Mun Note: I did some research on this and I intend to do more over time but frankly the overarching politics are not important so I removed them and most of the mentions thereof in order to get this out. Again, snippets have been shared with @intolerablexsacrifice & @tidefated so its time to get all the information into one spot. 

Due to the fact Silver never once reveals a true backstory for himself and what little he has given was proven by admission and omission to be nothing more than a pack of adopted lies, I’ve built my own story for who he was before he became John Silver – which, in and of itself has the ring of an alias, and for a man who shrouds himself in lies shaped like truth, and defends himself with truth that tastes of lies – kind of makes sense. 

In any case, these aspects of who he was prior to becoming John Silver will have no bearing on threads beyond his monologues and reflections, unless otherwise discussed. 

Born Jandro Miguelangel Afonso de Villarreal ( while his mother’s surname remains redacted, he bears instead a surname denoting only the region in which he was born ), the man who would one day be known as John Silver benefitted from experiencing his formative years in Spanish courts. His mother’s marriage united some minor political interests between her family and that of a British military commander, whose long term strategies ultimately resulted in considerable tragedy.

When circumstances made it clear that the resolutions between them were no longer producing results, the marriage was dissolved on account of the untimely death of Jandro’s mother. At the age of twelve, he was more than discerning enough to understand that the circumstances surrounding the murder of his mother and her servants were suspect and his sudden departure to live with his father ( whom, up until that point, had absolutely no hand in his upbringing and in fact, had not even met Jandro ) was questionable at best – though at the time, he had no reason to suspect that his father had in fact orchestrated the attack. 

Upon his arrival to England, Jandro was at a vicious disadvantage in the fact he spoke very limited English, could not read or write in English and frankly, had no knowledge of English propriety and customs. He was immediately isolated and indoctrinated, undergoing rigorous “reeducating” and finding himself brutally punished for reverting to his mother language. He was not only made to abandon his country and all that was familiar to him ( including his language and accent ) but he was also stripped of his sense of self in the fact that he was no longer permitted to answer to his birth name. 

For nine years, Christopher John Hope was a stranger in his own skin who became more and more familiar with the person he was supposed to become. The only heir to his father, he was slowly adapting to the role he would be expected to play – and even coming to have periods where being an Englishman came naturally rather than with diligent focus. It was at this point that his father remarried to a much younger woman ( one closer to Christopher’s age than his own ) and ended up having another son. 

Seven years that dragged on like eternity as the Hope family waited to see if the infant would survive all the worst that could take a child early, Christopher continued to maintain his position as heir of the household with a growing sense of foreboding. When it was determined that his half-brother was certain to make it, his worst fears were promptly realized. 

Through a quiet exchange on the part of his father, Christopher was placed under a captain who dubbed him “John Silver” to keep the men from knowing his value as cargo. He was given busy work and made to appear as one of the crew, all the while knowing the intent was to have him delivered to Spain once more, where he was to be held accountable for his role in the death of his mother and be sequestered to a monastery for exile. Thus when the ship was attacked, the now twenty-eight year old rather liked his chances – but only if the captain was dead.

Aware he needed to hide himself from not one, but two militant powers, Jandro once again began to unmake himself in order to fit another mold. John Silver was the first self that he created to suit his own needs – and his firm stance of selfishness reflects this quite clearly, especially in the beginning when his desperation is at it’s highest. 

By the time he has been quartermaster on the Walrus long enough to lose Mort, he is established enough as ‘John Silver’ to be considerably less alarmed about discovery and a great more deal concerned with who he is becoming, and who he wants to be.  

So TL’DR the timeline of Silver is:

• 00-14: Name is Jandro Miguelangel Afonso de Villarreal. Life of a Spanish noble child.
• 14-20: Name is Christopher John Hope. All agency and identity is stolen. Life of an English heir after rigorous retraining.
• 20-27: Jandro/Christopher now has a brother set to supplant him.
• 27-28: Supplanted, Jandro/Christopher is set to return to Spain to live in exile. Aboard the ship he is dubbed ‘John Silver’ to conceal his value. The ship ferrying him across is attacked by pirates.
• 28-29: Seasons 1 – 2, Jandro is struggling to identify as and essentially create Silver, all the while desperate for enough money to hide from two of the biggest armadas on the seven seas for the rest of his life.  
• 30+ everything afterward, Jandro is now officially identifying as John Silver, and is no longer as afraid of discovery.