A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates, or simply A General History of the Pyrates is a 1724 book published in Britain containing biographies of contemporary pirates,[1] which was influential in shaping popular conceptions of pirates. Its author uses the name Captain Charles Johnson, generally considered a pen name for one of London's writer-publishers. The prime source for the biographies of many well-known pirates, the book gives an almost mythical status to the more colourful characters, and it is likely that the author used considerable artistic license in his accounts of pirate conversations.[2] The book also contains the name of the pirate flag the Jolly Roger and shows the skull and bones design.
A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates
First appearing in Charles Rivington's shop in London, the book sold so well that by 1726 an enlarged fourth edition had appeared.[1] It pandered to the British public's taste for the exotic; revelling in graphic stories on the high seas. English naval historian David Cordingly writes: "It has been said, and there seems no reason to question this, that Captain Johnson created the modern conception of pirates."[3] Scottish novelists Robert Louis Stevenson (author of Treasure Island) and J. M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan featuring Captain Hook) both identified Johnson's General History of the Pyrates as one of their major influences, and Stevenson even borrowed one character's name (Israel Hands) from a list of Blackbeard's crew which appeared in Johnson's book.[4][5]
The author, who uses the name Captain Charles Johnson, has remained unknown in spite of numerous attempts by historians to discover his identity.[6]
In 1932, literary scholar John Robert Moore argued that Daniel Defoe was the true author of A General History.[6] Other sources, including a 2004 paper, suggest that the author could have been publisher Nathaniel Mist, or somebody working for Mist.[7][8] Author Colin Woodard, in The Republic of Pirates, considers attribution of Johnson's work to Defoe to be erroneous, and prefers the hypothesis that Johnson was Mist.[9]
A General History introduced many features which later became common in pirate literature, such as pirates with missing legs or eyes, the notion of pirates burying treasure, and the name of the pirate flag the Jolly Roger. The author specifically cites two pirates as having named their flag Jolly Roger (named after the first Pirate and his crew): Welsh pirate Bartholomew Roberts in June 1721, and English pirate Francis Spriggs in December 1723.[10] The book gives an almost mythical status to the more colourful characters, such as the infamous English pirates Blackbeard and Calico Jack. It provides the standard account of the lives of many people still famous in the 21st century, and has influenced pirate literature of Scottish novelists Robert Louis Stevenson and J. M. Barrie.[11]
The book was released in two volumes. The first mostly deals with early 18th-century pirates, while Volume II records the exploits of their predecessors a few decades earlier. In the first volume, the author sticks fairly close to the available sources, though he embellishes the stories somewhat.[12] He stretches the truth farther in the second volume and includes the biographies of three subjects who may be entirely fictional. The book has been hugely influential in shaping popular notions of piracy.
^ abA general history of the robberies & murders of the most notorious pirates. By Charles Johnson. Introduction and commentary by Emmett Remis. Conway Maritime Press, 2002.
^Johnson, Charles; Cordingly, David (2010). "Introduction". General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates (Lyons Press 2nd paperback ed.). London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. viii. ISBN978-1599219059.
^Jason Porterfield, Treasure Island and the Pirates of the 18th Century, Rosen, 2004, p. 12.
^Charles Johnson (1724), A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates, pp. 250, 411-12
^A general history of the robberies & murders of the most notorious pirates. Introduction, p. viii
^Brooks, Baylus C. (2015). ""Born in Jamaica, of Very Creditable Parents" or "A Bristol Man Born"? Excavating the Real Edward Thache, "Blackbeard the Pirate"". The North Carolina Historical Review. 92 (3): 235–277. ISSN 0029-2494. JSTOR 44113270.
Referencesedit
David Cordingly, Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1995.
