Pirate Lore

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Author Captain Charles Johnson Text A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates at Wikisource A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates, or simply A General History of the Pyrates (abbr. GHP), is a 1724 book published in Britain containing biographies of contemporary pirates,[1] which was influential in shaping popular conceptions of pirates. The prime source for the biographies of many well-known pirates, the book gives an almost mythical status to the more colourful characters, and it is likely that the author used considerable artistic license in his accounts of pirate conversations.[2] The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History says that the work "is not a historical primary source but is a fabulous literary one", and that it is the root of a lot of confusion and misconceptions about the history of piracy.[3]