A General History Of The Pyrates
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A General History Of The Pyrates
''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,''A general history of the robberies & murders of the most notorious pirates''. By Charles Johnson.
Introduction and commentary by Emmett Remis. Conway Maritime Press, 2002.
which was influential in shaping popular conceptions of pirates. Its author uses the name , generally considered a for one of London ...
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Captain Charles Johnson
Captain Charles Johnson was the British author of the 1724 book ''A General History of the Pyrates, A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates'', whose identity remains a mystery. No record exists of a captain by this name, and "Captain Charles Johnson" is generally considered a pen name for one of London's writer-publishers. Some scholars have suggested that the author was actually Daniel Defoe, but this is disputed. A prime source for the biographies of many well known pirates of the era, Johnson gave an almost mythical status to the more colourful characters, and it is likely that the author used considerable artistic licence in his accounts of pirate conversations. First appearing in Charles Rivington's shop in London, the book sold so well that by 1726, an enlarged fourth edition had appeared. English naval historian David Cordingly writes: "It has been said, and there seems no reason to question this, that Captain Johnson created the modern ...
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Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translations. He has been seen as one of the earliest proponents of the English novel, and helped to popularise the form in Britain with others such as Aphra Behn and Samuel Richardson. Defoe wrote many political tracts, was often in trouble with the authorities, and spent a period in prison. Intellectuals and political leaders paid attention to his fresh ideas and sometimes consulted him. Defoe was a prolific and versatile writer, producing more than three hundred works—books, pamphlets, and journals — on diverse topics, including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology, and the supernatural. He was also a pioneer of business journalism and economic journalism. Early life Daniel Foe (his original name) was probabl ...
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George Lowther (pirate)
George Lowther (died 1723) was an English pirate who, although little is known of his life, was reportedly active in the Caribbean and Atlantic during the early 18th century. His First Mate was Edward Low. Turn to Piracy Not much is known about him before becoming the 2nd Mate on the slave ship, ''Gambia Castle'', which was under the command of Captain Charles Russell; however Lowther was more popular with the crew, as Russell seemed to care more about his shipment of slaves than for his men. Russell distrusted Lowther, and when he attempted to have him flogged many crew members took Lowther's side and defended him, causing a schism among the crew. Also on board, after retreating from their fort, was a Captain Massey, along with a company of soldiers under his command. One night, while Captain Russell was offboard, Massey and Lowther decided to set sail without him. Massey intended to return to England, but Lowther, the crew, and Massey's own soldiers disagreed. Lowther was made ...
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Edward Low
Edward "Ned" Low (also spelled Lowe or Loe; 16901724) was a notorious pirate of English origin during the latter days of the Golden Age of Piracy, in the early 18th century. Low was born into poverty in Westminster, London, and was a thief from an early age. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, as a young man. His wife died in childbirth in late 1719. Two years later, he became a pirate, operating off the coasts of New England and the Azores, and in the Caribbean. Low captained a number of ships, usually maintaining a small fleet of three or four. Low and his pirate crews captured at least a hundred ships during his short career, burning most of them. Although he was active for only three years, Low remains notorious as one of the most vicious pirates of the age with a reputation for violently torturing his victims before murdering them. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle described Low as "savage and desperate," and a man of "amazing and grotesque brutality." ''The New York Times'' called hi ...
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Edward England
Edward England ( –1721) was an Irish pirate. The ships he sailed on included the ''Pearl'' (which he renamed ''The Royal James'') and later the ''Fancy'', for which England exchanged the ''Pearl'' in 1720. His flag was the classic Jolly Roger — almost exactly as the one "Black Sam" Bellamy used — with a human skull above two crossed bones on a black background. Like Bellamy, England was known for his kindness and compassion as a leader, unlike many other pirates of the time. England was born Edward Seegar in Ireland around 1685. He took part in Henry Jennings' expedition for the sunken 1715 Treasure Fleet off the coast of Florida, and then began sailing with Charles Vane in 1718. Upon Vane and other prominent pirates accepting the King's Pardon, England and some of his men sailed for Africa. Along his way he spawned the career of Bartholomew Roberts, among others. In 1720, near the African island of Comoros, England and his men got into a violent conflict with ...
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Charles Vane
Charles Vane (c. 1680 – 29 March 1721) was an English pirate who operated in the Bahamas during the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. Vane was likely born in the Kingdom of England around 1680. One of his first pirate ventures was under the leadership of Henry Jennings, during Jennings' attack on the salvage camp for the wrecked Spanish 1715 Treasure Fleet off the coast of Florida. By 1717, Vane was commanding his own vessels and was one of the leaders of the Republic of Pirates in Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau. In 1718, Vane was captured but agreed to stop his criminal actions and declared his intention to accept a 1717–1718 Acts of Grace, King's Pardon; however just months later he and his men, including Edward England and Calico Jack, Jack Rackham, returned to piracy. Unlike some other notable pirate captains of the age like Benjamin Hornigold and Samuel Bellamy, Vane was known for his cruelty, often beating, torturing and killing sailors from ships he captured. In February 1719 ...
