General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates

by Charles Johnson, David Cordingly

The classic account of the lives & exploits of the most notorious pirates of the Golden Age—from Anne Bonny to Blackbeard
 

Genres: Nonfiction, Pirates, History

366 pages, Paperback

Published May 4, 2010

About the author

Captain Charles Johnson, the author of the 1724 book A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates, has not been identified.

It has often been assumed that the name Captain Charles Johnson was a pseudonym, but nothing definitive has been determined about who he may have been. For a period of nearly fifty years, the prevailing theory was that the author's true identity was Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe. But that theory has been challenged and invalidated based on a lack of supporting evidence. Nonetheless, his book, which is in the public domain, has been published in a large number of editions by various publishers and in translations around the world, often employing the name Daniel Defoe on the cover.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Warning: this text may contain spoilers** Interesting to find out that Mary read and Anne bonny were brought up to be boys and then revealed themselves. The story of how Anne bonny was a child born out of wedlock and all to do with some silver spoons (rich dad slept with the maid while wife is ill and not at home, maid accused male servant of stealing spoons, he plays a joke, gets away with it, she realises she was wrong (but wasn't), gets kicked out by wife (when she's better and returns to house), husband stays with maid and raises Anne as a boy).

How Mary read did all the things that men could do at that time, proved that anything can be achieved. To know that she wasn't charged with what she did surprises me.

Charles Vane very fascinating to be a gun ho, and deceptive, (pretending to be someone else, gets caught out by an old friend).

Jack Rackham most interesting, that he was a clever man.

Captain Davis, very clever, outwitting rich people and taking on forts with his deception, making them believe that he was a merchant, working out where all the armouries were and soldiers and with good communication and charm, took them all. Sad to say that he got found out by his own plan, and was outwitted. Clever man.

Captain Gow, decided to take a ship by deceiving a man to take him on, gets help, gets almost found out (his mate is removed from the ship), therefore couldn't take the ship, but due to the captains behaviours towards the crew, Gow manages to inject discord and manages to take the ship for himself. Goes a pirating for awhile, returns to Scotland, persuades crew to go there for it will be worth it, turns out the entire time he had been courting a lady and the father wouldn't agree to the marriage unless he had a ship and was captain of it. However almost get the marriage but no before a crew member escapes and blabs to a magistrate, gow gets caught out and ends up dead.

Captain Kidd, started out as a privateer, and became rather skilled and notorious about it, so much so, he was given a boat by the government (this doesn't happen a lot) and given permission by King William to go and use this boat for privateering. However wasn't very lucky to start and for fear of looking like a failure and losing his reputation decided to go pirating instead. Became very good at that, gained a reputation for that so much so ships were sent after him, however missed the proclamation for innocence and just returned to where is boat was given to him, was caught and hung.

[Adam Greven · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of Pyrates, 1726 edition (book review): the famous book by Captain Johnson, first printed in 1724 and then several times after hence the notation of this being the 1726 edition, is a well of knowledge of the "Golden Age" of piracy. Some descriptions are very short on personal information but try to make up for it by supplying circumstantial information, eyewitness accounts, records from ship logs at the same dates and places in question. Pirates such as Blackbeard are well covered but if you have read anything on the age before reading this work you will probably not find any of the information new or exciting. Another note, this book was written in the 17th Century and its language remains unchanged or "translated" from its original text. This book I think works best as a companion or reference to anything else you may be reading about pirates at present.
What was most new and exciting is David Cordingly's introduction to this edition where he goes into the history of just who Captain Johnson really was. The truth? We still have no idea despite having been certain for a very long time the he had been the famous writer, Daniel Defoe author of Robinson Crusoe.
Overall an interesting read but as dazzling as it was in its time may come off as a bit dry for today's readers so I would suggest picking it up only if you are serious about the subject matter.