In 1724, Captain Charles Johnson published A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates. In it he created the modern image of the cut-throats who sailed under the Jolly Roger and gave mythical status to Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, Bartholomew Roberts, 'Calico' Jack Rackham, Mary Read and Anne Bonny.
A History of Pirates looks at the reality behind these legends and reveals a world often as gripping as anything acted out by Errol Flynn. It portrays the pirates, their weapons, their ships, their victims and their hideouts, including the 'pirate capital city' Port Royal on Jamaica, the 'wickedest city in the world'.
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