Continuing the plundering of A General History of the Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson.
Disclaimer: I am not a historian; I am a wonderin’ and plunderin’ pyrate and simply sharing my somewhat organized thoughts and notes from my plunderin’ and wonderin’.
If you need to catch up or would like to refresh your memory of A General History or Fiction? Part I click here or for Part II click here
Many historians and history buffs do not consider A General History of the Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson to be a reliable source for…well…history. They argue that while some of Johnson’s facts are true, some are most certainly NOT. Therefore, the entire text is suspect. Fun to read, but not a “history” book or history resource.
For example, Johnson describes a pyrate colony named Libertatia that was allegedly founded by a pyrate captain named James Mission. The colony is founded because the pyrates, put simply, want to be free to rule themselves. No kings, queens, or popes. Captain Mission, according to Johnson, creates the colony on the northern coast of Madagascar.
Repeat Sidebar: I frequently call this colony Libertalia probably because I’ve seen it used synonymously for Johnson’s Libertatia in more than one place. If, like me, you played the video game Uncharted: A Thief’s End, the pyrate colony was called Libertalia. I mostly blame the game, (which I loved), for erasing Libertatia in my head and replacing it with Libertalia. Great game, though…anyway, back to the topic…
Libertatia is simply dismissed as fictional. It did not exist. Nothing has been ever discovered that proves it was a real colony, pyrate or not. No “Welcome to Libertatia!” sign; or, a map to Libertatia; or, a commemorative plaque celebrating the founding of Libertatia. Oh, and what about tourist phamplets of how much fun and freedom there is in Libertatia? None of those either?
In all likelihood, there was and is nothing that had “Libertatia” carved or written upon it. So, does that mean it didn’t exist?
What about a colony? Specifically, was there ever a pyrate colony on, or even near, Madagascar? Do we have one of those?
Ding! Ding! Ding! Yes! There was a pyrate colony in that region. In fact, there were multiple pyrate colonies on or near Madagascar. There were permanent settlements founded by and managed by pyrates not only on Madagascar, but ALSO on the nearby islandssssss (plural) of St.Mary’s, Johanna, Mathelage, Reunion, and Mauritius. From the World History website regarding Madagascar:
“At the beginning of the 17th century, there were around 1,500 pirates on the island. Famous Golden Age pirates who used Madagascar as a base of operations at one time or another in their careers of crime included Henry Every (b. 1653), Edward England, Thomas Tew, and Captain Kidd (c. 1645-1701). When piracy became much more difficult thanks to an increased presence of the British Royal Navy, most pirates became settlers on the island, although not with any great success.”
Honor Among Thieves by Jan Rogozinski, (2000, Stackpole Books) is a non-fiction book that has over 200 pages concerning the pyrate colonies of the Madagascar region. It’s a fascinating read, by the way, and really breathes life into this era and region of piracy. (If you’re going to play Skull n Bones, it’s a neat way to get even more excited about the video game.)
So, let’s see: We have pyrate colonies in and around Madagascar; we have approximately 1500 pyrates who, (at one time or another), populated the pyrate settlements. We have Every, Tew, Kidd, and others, who are “documented” as having spent time in this region, both piratin’ and just chillin’. Paulsgrave Williams and the “Buzzard”, Olivier Laveusseur, are said to have spent time on neaby Reunion Island in 1720.
There is archaeological evidence for these pyrate colonies. On the island of Ile St. Maria, just off of the coast of Madagascar, there is a pyrate cemetery. There are multiple headstones, some even with the skull and bones engraved, and who knows how many pyrates might be buried without surviving headstones. It’s called “The Pirate Cemetery” and is boasted to be the only pirate cemetery in the world, (they might be right on that).
We have dead pyrates, pyrate settlements, and famous pyrates. So, pyrates were there. It seems to me that all we’re missing here is the specific “Libertatia” colony name. Wait, what were the names of the other pyrate colonies?
Oh, we don’t know them.
So, let’s wrap this up, shall we, and then celebrate with a dark n stormy adult beverage. We’ve done some serious plunderin’. We deserve a pyrate drink. Or two.
Libertatia or bust? Fact or fiction? You must decide for yourself, (for now). Ponder this: Indeed, if Libertatia is real, what else from Johnson’s book might also be true? Yo Ho!
Sources and Credit:
By Jialiang Gao http://www.peace-on-earth.org – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
Pirate Havens in the Golden Age of Piracy – World History Encyclopedia
By M worm – Own work, Public Domain
Virginia Chandler 