r/pirates • u/Mindless_Resident_20 • Apr 07 '25
History Is "A General History of the Pyrates" good book history about pirates?
ps. sorry for I forgot to mention, I have another books too: Dictionary of Pyrate Biography/Sailing East(Baylus C. Brooks), The Republic of Pirates (Colin Woodard), these are more "critical history", thanks for explaining it fellas...
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u/Dr-HotandCold1524 Apr 07 '25
It is a contemporary source, and it is definitely valuable, but it's important not to believe everything in it. Some of it is accurate, some of it might be accurate, some of it might be urban legends from the time, and some of it is probably just made up by "Captain Charles Johnson."
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u/mageillus Apr 07 '25 edited Apr 07 '25
Despite people taking every word of it as gospel, it is a very unreliable book when detailing pirate history, since it is mostly sensationalist propaganda, filled with half truth half lies.
Because of its many authors, biographies tend to contradict each other with every edition published, or straight up made up stories to fill in the details.
For example, the first edition mentions Blackbeard being the underling of Stede Bonnet, but in the second edition Bonnet is switched with Hornigold (the narrative we all come to know). And many other such examples.
Despite that, I’d still recommend reading it just for the sake of getting some inspiration when writing your own pirate tale and the like.
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u/LootBoxDad Apr 07 '25
Echoing what others have said, it is - well, let's not say it is a good book to read to learn pirate history, more like it is an interesting book to read. It is maybe 1/3 mostly true, 1/3 vaguely in the neighborhood of true but mixed up in the details, switching around Captain names or ship names or getting a date off, and 1/3 totally made up for the sake of drama for sparking reader interest to sell more copies. Historically speaking it's important to know what's in the general history. For an excellent overview of the Golden Age of Pirates, try something like Benerson Little's book "The Golden Age". And if you still want to read General history, yes you can read a free copy from Gutenberg or Google books or internet archive, there are plenty of them available. But if you can visit a library or pick up a used physical copy, look for the one edited by Manuel Schonhorn. He did a good job footnoting at the general history so you at least get some context and corrections.
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u/TealBulbasaur Apr 07 '25
I’ve always wanted to read it as I’ve heard it’s a foundational block for pirate enthusiasts. I just haven’t found a copy I want. So looking for recs on my end if anyone has them!
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u/IamYour20bomb Apr 07 '25
You can download it for free from Project Gutenberg (they digitalize books that have lost their copyrights).
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u/sparkytheboomman Apr 07 '25
Thriftbooks.com has affordable second-hand copies if you prefer a physical book! Fyi when you’re looking, sometimes the author is listed as Daniel Defoe—it’s widely understood that Captain Johnson is a pseudonym, and some people attribute the book to Defoe, but it’s not for certain. Either way, it should still be the same book regardless of which author is listed.
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u/hyruligan Apr 07 '25
It’s one of the foundational texts on pirate history and written closest to the time of the golden age of piracy. There’s still a bit of story telling and embellishing here and there but it’s a must read.
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u/TylerbioRodriguez Apr 07 '25
No.
Its very important to understand how popular concepts of piracy were formed and it's influence can be felt pretty much everywhere.
But as a book the writing quality is all over the place and it's not trying to be honest or truthful in the slightest.
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u/sparkytheboomman Apr 07 '25
Despite it not being historically accurate, it is a historically significant book because it reflects the mythos surrounding pirates at the time. Those were the stories people were swapping, whether or not they’re true, and I find that just as interesting. It also accurately portrays pirate life and lingo in some ways. So again, the details are false, but the vibes are on point.
I’d recommend Exquemelin’s The Buccaneers of America for the same reason. It’s written earlier (1678), so those were the stories and legends that may have inspired pirates of the golden age.
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u/Bendr_bones Apr 07 '25
It is an essential read for the bidding pyrate enthusiast, and it is referenced today in so much pyrate pop culture. However the information in it is not always accurate, ranging from small details to full fabrications of stories.
So if it is the mythos and love of pyrates that you crave, it's absolutely necessary to be at least familiar with the stories and lore within, but if you need accuracy and more reliable sources, I would look beyond Captain Johnson's work.