• First Short Paper Due• 11 March• 800 – 1000 word paper based on the

movie Captain Kidd and the book by Robert Ritchie

• If you missed the movie – or want to see it again…..?

• Copy on reserve in the Library• Also available on Hulu and IMDB

Up from a watery grave

Shipwrecks!The Quedah Merchant (?)

and the Wydah

The Whydah• Named for the slave

port Ouidah (Wee- dah)

• Built in London in 1715

• 300 to galley – oars and sails– Shallow drafted– Fast and easy to

maneuver• 18 mounted cannon• Early 1716 left

London and headed for Africa

• After several weeks collecting its ‘cargo’ of slaves

• The Whydah left Ouidah with about 300 slaves headed for Caribbean

• After off loading the – Ship along with its profit

• headed out into the Atlantic• After a few more stops ship headed to

England – All on board looking forward to getting

home and spending the money

• Sam Bellamy– poor sailor from England who had travelled to

New England• Fell in love with the daughter of a

prosperous merchant– Needed respect and standing in the community

• 1715 a Spanish treasure galleon sank of coast of Florida– Bellamy headed down to try to make his fortune

• Spanish had recovered loot• Pirate Henry Jennings raided the fort left

with over 120,000 pieces of eight– persuaded Bellamy to go on the account

Bellamy’s travels• February 1716: Gulf of Honduras• March 1716: Portobello, Panama• April 1716: Baya Honda, Cuba• April 1716: Cape Corrientes and the Isle of

Pines Cuba• May1716: Eastern tip of Cuba• June – August 1716: North Coast of Haiti• September 1716: Puerto Rico• October 1716: Samana Bay to Cape

Nicholas, Hispaniola• November – December 1716: St. Crox• January 1717: La Isla Blanquilla, Venzuela

• Early 1717 comes across the Whydah• After a three day chase the Whydah is

captured• Bellamay refits it, moves all his booty

on board and headed north• “20,000 or 30,000 pounds sterling

was counted over, in the cabin, and put up in bags, fifty pounds weight to every man’s share”– Peter Hoof Whydah crew member

• After capturing Whydah –Bellamy began the journey home

• Leaving Bahamas March 1717–Of the coast of Haiti he took the Tanner Frigate a richly laden ship

• Before heading North to retire • With enough wealth to achieve

–Prestige–The hand of Maria Hallett in marriage

• To ensure he could afford the best for his new bride

• Bellamy took a few more ships on the way North and added them to his fleet

• The Anne– A galley

• The Mary Anne– A Pink with 7000 gallons of Maderia wine

• The Fisher– A sloop with Deer hides and Tobacco

• April 26, 1717 Bellamy off coast of Cape Cod with 146 men on board– 130 pirates– 16 prisoners

• Unfortunately nature against his plans

• A dense fog rolled in over the sea• Lightning flashed through the

mist• And the sea began to rise

• Bellamy sailed into – The Perfect Storm

• An Arctic Gale from Canada was running into a warm front heading north from the Caribbean

• Waves and wind pounded the Whydah

• The Anne and the Fisher managed to ride out the storm despite being severely damaged

• The Mary Anne or Marianne somehow missed the storm altogether

• While the Whydah felt the full force

• It ran hard into a sandbar• Mainmast broke and the Whydah

rolled over

•As the boat sank•Many men were thrown overboard–Others were crushed–Others pulled under with the ship

• The beach was only 500 feet away–Strength of a storm and freezing water made it seem miles away

• Of 146 people on board• 2 survived

–Thomas Davis, the Carpenter– John Julian

• They made it to the beach and scaled the sand cliffs

• Both soon found by the local authorities

• Remaining crews of the Anne and Fisher joined together and fled to Maine

• Crew from the Mary Anne knew it was time to hide

• left the boat and headed by foot to Rhode Island– A well known pirate location in the

region• But they were after all sailors so…..• Stopped for a beer and were

caught by the local sheriff

• October 18, 1717• Seven months later the

remaining crew were dragged out of prison and put on trial in Boston

• 1st the 7 men from the Mary Anne – Charged with piracy and robbery

• Each claimed to have been forced into Piracy– All except one man – Thomas South –

were sentenced to death by hanging

• November 15th accompanied by local minister Cotton Mather– condemned men were rowed across

the harbor to Charleston• Gallows awaited them at the

waters edge– All repented on the gallows

• Cotton Mather published a pamphlet of the trial titled

• “The End of Piracy”– A little optimistic

• Two men from the Whydah both avoided the Noose

• Thomas Davis walked away a free man• The court accepted his claim that he had

been forced into the crew– As a carpenter he had special skills that

made the claim plausible• John Julian, avoided the noose

– may have wished he hadn’t• Julian was a 16 year old South American

Indian and was sold into slavery

• Under British Law at the time• Once pirate loot was recovered it

belonged to the Crown• Massachusetts Governor sent• Captain Cyprian Southack to recover•“money, bullion, treasure, goods, and merchandize”

• Southack was a experienced Captain and cartographer

• Some items had been scavenged by locals

• In the words of Southack• “The riches, with the guns,

would be buried in the sand”• Despite his best efforts the only

thing he recovered were• “two anchors, two great guns

and some junk”

• Did bring back two other items which proved more valuable– detailed notes and map of his search

• Almost 300 years later Barry Clifford after finding the map and notes decided to hunt for the wreck

• Began hunting in 1982 – no luck for many years

• Fall 1985 the found the final proof

Top 10 Audacious Acts of Piracy

list from Time Magazine• Kidnapping Julius Caesar: 75 B.C. • Jean Fleury Hijacks Aztec Gold: 1523 • Barbarossa Captures Capri: 1535 • Francis Drake Raids Cadiz: 1584 • Koxinga Conquers Taiwan: 1662 • Henry Morgan Seizes Panama: 1671 • Captain Kidd Takes the Cara Merchant: 169

8

• Blackbeard Blockades Charleston: 1718 • Mistress Ching Retires Rich: 1810 • The Taking of the MV Sirius Star: 2008