The Whydah was a ship captained by the famous pirate Samuel Bellamy. The ship was also famous for its treasure. It sank in Cape Cod in a bad storm.
The Whydah is a galley type of ship. A galley is a type of ship that is mostly powered with man-power, using oars. The Whydah sank off the coast of Cape Cod on April 26, 1717. The Whydah’s first purpose was for slave transporting from Africa to the Caribbean. The slaves would then be traded valuable metals and
medicinal ingredients, which would then be sent back to England. In February 1717, the Whydah was attacked by Captain Bellamy and his crew of pirates. The pirates took the ship and the things on it. At that time Captain Bellamy also owned two other ships that he stole. They were the Sultana and the Mary Anne. Bellamy used the Whydah as his flagship. Once got his ship, he gave away the Sultana to the Captain of the Whydah. Right afterward Bellamy started to sail toward Maine. Then suddenly Bellamy rerouted toward Cape Cod. Some legends recount that Bellamy wanted to visit his mistress, Maria Hallett, who lived near the tip of Cape Cod, while others blame the Whydah‘s route on navigator error. Then on April 26, 1717, the Whydah sailed into a very bad storm of the coast of Cape Cod. The ship hit a sandbar and sank. The ship took Bellamy and many of his men. That same morning a lot of pirate bodies were swept on to the shore of Cape Cod. When the news got to governor, the governor sent a ship to go retrieve the stolen goods and treasure. When the ship got there was about May 3rd, there was only debris from the ship. The treasure was only a legend until 1984.
On 1984, the Whydah was found near Cape Cod by Barry Clifford. More than 100,000 pieces have been found since 1984 and more are being found.
A bell that says, “THE WHYDAH GALLEY 1717,” was one of the key artifacts to finding out what ship it was. On the ship were gold, silver, and many of the pirate’s belongings. The Whydah is one of the two pirate ships to be salvaged from the sea. The other is Queen Anne’s Revenge. The famous Edward Teach (Blackbeard) had captained this ship until, his death. The ships parts were going to be displayed in the Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida in The Golden Age of Piracy exhibit. Then the exhibit was criticized for using a ship with a history of participation in the slave trade while trivializing that aspect of its past. The important pirates were mostly all killed on the Whydah. Others were hanged after the sinking.
Captain Bellamy was not always a pirate. He actually started off in the British Navy. He was in love with a woman named Maria Hallet, whose parents liked Sam well enough but didn’t think a poor sailor would make much of a husband. Because of this, Bellamy tried many ways to get money but couldn’t find any. Then he became a pirate. Bellamy robbed more than 50 ships. Coming back to the colonies Bellamy’s ship sank in a storm. He went down with it. Another pirate on the Whydah was Hendrick Quintor. Quintor was son of a Spanish sailor. He was working on a Spanish boat when Bellamy came and held it captive. Quintor joined the pirates and was thought to be the strongest on board. Quintor was not on the ship when it sank. He was being held captive in a prison ready to be hung. Most of the sailors died during the sinking. The others were hung. Only a few made it out alive, such as Richard Nolan.
The Whydah was a great ship. Many of its pirates died with the ship on April 26, 1717, such as Captain Bellamy. Only a few survived. 267 years after the crash, the Whydah was found again by Barry Clifford. Captain Bellamy’s reason to going to Cape Cod is unknown. Over 100,000 pieces have been recovered from the crash. The Whydah was a very famous pirate ship.
