Reevaluating Captain Charles Johnson's A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Notorious Pyrates

Delve into the ambiguous credibility and authorship of Captain Charles Johnson's historical accounts of infamous pirates like Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Explore themes of gender identity, anonymity, and the complexities surrounding Johnson's mysterious identity in this intriguing analysis.

• History
• Pirates
• Gender Identity
• Authorship
• Seventeenth Century

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1. Authorship and Credibility through the Lens of Captain Charles Johnson s A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Notorious Pyrates Mairead Atkinson

2. Primary Argument: Captain Charles Johnson s A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Notorious Pyrates (and subsequent volumes) have been treated as truth in terms of telling the stories of over thirty pirates, including Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Instead of holding it as the most factual account of these women s lives, A General History should be read as a piece of fiction.

3. Primary Source: Captain Charles Johnson s A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Notorious Pyrates (First Edition) -A General History of the Pyrates. From Their first Rise and Settlement in the Island of Providence, to the present Time. With the remarkable Actions and Adventures of the two Female Pyrates Mary Read and Anne Bonny. (Second Edition)

4. Subtopics: -Gender Identity and Fluidity in the Seventeenth Century -Sexualization of the Female Body -Anonymity and Authorship -The Press in the Seventeenth Century and its Effect on Published Works

5. Difficulties with Topic: -All sources pertaining to the histories of Anne Bonny and Mary Read used Johnson s A General History as their primary source -The narrative given in my argument is a culmination of four other sources (which also use Johnson as their primary source), as well as Johnson s story from A General History -Captain Charles Johnson s identity is still unknown -Many historians have associated this pseudonym with Daniel Defoe, but there is no concrete evidence to support this claim