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Captain Charles Johnson

[¿Daniel Defoe?]

Daniel Defoe

Se habla del Capitán Charles Johnson por primera vez en esta entrada de Bart Roberts (ver etiqueta del encabezamiento), volviendo a ser citado en más ocasiones como fuente de información, sobre todo -o exclusivamente- por su obra A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates ( "Una Historia General de los Robos y Asesinatos de los más notorios Piratas")y normalmente llamado "Hstorial General de los Piratas". Este libro apareció en 1724, firmado por el citado Capitán, pero el personaje nunca existió, sino que era un seudónimo utilizado por el verdadero y desconocido autor.

Diversos estudios se han realizado sobre esta obra, analizando el estilo y las fuentes que usa el autor para situarlo en su contexto histórico y social, estudios que desembocan en una controversia: mientras la mayoría se inclina por atribuir laobra a Daniel Defoe, una facción de estudiosos sugiere que podría ser el editor de la época Nathaniel Mist , primero que lanzó una edición de la obra, o alguien que trabajaba en su equipo.

Originally published with the title "A general history of the robberies and murders of the most notorius pyrates" and under the pen name "Captain Charles Johnson", this book is nothing short of true Pirate treasure.
The debate of who authored The General History of Pyrates was settled when literary scholar J. Robert Moore suggested that Cap. C. Johnson, like Andrew Moreton, Kara Selym or Captain Roberts, was merely another mask for the famous author Daniel Defoe, the same author who penned the masterful story of Robinson Crusoe.
Depending on the era in wich your copy is reprinted from, the contents will be identical, but the author may be either Johnson or Defoe but do not let this confuse you, as it will be the same book !
The General HIstory of Pyrates is often considered amongst the Pirate aficionados to be the veritable "Bible" when it comes to pirate research, but many researches have come to question the accuracy of some of the accounts within it.
This is an open debate with no end in sight. Currently teh evidence, suggert, Moore, the man who first presented the argument ignored evidence wich refuted his thesis. Defenders of Moore, claims otherwise. Whar is known is there are no records of a Captain C. Johnson ever existing. most assume the name to have be a pen-name.
In 1712, a playwright named Charles Johnson enjoyed modest success with a work titled The Successful Pyrate. The play was based on the exploits of Captain Avery. Some scholars suggest this playwright was Cap. C. Johnson. As part of the evidence they propose the work "A General History of the Live and Adventures of the most famous Highwaymen, Murderers, Street Robbers, etc." also written by Captain Johnson. The appeared in 1734, three years after Defoe's death. Defoe defenders claim it could be a posthumous work.
Other sourcews suggest the pen name may have been created by the original publisher, Nathaniel Mist. Mist woulkd have used the pen name to lend authority to the work and protect himself to Government attacks: due to his known Jacobite sympathies and strong opossition to the Whig Government of Robert Walpoole.
To add tio confussion to the authorship, defor worked for Mist to up until 1724, the year of "General History of Pyrates" was published. This is sometimes used as evidence as Defoe being the author. However, Defoe was supporter of R. Walpoole. He was actually spying on Mist, for the Walpoole government, when he worked for the publisher. He was trying to find evidence to put Mist out of bussines. Acording to Defoe, he and Mist would often fight, sometimes leading to physical violence. It was after one of these fights that defoe quit working for Mist. Later, Mist would inform other publishers of defoe's spying efforts, causing Defoe great difficulty in getting published.
Besides defoe, Mist also had several other writers working for him who wrote anonymously. It is quite possible that one of these other authors is the mystery Charles Johnson.
Despite of the controversy of who the author is, THe General History of Pyrates is a collection of so-called true pirate lore. Thebook has been scrutinized over the years and many of the first hand accounts have been proven to be quite factual. In many instances, court records exist that provide extensive cross examination of the accounts in "The General...". However, some biographies contain little or no supporting evidence. Volume one is often cosidered the most factual portion of he book, as it given the acounts of contemporary pirates (1700 s), Volume two on the other hand, is considered less reliable and gives the accounts of earlier pirates dating from 1600 s. At least three biographies in Volme two are thought to be fiction. The most famous of these three possible fictions accounts is the story of Captain Mission.
Regardless of its short-comming and controversy of authorship, the " General ..." it is one of the most important (and most quoted) 18th. century accounts of piracy. No Pirate Library could ever be considered complete without a copy!
Robert Osian. Book Revew: A General History of the Pyrates (Rob Osian' Pirate' Cove, 2007)

Distinguished Service Professor John Robert Moore ( 1890-1973), fue profesor en la Universidad de Indiana y desde el principio de los años 30 empezó a ser reconocido internacionalmente como especialista en Defoe. Tiene 4 libros dedicados al estudio de dicho escritor y de sus más de 150 artículos, más de 55 hablan de Defoe. Sus libros más conocidos son " Daniel Defoe: Citizen of the Modern World" ( University of Chicago Press, 1958) y " A Checklist of the Writings of Daniel Defoe (I.U. Press, 1960). Fue Moore quien, alrededor de 1950, estableció la teoría de que Defoe es el autor de la obra y en las décadas siguientes añadió unos 150 nuevos datos a las biografías de Defoe y revocó más de 30 contenidos en ellas que otros biógrafos habían aportado.
(Más información sobre Moore en los Archivos de la Universidad de Indiana).

La obra consta de dos volúmenes. En el Volumen I se narran las biografías de:

Henry Avery, James Martel, Barbanegra, Stede Bonnet, Edwrad England, Charles Vane, Calico Jack Rakham, Mary Read, Anne Bonny, Howell Davis, Black Bart Roberts, Thomas Anstis, Richard Worley, George Lowther, Edward Lowe, John Evans, Francis Spriggs, John Smith, Johm Gow y Roche Braziliano.

En el Volumen II:
David Williams, Thomas Tew, William Kidd, John Bowen, John Halsey, Thomas White, Thomas Howard,Samuel Burgess, Nathaniel North, Christopher Condent, Samuel Bellamy y William Fly. Se incluyen James Misson, Lewis y Cornelius, probablemente ficticios.
Citar también la obra de Defoe Robinson Crusoe, que si bien no trata de piratas, sí es una excelente novela de aventuras muy cercana a las travesías marinas que por aquellas fechas se realizaban.