“They vilify us, the scoundrels do, when there is only this difference, they rob the poor under the cover of law, forsooth, and we plunder the rich under the protection of our own courage.” speech attributed to Samuel Bellamy in Captain Johnson’s A History of the Pyrates
Much admired by some, Samuel Bellamy was sometimes referred to as the Robin Hood of the sea, although there is no evidence of him giving to the poor as did the mythic hero of Sherwood Forest. Bellamy is viewed as one of the most successful pirates of his time, although his pirating career lasted little over a year. He is said to have treated captives well in comparison to many of his contemporaries, but was not averse to forcing men to serve in his crew, especially carpenters. He was apparently called Black Sam because he didn’t want to wear a wig, preferring his long black hair to flow free.…
Investigates the fascination pirates hold over popular imagination, taking the fable of ocean-going Robin Hoodsailing under the “banner of King Death” and contrasting it with the muderous reality of robbery, torture and death, and the freedom of a short, violent life on the high seas. Using previously undiscovered material from British Admiralty records, the book charts 250 years of piracy, from Cornwall to the Caribbean, from the 16th century to the hanging of the last pirate captain in Boston in 1835.
Treasure Island is the seminal pirates and buried treasure novel, which is so brilliantly concocted that it appeals to readers both young and old. The story is told in the first person by young Jim Hawkins, whose mother keeps the Admiral Benbow Inn. An old seadog, a resident at the inn, hires Jim to keep a watch out for other sailors whom he fears but, despite all precautions, the old man is served with the black spot which means death. Among the dead man’s belongings Jim discovers a map showing the location of the buried treasure of the notorious pirate Captain Flint. It is not long before he, along with Doctor Livesey and Squire Trelawney, sets sail to find the treasure. However, amongst the hired hands is the one-legged Long John Silver who has designs on the treasure for himself.
It’s 1715 and Spain rules the Caribbean. Young Abigail Margaret Mary Pennyworth isn’t happy leaving her friends in England for the New World, but she has no say in where her missionary family goes as the Pennyworths set off for America. Not long before the end of the three-month voyage, their merchant ship is captured by Spanish pirates, and Abby is separated from her family and all she has known. But before she can adjust, the Spanish vessel is captured in turn—by the notorious English pirate Benjamin Hornigold, the leader of the Pirate Republic in Nassau. Hornigold renames the Spanish vessel Mary and decides that, rather than serving Abby to the sharks, he’ll have her serve as a member of his crew. And so starts her new life as the Captain’s cabin boy. Abby’s adventures begin as they seize Spanish vessels in the Caribbean and sail in consort with many of the famous pirates of the day: Blackbeard (Edward Thache), Black Sam Bellamy and his partner, Paulsgrave Williams, Major Stede Bonnet, and Olivier Levasseau.…