# Benjamin Hornigold — A General History of the Pirates character guide

> Benjamin Hornigold in A General History of the Pirates by Captain Charles Johnson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Hornigold, Captain Hornigold, Captain Benjamin Hornigold

**First appearance:** 0005-iii-of-captain-teach-alias-blackbeard

## Snapshot

A pirate captain who turned king's evidence and hunted his former comrades, Hornigold embodies the uneasy line between outlaw and enforcer.

## Who they are

Hornigold moves through the pirate world as both a leader of men and, later, a servant of the very authority he once defied. His career exposes the tension between loyalty to the brethren and the pardon that buys survival. In the book's middle arc, he matters because he shows how the pirate community could be turned against itself—and how the line between pirate and pirate hunter was thinner than anyone liked to admit.

## In the story

### [A General History of the Pirates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/chapters/a-general-history-of-the-pirates)

Noted as a pirate captain who operated from Providence and later mentored Blackbeard.

### [Of Captain Teach Alias Blackbeard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/chapters/iii-of-captain-teach-alias-blackbeard)

Teach's early captain who put him in command of a prize sloop and later surrendered to the King's pardon.

### [Of Capt. George Lowther, and His Crew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/chapters/xii-of-capt-george-lowther-and-his-crew)

Not directly mentioned in this chapter; included as a placeholder for potential future reference.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/characters/benjamin_hornigold
- 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