Pirates in Fictional Stories
Probably the single-most documented resource on the history of the pirates is a book called A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates, published in 1724 by Captain Charles Johnson.
This book is supposedly a true account of the voyages and plunders of the most famous pirates, but no one is sure exactly who the author is! Many believe he was a sea captain or pirate himself, based on his knowledge of the pirates and their language.
Others think that he was a writer or a journalist. One theory suggests that Captain Johnson was actually Daniel Defoe, a famous author who wrote the story Robinson Crusoe. One the most well-known pirate tales is the book Treasure Island, written by Robert Louis Stevenson.
In this story, Young Jim Hawkins gets his hands on a treasure map of the infamous pirate Captain Flint. Hawkins outfits a ship and sets sail with a pirate crew to recover the buried treasure. Some of the pirates, led by Long John Silver, turn on Hawkins in an attempted mutiny.
Hawkins and Silver capture the treasure and head back to the ship, leaving the mutineers alone on the island. The story ends when Silver escapes one night from the ship with a portion of the treasure, never to be heard from again.
Written as a children’s play by J.M. Barrie in 1904, Peter Pan is a magical story of a young boy who never wants to grow up. Wendy, who is entranced by Peter and his fairy friend, Tinker Bell, flies away with him to Neverland.
A band of pirates, led by Captain Hook, also lives on the island, and they capture Wendy and other children. Captain Hook decides to make his captive walk the plank, but Peter Pan swoops in to push Hook off the edge of the ship and into the waiting jaws of a crocodile.
Many films have been made about pirates over the years, and many actors have jumped at the chance to play a dashing, adventurous pirate or privateer. Some movies, including Blackbeard the Pirate and Captain Kidd, were inspired by real pirates. Others are fiction, but still feature real-life secondary characters, like Sir Henry Morgan in The Black Pirate.
One actor who was well known for playing good-guy pirates in movies such as Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk was Errol Flynn. More recent pirate movies include Treasure Planet, an animated version of Treasure Island that takes place in space, and Pirates of the Caribbean, which was inspired by the famous amusement park ride at Disney World.
This book is supposedly a true account of the voyages and plunders of the most famous pirates, but no one is sure exactly who the author is! Many believe he was a sea captain or pirate himself, based on his knowledge of the pirates and their language.
Others think that he was a writer or a journalist. One theory suggests that Captain Johnson was actually Daniel Defoe, a famous author who wrote the story Robinson Crusoe. One the most well-known pirate tales is the book Treasure Island, written by Robert Louis Stevenson.
In this story, Young Jim Hawkins gets his hands on a treasure map of the infamous pirate Captain Flint. Hawkins outfits a ship and sets sail with a pirate crew to recover the buried treasure. Some of the pirates, led by Long John Silver, turn on Hawkins in an attempted mutiny.
Hawkins and Silver capture the treasure and head back to the ship, leaving the mutineers alone on the island. The story ends when Silver escapes one night from the ship with a portion of the treasure, never to be heard from again.
Written as a children’s play by J.M. Barrie in 1904, Peter Pan is a magical story of a young boy who never wants to grow up. Wendy, who is entranced by Peter and his fairy friend, Tinker Bell, flies away with him to Neverland.
A band of pirates, led by Captain Hook, also lives on the island, and they capture Wendy and other children. Captain Hook decides to make his captive walk the plank, but Peter Pan swoops in to push Hook off the edge of the ship and into the waiting jaws of a crocodile.
Many films have been made about pirates over the years, and many actors have jumped at the chance to play a dashing, adventurous pirate or privateer. Some movies, including Blackbeard the Pirate and Captain Kidd, were inspired by real pirates. Others are fiction, but still feature real-life secondary characters, like Sir Henry Morgan in The Black Pirate.
One actor who was well known for playing good-guy pirates in movies such as Captain Blood and The Sea Hawk was Errol Flynn. More recent pirate movies include Treasure Planet, an animated version of Treasure Island that takes place in space, and Pirates of the Caribbean, which was inspired by the famous amusement park ride at Disney World.
Did You Know?
Steven Spielberg’s 1991 film HOOK features an adult Peter Pan, played by the late Robin Williams. Captain Hook kidnaps Peter’s children to Neverland, where Peter must relearn how to fly and save his kids!