# Bartholomew Roberts — A General History of the Pirates character guide

> Bartholomew Roberts in A General History of the Pirates by Captain Charles Johnson.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Roberts, Captain Roberts, the said Roberts, Commodore Roberts

**First appearance:** 0013-ix-of-captain-bartho-roberts-and-his-crew

## Snapshot

A Welsh pirate whose long, audacious career made him the book's centerpiece, the captain against whom every other pirate is measured.

## Who they are

Roberts dominates the History as its longest and most consequential life, a commander whose success at sea forced the author to organize the whole narrative around him. His story carries the tension between a disciplined pirate code and the violence it licenses, and his notoriety becomes the standard for judging the rest. Readers meet him as the figure who gave the golden age of piracy its most sustained and troubling shape.

## Relationships

### [Howel Davis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/characters/howel_davis)

_professional_

Roberts served as Davis's navigator and later succeeded him as captain after Davis's death.

### [Edward Low](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/characters/edward_low)

_professional_

Roberts and Low were contemporary pirate captains who occasionally cooperated or operated in overlapping waters.

### [Peter Scudamore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/characters/peter_scudamore)

_rivalry_

Scudamore was a naval officer who fought against Roberts and was killed in battle by Roberts's crew.

### [Howel Davis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/characters/howel_davis)

_professional_

Roberts served as Davis's navigator and later succeeded him as captain after Davis's death.

### [Edward Low](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/characters/edward_low)

_professional_

Roberts and Low were contemporary pirate captains who occasionally cooperated or operated in overlapping waters.

### [Peter Scudamore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/characters/peter_scudamore)

_rivalry_

Scudamore was a naval officer who fought against Roberts and was killed in battle by Roberts's crew.

## In the story

### [The Preface](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/chapters/the-preface)

Mentioned as having taken 400 sail before his destruction, and his life is used as a central example due to his long career and notoriety.

### [IX: Of Captain Bartho. Roberts, and His Crew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/chapters/ix-of-captain-bartho-roberts-and-his-crew)

Elected captain after Howel Davis's death; initially averse to piracy but later embraces command.

### [Of Captain Anstis, and His Crew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/chapters/x-of-captain-anstis-and-his-crew)

Commodore from whom Anstis separated on April 18, 1721; the crew claimed they were forced into piracy by Roberts.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/characters/bartholomew_roberts
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/characters