Pirate People
No subject has produced more pirate mythtory than
the lives of the characters involved. Fictional characters have become historical,
and factual characters have been given attributes not their own. Below are
listed some characters and conundrums which appear regularly on websites or in
print.
José Gaspar; A fictional pirate so famous that he even has his own
festival.
Elizabeth Shirland; a real woman, but never a pirate.
Gunpowder Gertie; one of Canada's best loved pirates, invented for a kids
party
Charlotte de Berry; almost certainly a 19th century invention
Anne Bonny and Mary Read; pirates for sure, but were they lesbians?
Captain Charles Johnson; The author of the General History of the Robberies and
Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates. Many have claimed he was Daniel
Defoe, but where's the evidence?
Unusual Suspects; This page is dedicated to listing those pirates about
whose lives and existence there is no evidence, and are almost certainly
fictional, but about whom that cannot be proved.