Calais Pirates In spite of their small size the Calais Corsairs were daring and didn't hesitate to attack ships that were part of convoys. They were not worried either, to deceive the enemy by carrying foreign flags. The Calaisiens carried the English flag on the mizzen mast when they lay in ambush along the English coast waiting for their victims. To recognize each other, they had their particular code. The corsair's law, didn't allow them to act other than in time of war and with the government's authorization, fairly while respecting neutral ships. Pirates however didn't respect anything or anyone, knowing that their black flag with its skull was a disaster emblem. Legend has it that John of Calais saved the daughter of the King of Portugal (Constance) from pirates.