Black Caesar: Pirate Of The Golden Age

Black Caesar was a pirate of the Golden Age. He was a well-respected and highly feared pirate from West Africa. His career lasted nearly a decade, which was an impressive amount of time for a pirate. During his time as a captain, he was notoriously known for raiding ships off the Florida Keys. Like many well-known pirates, much of what is known about Black Caesar comes from text written by Captain Charles Johnson. In the first edition of Captain Charles Johnson’s account General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates, who is now known to be Black Caesar is referred to as an anonymous “Negro” (Leigh). This text dates back to the Golden Age of Piracy with lasted from the late 1650s to 1725, depending on the source and geography. This makes Captain Charles Johnson a primary source. Though “Captain Charles Johnson” is thought to be a nom …show more content…
If so, they would have been destroyed in a fire in April of 1865 (Leigh). Aside from that loss, four other depositions regarding pirates of African descent were stored in North Carolina. They were used as a testimony in the trial of Secretary Tobias Knight, a suspected friend of Blackbeard. The depositions were disregarded, but they did confirm that Black Caesar was one of a minimum of five African men in Williamsburg that were condemned in March of 1719 (Leigh). In conclusion, Black Caesar was successful at being both a captain and a crewmember. He was not a good man, but he was a damn good pirate. His career was considerably long for a pirate of the time, especially considering the heavily trafficked area where he made his safe haven. He proved his worth as a leader, but met his demise in the same way as many others of his kind. His feared reputation and merciless character is what makes him one of the most famous pirates still talked about in the present