Pirates remains found in shipwreck off Cape Cod
Hearst Television
FacebookTwitterEmail
The remains of at least six pirates were found in the wreck of a ship that sank off the coast of Cape Cod more than 300 years ago.
The remains were unearthed from The Whydah Galley, a legendary pirate ship that went down off Wellfleet during a nor easter in April 1717. They were identified in several large concretions and are being examined by a team of archeologists.
“We hope that modern, cutting-edge technology will help us identify these pirates and reunite them with any descendants who could be out there,” said Barry Clifford, who discovered the wreck in 1984 . “This shipwreck is very sacred ground. We know a third of the crew was of African origin and the fact they had robbed the Whydah, which was a slave ship, presents them in a whole new light. Their benevolent captain, the legendary Samuel Black Sam Bellamy and crew were experimenting in democracy long before the so-called ci
Most of the bodies of the men who drowned on that fateful evening in 1717 washed up on shore shortly thereafter. But among the bodies that have never been recovered is that of Captain “Black Sam” Bellamy , who during his brief yet glorious career captured 53 ships and approximately $130 million worth of treasure (in today’s dollars).
According to Forbes Magazine, Bellamy was the richest of all the legendary pirate captains. But his fortune ran out the night he sailed his unsuspecting crew into the vicious and unforgiving winds of a massive storm (a dreaded nor’easter) that suddenly developed in the treacherous shallow waters off the Cape Cod coast.