Charles Johnson (1724), A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates, a copy on the website of East Carolina University Digital Collections
External linksedit
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Wikisource has original text related to this article:
A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates
general, history, pyrates, general, history, robberies, murders, most, notorious, pyrates, simply, 1724, book, published, britain, containing, biographies, contemporary, pirates, which, influential, shaping, popular, conceptions, pirates, author, uses, name, c. A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates or simply A General History of the Pyrates is a 1724 book published in Britain containing biographies of contemporary pirates 1 which was influential in shaping popular conceptions of pirates Its author uses the name Captain Charles Johnson generally considered a pen name for one of London s writer publishers The prime source for the biographies of many well known pirates the book gives an almost mythical status to the more colourful characters and it is likely that the author used considerable artistic license in his accounts of pirate conversations 2 The book also contains the name of the pirate flag the Jolly Roger and shows the skull and bones design A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious PyratesCover of the 2nd editionAuthorCaptain Charles Johnson possibly a pen name CountryKingdom of Great BritainLanguageEnglishSubjectBiographiesPublisherCh Rivington J Lacy and J StonePublication date14 May 1724Media typePrintPages304First appearing in Charles Rivington s shop in London the book sold so well that by 1726 an enlarged fourth edition had appeared 1 It pandered to the British public s taste for the exotic revelling in graphic stories on the high seas English naval historian David Cordingly writes It has been said and there seems no reason to question this that Captain Johnson created the modern conception of pirates 3 Scottish novelists Robert Louis Stevenson author of Treasure Island and J M Barrie author of Peter Pan featuring Captain Hook both identified Johnson s General History of the Pyrates as one of their major influences and Stevenson even borrowed one character s name Israel Hands from a list of Blackbeard s crew which appeared in Johnson s book 4 5 Contents 1 Authorship 2 Contents 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksAuthorship editMain article Captain Charles Johnson The author who uses the name Captain Charles Johnson has remained unknown in spite of numerous attempts by historians to discover his identity 6 In 1932 literary scholar John Robert Moore argued that Daniel Defoe was the true author of A General History 6 Other sources including a 2004 paper suggest that the author could have been publisher Nathaniel Mist or somebody working for Mist 7 8 Author Colin Woodard in The Republic of Pirates considers attribution of Johnson s work to Defoe to be erroneous and prefers the hypothesis that Johnson was Mist 9 Contents edit nbsp An illustration of Welsh pirate Bartholomew Roberts in the 1724 editionA General History introduced many features which later became common in pirate literature such as pirates with missing legs or eyes the notion of pirates burying treasure and the name of the pirate flag the Jolly Roger The author specifically cites two pirates as having named their flag Jolly Roger named after the first Pirate and his crew Welsh pirate Bartholomew Roberts in June 1721 and English pirate Francis Spriggs in December 1723 10 The book gives an almost mythical status to the more colourful characters such as the infamous English pirates Blackbeard and Calico Jack It provides the standard account of the lives of many people still famous in the 21st century and has influenced pirate literature of Scottish novelists Robert Louis Stevenson and J M Barrie 11 The book was released in two volumes The first mostly deals with early 18th century pirates while Volume II records the exploits of their predecessors a few decades earlier In the first volume the author sticks fairly close to the available sources though he embellishes the stories somewhat 12 He stretches the truth farther in the second volume and includes the biographies of three subjects who may be entirely fictional The book has been hugely influential in shaping popular notions of piracy The pirates profiled in Volume I are Anne Bonny Bartholomew Black Bart Roberts Blackbeard Calico Jack Rackham Charles Vane Edward England Edward Lowe Francis Spriggs George Lowther Henry Every Howell Davis Israel Hands James Martel John Evans John Gow Jolly Roger Mary Read Richard Worley Philip Roche Stede Bonnet Thomas Anstis Volume II features Christopher Condent John Bowen John Halsey Nathaniel North Samuel Bellamy Samuel Burgess Thomas Howard Thomas Tew William Fly William Kidd David Williams as well as biographies of the probably fictional captains James Misson William Lewis and John Cornelius nbsp Anne Bonny from a Dutch version of Charles Johnson s book of pirates nbsp Edward Teach aka Blackbeard as engraved by Benjamin Cole in the 1724 edition nbsp Calico Jack Rackham 1725 edition nbsp Henry Every 1725 edition nbsp Howell Davis 1728 edition nbsp Stede Bonnet 1725 editionNotes edit a b A general history of the robberies amp murders of the most notorious pirates By Charles Johnson Introduction and commentary by Emmett Remis Conway Maritime Press 2002 Cordingly Under the Black Flag p xix Johnson Charles Cordingly David 2010 Introduction General History of the Robberies amp Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates Lyons Press 2nd paperback ed London Conway Maritime Press pp viii ISBN 978 1599219059 Jason Porterfield Treasure Island and the Pirates of the 18th Century Rosen 2004 p 12 Pirate chic The Age 6 December 2016 a b John Robert Moore Defoe in the Pillory and Other Studies pp 126 141 New York Octagon Books 1973 Bialuschewski Arne March 2004 Daniel Defoe Nathaniel Mist and the General History of the Pyrates The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 98 1 21 38 doi 10 1086 pbsa 98 1 24295828 JSTOR 24295828 S2CID 163321353 Ossian Rob Book Review A General History of the Pyrates The Pirate King Archived from the original on 22 October 2007 Retrieved 2007 11 29 Woodard Colin 2007 The Republic of Pirates Harcourt Inc pp 325 326 ISBN 978 0 15 101302 9 Charles Johnson 1724 A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates pp 250 411 12 A general history of the robberies amp murders of the most notorious pirates Introduction p viii Brooks Baylus C 2015 Born in Jamaica of Very Creditable Parents or A Bristol Man Born Excavating the Real Edward Thache Blackbeard the Pirate The North Carolina Historical Review 92 3 235 277 ISSN 0029 2494 JSTOR 44113270 References editDavid Cordingly Under the Black Flag The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates New York Harcourt Brace 1995 Charles Johnson 1724 A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates a copy on the website of East Carolina University Digital CollectionsExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to A General History of the Pyrates nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates A General History of the Pyrates at Standard Ebooks nbsp The General History of the Pyrates public domain audiobook at LibriVox Volume I A General History of the Pyrates 2nd edition at the Internet Archive A General History of the Pyrates 2nd edition at Project Gutenberg Volume II Volume II 4th edition Transcription The History of the Pyrates at Project Gutenberg Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title A General History of the Pyrates amp oldid 1189326084, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