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Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny (8 March 1697 – disappeared April 1721), sometimes Anne Bonney, was an Irish pirate operating in the Caribbean, and one of the few female pirates in recorded history. What little that is known of her life comes largely from Captain Charles Johnson's 1724 book ''A General History of the Pyrates''. Bonny was born in Ireland around 1700 and moved to London and then to the Province of Carolina when she was about 10 years old. Around 1718 she married sailor James Bonny, assumed his last name, and moved with him to Nassau in the Bahamas, a sanctuary for pirates. It was there that she met Calico Jack Rackham and became his pirate partner and lover. She was captured alongside Rackham and Mary Read in October 1720. All three were sentenced to death, but Bonny and Read had their executions stayed because both of them were pregnant. Read died of a fever in jail in April 1721 (likely due to complications from the pregnancy), but Bonny's fate is unknown. Early life Bonny' ...
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Calico Jack
John Rackham (26 December 168218 November 1720), commonly known as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the calico clothing that he wore, while Jack is a nickname for "John". Rackham was active towards the end (1718–1720) of the "Golden Age of Piracy". He is most remembered for having two female crew members: Mary Read and his lover, Anne Bonny. Rackham deposed Charles Vane from his position as captain of the sloop ''Ranger'', then cruised the Leeward Islands, Jamaica Channel and Windward Passage. He accepted the King's Pardon in 1719 and moved to New Providence, where he met Anne Bonny, who was married to James Bonny at the time. He returned to piracy in 1720 by stealing a British sloop and Anne joined him. Their new crew included Mary Read, who was disguised as a man at the time. After a short run, Rackham was captured by Jonathan Barnet, an English privateer, in 1720, p ...
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Blackbeard
Edward Teach (alternatively spelled Edward Thatch, – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English Piracy, pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's Thirteen Colonies, North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he may have been a sailor on privateer ships during Queen Anne's War before he settled on the The Bahamas, Bahamian island of New Providence, a base for Captain Benjamin Hornigold, whose crew Teach joined around 1716. Hornigold placed him in command of a sloop that he had captured, and the two engaged in numerous acts of piracy. Their numbers were boosted by the addition to their fleet of two more ships, one of which was commanded by Stede Bonnet; but Hornigold retired from piracy toward the end of 1717, taking two vessels with him. Teach captured a French slave ship known as , renamed her ''Queen Anne's Revenge'', equipped her with 40 guns, and crewed her with over 300 men. He became a renown ...
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Francis Spriggs
Francis Spriggs (died 1725?) was a British pirate who, associated with George Lowther and Edward Low, was active in the Caribbean and the Bay of Honduras during the early 1720s. Early career Although much of his early life is unknown, Francis Spriggs was first recorded serving as a quartermaster for Captain Edward Low (possibly as part of the original crew members who left the service of Captain George Lowther). However, after being given command of the recently captured the 12-gun British man of war ''Squirel'' (renamed ''Delight'' shortly thereafter), he and Low apparently had a falling out over the disciplining of one of the crew around Christmas 1724, resulting in Spriggs and Lowther deserting Low in the night. Fisherman Philip Ashton had been forced into service by Low and his new quartermaster John Russell in June 1723 but escaped the following year when Low's flotilla stopped near Roatan. In 1724 he and a few other castaways spotted an incoming vessel and hoped for resc ...
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Bartholomew Roberts
) , type=Pirate , birth_place = Casnewydd Bach, near Puncheston, Pembrokeshire, Wales, Kingdom of England , death_place = At sea off of Cape Lopez, Gabon , allegiance= , serviceyears=1719–1722 , base of operations= Off the coast of the Americas and West Africa , rank=Captain , commands= ''Royal Rover'', ''Fortune'', ''Good Fortune'', ''Royal Fortune'', ''Ranger'', ''Little Ranger'' , battles= , wealth= 470 vessels , laterwork= Bartholomew Roberts (17 May 1682 – 10 February 1722), born John Roberts, was a Welsh pirate and the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy (measured by vessels captured), taking over 400 prizes in his career. Roberts raided ships off the Americas and the West African coast between 1719 and 1722; he is also noted for creating his own Pirate Code, and adopting an early variant of the Skull and Crossbones flag. Roberts' infamy and success saw him become known as ''The Great Pyrate'' and eventually as Black Bart ( cy, Barti Ddu), and made him ...
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Harcourt (publisher)
Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City and Orlando, Florida, and was known at different stages in its history as Harcourt Brace, & Co. and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. From 1919 to 1982, it was based in New York City. Houghton Mifflin acquired Harcourt in 2007. It incorporated the Harcourt name to form Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. As of 2012, all Harcourt books that have been re-released are under the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt name. The Harcourt Children's Books division left the name intact on all of its books under that name as part of HMH. In 2007 the U.S. Schools Education and Trade Publishing parts of Harcourt Education were sold by Reed Elsevier to Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep Group. Harcourt Assessment and Harcourt Education International were acquired by Pearson, the internat ...
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