Samuel Bellamy the Pirate for Kids ***

Samuel Bellamy the Pirate - Fun Facts for Kids !

Samuel Bellamy Fact 1:

Samuel Bellamy was born in Hittisleigh, in the county Devon, England in 1689.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 2:

He went to sea at an early age, and became a sailor in the Royal Navy while still a teenager. During his service with the Royal Navy, Samuel Bellamy saw action in several battles.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 3:

Samuel Bellamy was reputed to have had a wife and child in England, when he left to seek his fortune in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 4:

While in Cape Cod, Samuel Bellamy took up with a local 15 year old, Maria Hallett, who is believed to have lived in nearby Wellfleet. Although her parents liked him, they weren’t convinced that he would be a suitable husband.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 5:

In order to support Maria, Samuel Bellamy left Cape Cod with his friend, Palsgrave Williams, to salvage treasure from the Spanish treasure fleet that had sunk off the coast of Florida in 1715.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 6:

While Samuel Bellamy was gone, Maria gave birth to a child which died shortly after birth. This scandal resulted in Maria being jailed for a short time before being exiled from the town.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 7:

Samuel Bellamy was unsuccessful as a treasure hunter and consequently turned to piracy, joining the crew of Benjamin Hornigold on the ‘Marianne’.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 8:

Benjamin Hornigold wouldn’t attack English ships, which led to his crew voting to replace him as captain. His replacement, as captain of the ‘Marianne’ was Samuel Bellamy.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 9:

Samuel Bellamy went on to capture the ‘Sultana’ which, with the approval of his crew, he put under the command of Palsgrave Williams.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 10:

Samuel Bellamy became known as 'Black Sam'. He liked expensive clothing and tended to wear black coats. He also had long black hair that he tied back with black ribbon, rather than wearing the white powdered wigs that had become fashionable at the time. He wore four duelling pistols in a sash, and a sword at his left hip.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 11:

In February 1717, Samuel Bellamy captured the ‘Whydah’, a slave ship commanded by Captain Prince. The ship was loaded with a rich cargo, including gold. Bellamy gave the ‘Sultana’ to Captain Prince in return for the ‘Whydah’.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 12:

Samuel Bellamy then set sail for Virginia, where he took several vessels. Following a severe storm which damaged their ship, Bellamy headed for the Carolinas before changing course again and sailing to Rhode Island.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 13:

While sailing off Rhode Island Samuel Bellamy took a sloop, from Boston, commanded by Captain Beer. They plundered the ship, which Bellamy intended to return to the command of Beer. However the crew voted to burn the ship instead, leaving Beer on Block Island, 13 miles south of Rhode Island.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 14:

Two weeks later they took a wine ship off the coast of Cape Cod, before Samuel Bellamy and his ships headed north to the Penobscot River in Maine. They sailed a couple of miles upriver before anchoring. They emptied and cleaned the Whydah, then set sail for Fortune Bay in Newfoundland.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 15:

While there Samuel Bellamy plundered several vessels and sank them after forcing the crews to join him. About this time, Samuel Bellamy’s ships became separated during a storm that lasted for several days. After the storm Samuel Bellamy spotted a sail off the island of St. Paul, and set off after it. When he caught up with it, the ship turned out to be a 36 gun French ship carrying soldiers to Quebec in Canada. The ships engaged each other with the French twice managing to board the Whydah before being fought off again. Deciding that the French were two strong, Samuel Bellamy withdrew and tried to sail away. The French ship sailed after him, and he only managed to escape under the cover of night.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 16:

Samuel Bellamy and the Whydah sailed to Newfoundland where he met up with the others. As a result of the battle with the French, the Whydah was damaged so, having decided to sail to New England, Samuel Bellamy decided to hug the coastline. Between the Nantucket Shoals and St. Georges Banks, they took the ‘Mary Anne’.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 17:

The Master of the Mary Anne knew the coast well so was left aboard her, with some pirates to keep an eye on him, so that he could guide the other ships along the coast using a light. One stormy night the pirates became drunk while celebrating, so the Master took his chance, grounded the Mary Anne and was the only one who managed to survive the resulting wreck.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 18:

Samuel Bellamy was killed when the Whydah, which had been following the light, also became grounded and wrecked by the storm. There were only a handful of survivors, who were captured and put on trial. The testimony of the Master of the Mary Anne helped condemn the pirates who went on to be executed.

Samuel Bellamy Fact 19:

In 1984 the wreck site of the Whydah was found off the coast of Cape Cod.