# Woodes Rogers — A General History of the Pirates character guide

> Woodes Rogers in A General History of the Pirates by Captain Charles Johnson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Captain Rogers, Captain Woodes Rogers, Rogers, Governor Rogers

**First appearance:** 0008-vi-of-captain-charles-vane-and-his-crew

## Snapshot

A privateer turned governor whose commission to crush piracy in the Bahamas made him the pirates' most dangerous enemy.

## Who they are

Rogers arrives in the West Indies with royal authority and a pardon in hand, tasked with clearing the islands of the men who had made them a pirate haven. The book's preface defends its own truthfulness by invoking the testimony of those who took pirates and heard their confessions, a world Rogers helped police. He matters because he represents the turning of the tide: the moment when the pirate commonwealth the author imagines might have been was instead broken by law.

## Relationships

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

_rivalry_

Davis was a pirate captain actively opposed by Governor Woodes Rogers, who sought to suppress piracy in the Bahamas.

### [John Massey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/characters/john_massey)

_rivalry_

Massey was a pirate pursued by Rogers, who eventually captured and imprisoned him.

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

_rivalry_

Davis was a pirate captain actively opposed by Governor Woodes Rogers, who sought to suppress piracy in the Bahamas.

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

_rivalry_

Davis was a pirate captain actively opposed by Governor Woodes Rogers, who sought to suppress piracy in the Bahamas.

## In the story

### [Of Captain John Rackam, and His Crew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/chapters/vii-of-captain-john-rackam-and-his-crew)

Governor of Providence who offered the King's pardon and later sent a sloop to retake Rackam's prizes.

### [Of Captain Howel Davis, and His Crew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_general_history_of_the_pirates_se/chapters/viii-of-captain-howel-davis-and-his-crew)

Governor of Providence; pirates had surrendered to him and accepted the act of grace before Davis arrived.

## Links

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