title: Pirates : A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates
author:  Charles Johnson 
description: A facsimile edition of a classic source for the history of piracy, as used by Robert Louis Stevenson in the writing of Treasure Island. Captain Charles Johnson's General History of Pirates was one of the best-selling books of 1724, when it was first published. It provides a sweeping account of what has come to be called the Golden Age of Piracy. It went through four editions in two years, and without doubt owed a substantial part of its success to a dramatic writing style that vividly captures the realities of pirates' savage existence. The book contains documentary evidence of events during the lives of its subjects. In the 270 years since its original publication, Johnson's work has come to be regarded as the classic study of one of the most popular subjects in maritime history.
zlib_text: ![](Images/cover00492.jpeg)
  
  ![](Images/image00401.jpeg)
  
  CONTENTS
  
   _Introduction_
  
  Chapter One: Pirates of the Ancient World
  
  Chapter Two: Medieval Pirates
  
  Chapter Three: The Sea Dogs of the Renaissance
  
  Chapter Four: Mediterranean Corsairs
  
  Chapter Five: The Buccaneers
  
  Chapter Six: The Golden Age of Piracy
  
  Chapter Seven: The Pirate Round
  
  Chapter Eight: The Last of the Pirates
  
  Chapter Nine: The Chinese Pirates
  
  Chapter Ten: Modern Piracy
  
  Chapter Eleven: Pirates in Fiction
  
   _Conclusion_
  
   _Notes_
  
   _Select Bibliography_
  
  ![](Images/image00527.jpeg)
  
  INTRODUCTION
  
  Crime, and the public’s fascination with it, are as old as civilization
  itself. So, it wasn’t surprising that in 1724, when a London publisher
  produced a book called _A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the
  Most Notorious Pyrates_ , this lurid pirate exposé became a best-seller. It
  ‘lifted the lid’ on a world of violent criminals operating on the high seas.
  It told of men (and a few women) who rebelled ag