The King of Pirates

We saw several Ships, in our Way, bound to and from the Red Sea, as we suppos’d, and, at another Time, we would have been sure to have spoken with them: But, we had done Pirating; our Business now was, how to get off, and make our Way to some Retreat, where we might enjoy what we had got; so we took no Notice of any Thing by the Way; but, when we was thus sailing merrily along, the Weather began to change, the Evening grew black and cloudy, and threaten’d a Storm: We were in Sight or a little Island, (I know nothing of its Name) under which we might have anchor’d with Safety enough, but our People made light of it, and went on. About an Hour after Sun-set the Wind began to rise, and blew hard at N. E. and at N. E. by N. and in two Hours Time encreas’d to such a Tempest, as in all my Rambles I never met with the like; we were not able to carry a Knot of Sail, or to know what to do, but to stow every Thing close, and let her drive; and, in this Condition we continu’d all the Night, all the next Day, and Part of the Night after; towards Morning the Storm abated a little, but not so as to give us any Prospect of pursuing our voyage; all the Ease we had, was, that we could just carry a little Sail to steddy the Vessel, and run away before it; which we did at that violent Rate, that we never abated ’till we made Land on the East Side of Madagascar, the very Island we came from, only on the other Side of the Island.

Daniel Defoe The King of Pirates / Being an Account of the Famous Enterprises of Captain Avery, the Mock King of Madagascar THE PREFACE ONE of the particular Advantages of the following Letters from Captain Avery, is, the Satisfaction they will give the Readers how much they have been impos’d upon in the former ridiculous and extravagant Accounts which have been put upon the World in what has been publish’d already. It has been enough to the Writers of this Man’s Life, as they call it, that they could put any Thing together, to make a kind of monstrous unheard of Story, as romantick as the Reports that have been spread about of him; and the more those Stories appear’d monstrous and incredible, the more suitable they seem’d to be to what the World would have been made to expect of Captain Avery. There is always a great Deference between what Men say of themselves, and what others say for them, when they come to write Historically of the Transactions of their Lives. The Publisher of these Letters recommends this Performance to the Readers, to make their Judgment of the Difference between them and the extravagant Stories already told, and which is most likely to be genuine; and, as they verily believe these Letters to be the best and truest Account of Captain Avery’s Piracies, that ever has or ever will come to the Knowledge of the World, they recommend them as such, and doubt not but they will answer for themselves in the Reading. The Account given of Captain Avery’s taking the Great Mogul’s Daughter, ravishing and murdering her, and all the Ladies of her Retinue, is so differently related here, and so extravagantly related before, that it cannot but be a Satisfaction to the most unconcern’d Reader, to find such a horrible Piece of Villainy as the other was suppos’d to be, not to have been committed in the World. On the contrary, we find here, that except plundering that Princess of her Jewels and Money to a prodigious Value, a Thing which, falling into the Hands of Freebooters, every one that had the Misfortune to fall into such Hands would expect: But, that excepting this, the Lady was used with all the Decency and Humanity, and, perhaps, with more than ever Women, falling among Pirates, had found before; especially considering that, by Report, she was a most beautiful and agreeable Person herself, as were