The Pirate Ship in Context: A Vessel For Enlightenment Thought

In 1728, the waning years of the Golden Age of Piracy, Daniel Defoe released The General History of The Pyrates, Vol II under the pseudonym “Captain Johnson.” This work follows the adventures of some of the most notorious pirates of the era and blends historical fact with romanticized fiction. One of the most striking stories focuses on the adventures of a pirate named Captain Misson, who is the only completely fabricated pirate in the account. By analyzing his story through a spatial lens, it becomes clear that Defoe took aspects of the historical pirate ship and distorted them in ways to suit his purposes. Recognizing that the pirate ship was historically a liberatory and marginalized heterotopian space that allowed the pirates to create their own micro-societies, Defoe then placed this space within a fictionalized narrative, allowing him to center his social critiques.