They declared war on James Brooke, the White Rajah of Sarawak, and tried to force him from his throne. His most legendary heroes Sandokan, The Tiger of Malaysia, a Bornean prince turned pirate, and his loyal lieutenant Yanez of Gomera, led their men in attacks against the Dutch and British fleets. Salgari's heroes were mostly pirates, outlaws and barbarians, fighting against greed, abuse of power, and corruption. He wrote four major series: The Pirates of Malaysia The Black Corsair Saga The Pirates of Bermuda and a collection of adventures set in the Old West. He gained inspiration from reading foreign literature and newspapers, travel magazines and encyclopedias, which he used to portray his heroes' worlds. Salgari wrote more than 200 adventure stories and novels, setting his tales in exotic locations, with heroes from a wide variety of cultures. One of the sons of Emilio and Aida also committed suicide in 1933. To you that have grown rich from the sweat of my brow while keeping myself and my family in misery, I ask only that from those profits you find the funds to pay for my funeral. He left three letters, addressed to his and Ida's children, his publisher, and the editors of his newspaper in Turin.

After Ida was committed to a mental ward in 1911, Salgari was overwhelmed and took his own life soon afterwards, imitating the Japanese ritual of seppuku, and died on 25 April 1911. These events led Salgari to depression, and he attempted suicide in 1910. Ida became ill after 1903 and Salgari's struggling increased with her medical bills. Salgari's private life was clouded by several tragedies. Salgari married Ida Peruzzi вЂ“ nicknamed ' Aida,' with whom he was very happy for years. Though knighted by the Queen of Italy and wildly popular, Salgari did not earn much money from his books and lived hand to mouth for most of his life. Early in his career, he began signing his tales as 'Captain Salgari', a title he once defended in a duel when his claim to it was questioned. His first stories were serialized in newspapers. He turned his passion for exploration and discovery to writing. Salgari had actually never ventured farther than the Adriatic Sea.

His early biographies were filled with adventurous tales set in the Far East, events which he claimed were the basis for much of his work. He claimed to have explored the Sudan desert, met Buffalo Bill in Nebraska (he had actually met him during his 'Wild West Show' tour of Italy), and sailed the Seven Seas.

As his powers of narration grew, so did his reputation for having lived a life of adventure. He began his writing career as a reporter on the daily La Nuova Arena, which published some of his work as serials. From a young age, he had a desire to explore the seas and studied seamanship at a nautical technical institution in Venice, but his academic performance was too poor, and he never graduated.

8.11 Adventures set during times of war and revolutionД®milio Salgari was born in Verona to a family of modest merchants.

8.7 Adventures set in the lands of ice and snow.

8.4 Tales of lost cities and great treasures.

8.3 Adventures set in the desert and the Middle East.

Il corsaro nero 1976