Sources

The works discussed below are the primary source texts where the illustrations featured on this site were first published. 

 

 

Buccaneers of America (Amerikaanse zeerovers) (1678, 1684)

 

This is the most vivid account of the activities of the pirates who sailed in the Caribbean during the “golden age of piracy”, written by Alexander Exquemelin. Exquemelin was originally an employee of the French West India Company but ultimately wound up serving a surgeon on several pirate crews, including under Captain Henry Morgan. This work was first published in Dutch in 1678 and later in English in 1684 and continues to hold up as an important contemporary resource in historical research on this era of piracy.

 

 

General history of the robberies and murders of the most notorious pyrates (1724)

 

First published in 1724, this work focuses on the biographies of pirate of the age. It was written ostensibly by a Captain Charles Johnson, but this is believed to be a pseudonym. One popular theory concerning the author identifies him as Daniel Defoe, although this is still debated. For the purposes of this site, Defoe is listed as the author of the work, in keeping with the Library of Congress record for this work, along with the abridged version “The History and lives of all the most notorious pirates, and their crews.” This book became one of the best-selling popular accounts of the golden age of piracy, and served as an inspiration to authors such as Robert Lewis Stevenson and James Barrie.

 

This book was influential in introducing characteristics which later became common in literary pirates, including buried treasure and pirates with peg legs. It is also the earliest reference to the term “Jolly Roger”.

 

 

Anthologia hibernica vol. 2 (1794)

 

This work is the outlier in the sources for this site, as it was a publication documenting Irish history and culture. It is included in the works here as the source for the woodcut depicting the meeting between the pirate Grace  O’Malley and Queen Elizabeth I. It was published by R.E. Mercier in 1794, almost 200 years after O’Malley’s death, and to date, no known contemporary images of her are known.

 

 

The Pirates Own Book (1837)

 

First published in Boston in 1837 by Charles Ellms, a stationer, and Samuel N. Dickinson, a printer. It was reprinted five additional times, most recently in 1996. It is a heavily embellished account of several of the major figures of the “golden age of piracy.” While there is historical grounding to the people and events mentioned in the book, it is difficult to determine which details may have been entirely fictitious.