For centuries, the tale of Libertalia has captivated dreamers, revolutionaries, and historians. It’s a tantalizing vision of a society free from kings, priests, and the tyranny of private property. But the central question remains: Did this remarkable place ever truly exist, or is it one of history’s most powerful and inspiring myths?

The Legend of a Pirate Republic

The sole source for the story of Libertalia comes from a single, extraordinary book: A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates, published in 1724 under the pseudonym Captain Charles Johnson. This book is the bedrock of pirate lore, giving us our most detailed accounts of Blackbeard, “Calico Jack” Rackham, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read. Buried within its second volume is a chapter dedicated to Captain James Misson and the founding of his radical pirate commonwealth.

The tale begins with Misson, a French nobleman with a philosophical bent. Disgusted by the hypocrisy and brutality of life in the French navy, he is radicalized by a soon-to-be-defrocked Dominican priest, Angelo Caraccioli. Together, they seize control of a warship, the Victoire, and convince the crew to embark on a new life—not as mere pirates, but as liberators. They declare war on all nations that uphold slavery and oppression, vowing to live “in a State of perfect Equality and Liberty.”

Their principles were revolutionary for the early 18th century:

• Radical Equality: All forms of authority—monarchy, aristocracy, and even the captain’s absolute command—were abolished in favor of direct democracy. All major decisions were put to a vote.
• Abolition of Slavery: Unlike many real pirates who traded slaves, Misson and his crew freed them. Enslaved people captured from other ships were welcomed into their society as equals.
• Common Treasury: All plunder was held in a common treasury, and resources were distributed according to need. The concept of private property was rejected.
• Internationalism: They rejected nationalism and religious dogma. They called themselves “Liberi” (the Free) and flew a white flag to signify their innocence and their break from the nations of the world.

After years of successful “crusading” on the high seas, Misson and his multi-ethnic, multi-lingual crew established a settlement in a bay on the northeastern coast of Madagascar. They named it Libertalia. This colony flourished, building fortifications, farming the land, and creating a new language—a mix of French, English, Dutch, and local Malagasy words. For a time, it was a thriving example of a society founded not on power and greed, but on reason and justice.

Fact or Revolutionary Fiction?

The story is breathtaking. But the moment we try to find corroborating evidence, the entire narrative begins to feel less like history and more like a political fantasy. No other contemporary account—no ship’s log, no sailor’s journal, no colonial report—mentions Captain Misson or the colony of Libertalia. This utter lack of evidence has led most historians to a single conclusion: Libertalia, as described by Johnson, never existed.

The identity of “Captain Charles Johnson” is the key. The prevailing theory is that this was a pen name for Daniel Defoe, the famed author of Robinson Crusoe. Defoe was a master of what we might call “fake news.” He excelled at writing fiction that was presented as factual journalism, complete with eyewitness accounts and incredible detail. He was also a political dissident and a satirist, and the story of Libertalia perfectly reflects his own critiques of European society. It reads less like history and more like a utopian novel—a thought experiment designed to criticize the inequalities of his time by imagining a radical alternative.

The Kernel of Truth in the Legend

While the colony of Libertalia is almost certainly a myth, the ideas behind it were not plucked from thin air. The legend is a brilliant exaggeration built upon a kernel of truth about the real nature of pirate society during the Golden Age of Piracy (roughly 1690-1725).

Firstly, Madagascar was a real-life pirate haven. Its remote location, secluded bays, and lack of strong European control made it a perfect base of operations for pirates operating in the Indian Ocean—a route known as the Pirate Round. Famous pirates like Henry Every, Thomas Tew, and Adam Baldridge established semi-permanent settlements there, most notably on the island of Île Sainte-Marie. While these were rough-and-tumble trading posts, not philosophical utopias, they were real pirate communities existing outside the law.

Secondly, and more importantly, pirate ships themselves were remarkably democratic and egalitarian for their time. Life aboard a naval or merchant vessel was a brutal, hierarchical dictatorship. In contrast, pirate crews operated under “articles” or a pirate code. These were contracts that all members agreed to, which stipulated:

• The election and deposition of the captain and other officers.
• A fair and pre-determined distribution of plunder.
• A form of workers’ compensation, with set payments for injuries sustained in battle (e.g., losing a limb or an eye).

This “pirate democracy” was a radical departure from the world the sailors had left behind. Crews were also often multi-ethnic and included runaway slaves and indentured servants who saw piracy as their only path to freedom. The story of Libertalia takes these real, radical elements of pirate life and dials them up to eleven, transforming a pirate ship’s pragmatic democracy into a fully-fledged anarchist political project.

A Symbol for the Ages

In the end, whether Libertalia was a real place is almost beside the point. Its power lies in the story itself. It has endured for 300 years because it represents a potent counter-narrative. It challenges the official history written by the victors—the empires and monarchies—and suggests that those who were branded as humanity’s enemies may have been dreaming of a more just world.

The legend recasts pirates not as simple villains, but as “social bandits”—rebels who created their own moral code in opposition to a corrupt and unjust system. The myth of Libertalia is a powerful reminder that history is filled with forgotten possibilities and radical dreams. Whether it was a real place or a fictional invention of Daniel Defoe, Libertalia remains a powerful symbol of freedom—a pirate utopia that continues to inspire those who believe another world is possible.