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Overview
A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates is a 1724 book published in Britain containing biographies of contemporary pirates, which was influential in shaping popular conceptions of pirates. Its author uses the name Captain Charles Johnson, generally considered a pseudonym 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 licence in his accounts of pirate conversations. The book also contains the name of the pirate flag the Jolly Roger and shows the skull and bones design.
First appearing in Charles Rivington's shop in London, the book sold so well that by 1726 an enlarged fourth edition had appeared. 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." 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.
In 1932, a literary scholar and writer named John Robert Moore posited that Daniel Defoe be acknowledged the author of A General History. After years of research in connection with a collection of Defoe's works, Moore published a study of his findings, detailing his argument for Defoe's authorship of this, and other, works. Moore declared that A General History was "substantially" a work of Defoe based on writing style and content similar to other pieces that have been attributed to Defoe. Moore argued that Defoe's interest in subjects such as "seafaring" and criminals shows that A General History falls squarely into his repertoire. Moore posited that not only could other works be used to confirm that Defoe wrote A General History, but that A General History could be used to endorse his authorship of those same works. Another point that Moore counted on to validate his claims was that many authors, to include historians, had used A General History of the Pyrates as a source of information for their own writings. (wikipedia.org)
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781647999261 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Bibliotech Press |
| Publication date: | 08/11/2020 |
| Pages: | 262 |
| Sales rank: | 978,195 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d) |
About the Author
London-born Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) pursued a variety of careers including merchant, soldier, secret agent, and political pamphleteer. He wrote books on economics, history, biography, and crime. But he is best remembered for his fiction, which he began to write late in his life and which includes the novels Moll Flanders, Roxana, and the celebrated Robinson Crusoe.
Table of Contents
IllustrationsEditor's Introduction
A Note on the Text
Sailing Ships
I. A Description of a Ship with all her Tackling
2. Definitions of Old Sea-Craft
Volume I A General History of the Pyrates
The Preface
The Contents of Volumes I and II
The Introduction
Chap. I Of Captain Avery and his Crew
II Of Captain Martel and his Crew
III "Of Captain Teach, alias Black-beard"
IV Of Major Stede Bonnet and his Crew
V Of Captain Edward England and his Crew
VI Of Captain Charles Vane and his Crew
VII Of Captain John Rackam and his Crew
The Life of Mary Read
The Life of Anne Bonny
VIII Of Captain Howel Davis and his Crew
"A Description of the Islands of St. Thome, Del Principe, and Annobono"
IX "Of Captain Bartho, Roberts and his Crew"
"A Description of Brazil, &c."
The Tryals of the Pyrates
X Of Captain Thomas Anstis and his Crew
XI Of Captain Worley and his Crew
XII Of Captain George Lowther and his Crew
XIII Of Captain Edward Low and his Crew
XIV Of Captain John Evans and his Crew
XV Of Captain John Phillips and his Crew
XVI Of Captain Francis Spriggs and his Crew
XVII Of Captain John Smith and his Crew
A Relation of five Men setting up for a Company of Pyrates
"An Account of the Pyracies and Murders committed by Philip Roche, &c."
"An Abstract of the Civil Law and Statute now in Force, in Relation to Pyracy"
Volume II
Chap. I Of Captain Mission
II Of Captain Tew and his Crew
III Of Captain William Kid
IV Of Captain John Bowen
V Of Captain Halsey and his Crew
VI Of Captain Thomas White and his Crew
VII Of Captain Thomas Howard and his Crew
VIII Of Captain David Williams and his Crew
IX Of Captain Samuel Burgess and his Crew
X Of Captain Nathaniel North and his Crew
XI A Description of Magadoxa
XII Of Captain Condent and his Crew
XIII Of Captain Bellamy and his Crew
XIV Of Captain Lewis and his Crew
XV Of Captain Cornelius and his Crew
XVI Of Captain William Fly and his Crew
XVII Appendix to the First Volume
XVIII The Tryal of the Pyrates at Providence
Commentary and Notes
Postscript to the Dover Edition
Indexes