His last and greatest prize was the Whydah, a slave and trade ship carrying gold, rum, sugar, ivory and indigo back to Europe. In 1716, Bellamy became a pirate captain when Hornigold gave him a captured ship.įrom 1716-1717, Bellamy and his crew plundered at least 54 ships along the east coast and in the Caribbean. Unsuccessful in their quest, the duo instead joined privateer-turned-pirate Captain Benjamin Hornigold's crew in the West Indies. After hearing about the Spanish treasure fleet's sinking in a hurricane off Florida in 1715, Bellamy headed south in hopes of salvaging some of the Spanish riches for himself. Cape lore says he fell in love with 15-year-old Mehitabel Hallett or Maria, and was eager to prove himself. His flagship, the Whydah, wrecked off the coast of Wellfleet during a heavy storm in 1717, and Bellamy drowned.Īccording to the NE Historical Society, he came to Cape Cod only about three years earlier, possibly to connect with relatives in Eastham. For this reason, Samuel Bellamy was known as "Black Sam Bellamy," and he had a particular connection to Cape Cod.Īlong with Paulsgrave Williams, a middle-aged man he befriended, Bellamy was one of the most famous pirates to ply the New England coast and Cape Cod, said Geanacopoulos. He wore his long, black hair neatly tied back with a black satin ribbon, and often selected an elegant black coat. Modern worth of his loot: About $120 million.N umber of ships taken or plundered: At least 54.Known for: Gallantry, fairness, being well dressed and groomed.Cause of death: Drowning in a shipwreck off Cape Cod.Aliases: Black Sam Bellamy, Black Bellamy, Robin Hood of the Sea, Prince of Pirates. Here are a few of the historical pirates who were known here in New England. "I think it has a lot to do with the idea of the freedom and the sense of independence that comes with it," he said. "In 1695, the governor of New York, Benjamin Fletcher, encouraged pirates to come to Manhattan because they brought much needed currency - gold and silver coins called 'specie' - and exotic goods from far away places," she said.įletcher’s economic program, though, "was not viewed favorably by the British authorities," Geanacopoulos said, so he was replaced by "a law-and-order governor, Richard Coote, known as Lord Bellomont, who was tasked by the British authorities to stamp out piracy in the colonies."ĭennis resident Christopher Schultz, founder of the Cape Cod Pirate Festival who's also researched piracy, said there was an attraction to the freedom a pirate's life offered, and even today many people are drawn by pirate lore and the "romantic side" of pirate culture. "Pirates were welcomed visitors before the Revolution in areas such as Block Island, Rhode Island Cape Cod and especially New York," said Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos of South Yarmouth, an historian, journalist and author whose book "The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd" delves into the region's pirate history. "Like many of today's New Englanders, pirates spent their winters in the tropics and their summers here," the museum notes on its website, pointing out, too, that most 17th and 18th-century pirates were, in fact, New Englanders and New Yorkers who decided a pirate's life was for them. But historically, it turns out quite a few pirates made calls here, and some even called it home - including Cape Cod.Īccording to the New England Pirate Museum, Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy, his one-time shipmate Blackbeard, and Captain Kidd were among some of the most well-known pirates who "roamed freely offshore plundering merchant ships." Pirates aren't the first characters who come to mind when thinking about New England. Keep checking back each day for your chance to vote. Each day the winning pirates will move on to the next round, while the losers will be sent to the brig. You'll find polls throughout this article. Starting Tuesday, we asked readers to vote for their favorite pirate in our first-ever Cape Cod Times Pirate Bracket. Editor's note: In honor of the Cape Cod Pirate Festival continuing at the Yarmouth Fairgrounds this weekend, we decided to drum up some swashbuckling competition between the Cape Cod pirates of yore.
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