Did pirates in the 18th century wear sunglasses? That is the question that inspired this article. In the tv show Black Sails which takes place in 1715, one of the characters wears what very much looks like sunglasses, but was that actually historically possible? Normally when we think of sunglasses, they are viewed as a recent phenomenon, but the origin can actually be traced very far back.
Historic sunglasses Way back when, the Roman emperor Nero (37-68 AD) was known for watching gladiator fights and the like through carved emeralds. It is uncertain if he just held them up, or if they were carved into a lens shape to look like glasses. Some also believe they were carved so they worked more like mirrors than glasses. However, historians debate if any of this actually has some truth to it, of if all of it is actually just a legend.
The first known case of 'sunglasses' were found with the prehistoric inuits. These were carved from bone, antlers, driftwood or walrus ivory into a closefitting glasses shape. They were solid with just a thin horizontal slit to look through. The purpose of these goggles were to block for snow blindness, which occurs when the sun hits the endless snow. The inside of the goggles were therefore often coated in soot to further limit the glare.
The next step in the evolution of 'sunglasses' were in 12th century China. These glasses were round and made from slices of smoky quart. While they did protect the wearer from the glare of the sun, that wasn't the actual purpose. Instead, they were used by judges in the Courts to hide their facial expressions while interrogating witnesses, so they appeared impartial.
Around 1752, the English optician James Ayscough experimented with creating tinted lenses. At this time, what we think of as 'regular' glasses for people with bad vision had already been invented. Ayscough however believed that by changing the colour of the lenses to blue or green could further help with vision problems. The purpose with these coloured glasses still wasn't to protect from the sun. However, emerald tinted lenses were very popular for some time. And while Ayscough is often credited with the tinted lenses, they did already exist at the time, however he was the first to write extensively about it.
Modern sunglasses Sunglasses as we know them and for that purpose didn't appear before the early 20th century. Then yellow and brown tinted glasses were used by people with syphilis, which is a disease that can cause one's eyes to become sensitive to light. Darker tinted glasses would therefore ease discomfort.
However, sunglasses quickly went from being associated with diseases to movie stars, as they became popular in those circles in the 1920's - both as a way to hide their identity and the red eyes they got from the powerful studio lights and paparazzi blitzes. As usual, famous people are the trendsetters, and the first mass production of sunglasses started already in 1929, made by business man Sam Foster. These quickly became popular, and by 1937, 20 million pairs of sunglasses had been sold in the US - but most of these were used for fashion rather than to block for the sun.
Polarized lenses, containing a special filter that blocks intense light reflected off of surfaces like sand or snow, were available from 1936 after being invented by Edwin H. Land - the guy who also invented the technology behind polaroid cameras. This technology thereby solved the problem the inuits had tried to make protection for about a thousand years earlier. The brand Ray Ban produced sunglasses with polarized lenses that were used widely in the US Air Force during WW2. However, these were already for sale to the public in 1937, so the fashion also became functional.
Nowadays, sunglasses are massively popular with a neverending variety of styles and colours. According to statistica.com, it is expected there will be 926.87 million sunglasses by 2025, and sunglasses even have their own national day in the US - which just so happens to be in two days, on June 27th!
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So there we have it, the evolution of sunglasses from the 1st to 21st century. But, back to the original question; would an early 18th century pirate realistically wear sunglasses? The answer to the sunglasses part has to be a clear no. However, tinted glasses in general would probably also be a no, but not entirely impossible - though they would have had to be a very lucky steal.
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