy Bones with the assizes, and Captain Smollett invokes the king's justice, the pirates have their own form of due process: the Black Spot is a summons, a formal notice that a captain has failed and must answer to his crew. Jim Hawkins learns this when he asks Billy Bones what the Black Spot is, and the captain replies, "That's a summons, mate." The pirates' law is crude and violent, but it is a law nonetheless, with rules that Silver himself invokes when he demands that the crew "outs with your grievances and I reply." The Black Spot thus represents the pirates' attempt to impose order on their anarchic existence, even as it is used to betray and condemn.
Superstition and Sacrilege
The Black Spot is also a vehicle for the pirates' superstition. When the crew cuts it from a Bible, Tom Morgan immediately declares, "No good'll come o' that," and Silver echoes the sentiment, warning that they will "all swing now" because of the sacrilege. Dick, the young sailor who provided the Bible, is terrified by the curse he has brought upon himself, and Silver mocks him, saying that a Bible with a bit cut out "don't bind no more'n a ballad-book." The Black Spot thus carries a double weight: it is a legal instrument, but it is also a supernatural token, and the pirates' fear of its power is as much a part of its effect as the threat of violence it conveys.
Significance in the Narrative
The Black Spot is a recurring motif that marks the turning points of the plot. Its first appearance kills Billy Bones and sets Jim Hawkins on the path to adventure, as he and his mother open the dead captain's sea-chest and discover the treasure map. Its second appearance nearly kills Long John Silver, but instead reveals his resourcefulness and cements his hold over the crew. In both cases, the Black Spot is a catalyst for change, a symbol of the pirates' lawless world, and a reminder that in that world, no one is safe from betrayal. Jim Hawkins keeps the second Black Spot as a curiosity, and it remains with him as a memento of his adventures, a tangible piece of the terror and treachery he survived.
