“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.…
In 1692, Port Royal was the main British base in Caribbean, which had been captured from the Spanish in 1655. The town became a thriving centre of trade and privateering, but by 1692 the focus had shifted to the cultivation of tobacco and sugar cane with an increased growth in the slave trade. Port Royal was built on a peninsula off the coast of Jamaica across from present-day Kingston and was religiously and culturally very diverse. At its height in 1692, the population of the town is estimated to have exceeded 6500 inhabitants, of which about 2500 were slaves.…