Captain Charles Johnson facts for kids

Captain Charles Johnson was a British writer who published a famous book in 1724 called A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates. To this day, nobody knows who he really was. There are no records of a sea captain named Charles Johnson. Because of this, "Captain Charles Johnson" is thought to be a pen name, which is a fake name used by a writer. Many believe it was used by a London writer or publisher. Some experts think the real author was Daniel Defoe, but this idea is still debated.

Johnson's book is a main source for stories about many well-known pirates from that time. He made some of the more interesting pirates seem like legendary figures. It's likely that the author added many made-up details to his accounts of pirate conversations. The book first appeared in Charles Rivington's shop in London. It sold so well that a bigger, fourth edition was printed by 1726. Naval historian David Cordingly says that Captain Johnson helped create how we imagine pirates today.

Who Was Captain Johnson?

The real identity of Captain Johnson is still a mystery. However, the way he wrote shows he knew a lot about sailors' speech and life. This makes some people think he might have been a real sea captain. He could also have been a professional writer who just knew a lot about the sea. If so, he might have chosen the name "Charles Johnson" because of a playwright named Charles Johnson. This playwright had a play called The Successful Pyrate in 1712. That play was about the pirate Henry Every and caused a stir because it seemed to praise a criminal. This theory suggests that the "Charles Johnson" who wrote the pirate book was just part of a growing trend of writing about criminals.

Historians have tried hard to find out who the author was, but they haven't found any records of a captain named Charles Johnson. There was a playwright with that name in the early 1700s, but his other works don't seem connected to pirates. Some have even thought the "Captain" was a pirate himself, but there's no proof of this either.

Was It Daniel Defoe?

Daniel Defoe in 1706

In 1932, a literary expert named John Robert Moore suggested that Daniel Defoe wrote A General History. After years of studying Defoe's works, Moore published his findings. He argued that A General History was "substantially" written by Defoe. Moore based this on the writing style, which included thoughts on right and wrong, similar to Defoe's other books. He also noted that the content, like interest in "seafaring" and criminals (including pirates), fit with Defoe's usual topics.

Moore's study and his reputation as a Defoe expert were so convincing that most libraries changed their records. They started listing A General History under Defoe's name.

Why Some Disagree

However, in 1988, scholars P. N. Furbank and W. R. Owens challenged this idea. In their book The Canonisation of Daniel Defoe, they pointed out that there's no official proof connecting Johnson to Defoe. They also found differences between A General History and Defoe's other known works.

Over time, many different biographers of Defoe added more and more books to his list of works. Between 1790 and 1970, the number of books believed to be by Defoe grew from 101 to 570! Most of these new additions were based only on writing style. Moore's own list added almost 200 works. Many people questioned not only if Defoe wrote A General History, but also why biographers kept adding so many books to his name. One critic even joked that all anonymous books from the early 1700s should just be called Defoe's.

Furbank and Owens argued against Defoe's authorship of A General History. They said that many of the ideas and phrases Moore used as proof were actually very common in the 1700s. They believed Moore's claim that Defoe wrote the book was based only on a few similarities and no real evidence. They also found differences in the stories of Henry Every and John Gow when compared to Defoe's other writings.

Author Colin Woodard, in his book The Republic of Pirates, also believes that Defoe did not write Johnson's work.

Could It Be Nathaniel Mist?

Another idea is that the author might have been the publisher Nathaniel Mist, or someone who worked for him. Colin Woodard thinks Mist is "far more likely" than Defoe. He points to a paper from 2004 by Bialuschewski. This paper suggests several reasons why Mist could be the author:

• Mist was a former sailor who knew about the West Indies.
• He was a journalist and publisher who lived near and worked with Charles Rivington. Rivington was the first publisher of A General History.
• Mist was the person who officially registered the book.
• Mist's political views (he was a Jacobite) might explain why he wrote about some pirates in a somewhat understanding way, as seen in A General History.

Different Editions of the Book

The first publisher, Charles Rivington, highlighted that the book included stories of "the remarkable ACTIONS and ADVENTURES of the two Female Pyrates, Mary Read and Anne Bonny". These stories were mostly put together from newspaper reports, court records, and a few interviews. A second edition came out within a few months. It was much bigger and likely included writings from other authors. Translations into German and Dutch were published in 1725. These German and Dutch versions really played up the exciting and sometimes scandalous stories of the "Amazon" pirates.

Modern Versions and Other Works

A General History of the Pyrates is still printed today in many different versions. These often include extra comments. Sometimes they are published under Charles Johnson's name, and sometimes under Daniel Defoe's name. A children's novel called Pirates Passage (2006) by William Gilkerson was inspired by the life and work of Charles Johnson. It was later reissued as The Brotherhood of Pirates.