First known pirate shipwreck salvaged

Captured by the English pirate “Black Sam” Bellamy in February 1717 just a couple of months prior to it sinking off the coast of Massachusetts, USA, in a storm on 26 April 1717, the bell from the Whydah Gally was retrieved on 30 October 1985 by American marine archaeologist/treasure hunter Barry Clifford. Inscribed "THE WHYDAH GALLY 1716", this makes it the first irrefutably identified pirate ship to be excavated, nearly 270 years after it disappeared beneath the waves.

Originally a French slaveship, the Whydah contained gold, ivory, jewels and other valuables pilfered by Bellamy and his crew on numerous raids. When it sank on 26 April 1717, it claimed all but two of its c. 200-strong crew, including Captain Bellamy. The cargo of the vessel was valued at an estimated $400 million (then £307 million) in the 1980s.

Little is known about Bellamy’s life before he became a pirate. He was born in England in 1689 and arrived in North America by 1714. Legend has it that he fell in love with a young woman named Maria Hallett and became a pirate to earn his fortune to be worthy of her hand. However, this is just a rumour, and he likely never knew the Halletts.

Bellamy joined up with the pirate captain, Benjamin Hornigold, and sailed with him for several years. When Hornigold declared that he did not want to rob any English ships, Bellamy led a mutiny and took over the ship, the Mary Anne. He was immediately voted in as captain and Hornigold was let go.

Known as the “Robin Hood of the Sea”, Bellamy was known for his unusual kindness toward his crew and even his hostages. He gave everyone equal shares of their profits and even allowed equality among Black and formerly enslaved pirates on his ship. Over the next year, he would become one of the most successful pirates in the Atlantic by capturing over 50 ships.

In February 1717, he pursued the French slave ship, the Whydah, which was on its maiden voyage. The ship had offloaded enslaved people and carried four and a half tons of gold and silver. He chased the Whydah for three days until the captain finally surrendered. In return, Bellamy gave him a small ship called the Sultana. The combination between Bellamy’s current goods and the new loot from the Whydah made him the most profitable pirate in history with an estimated wealth in modern terms of around $140 million (£120 million). Unfortunately, this fortune would be short-lived. On 26 April 1717, the ship was destroyed by a powerful nor'easter and crashed into a sandbar near Wellfleet on Cape Cod. The fortune was lost to the sea, some of which was later found washed ashore on nearby beaches.

Since the Whydah was first rediscovered in 1984 by Clifford, a number of salvage operations have retrieved some 200,000 objects from the wreck. Many of the artefacts are now on display at the Whydah Pirate Museum in West Yarmouth, Massachusetts.