Pirates & Privateers: Books for Adults~Biography: Pirates, Privateers, & Pirate Hunters

Anne Bonny: The Infamous Female Pirate
By Phillip Thomas Tucker
Feral House, 2017, ISBN 978-1627310451, US $22.00
Also available in other formats

Ask for the name of a female pirate and Anne Bonny will inevitably be given. History has left us two main sources of information about this woman: Captain Charles Johnson’s A General History of the Pyrates and the account of her trial in Spanish Town, Jamaica in 1720. The former isn’t an entirely accurate history of famous pirates and the latter covers only a short period in Anne’s life that is primarily seen from the victims’ perspectives. Anne herself left no journal or diary detailing her life. Over the centuries, a number of books, mostly collections about women pirates, have included Anne, but author bias and cultural interpretations sometimes intrude into these biographies. Dr. Tucker’s goal is to separate the mythology from Anne’s story to resurrect the real Anne Bonny and place her within the world in which she lived.

Anne Bonny begins in 1698, and lays the framework for who her parents are, how Anne comes to be born, and how circumstances in Ireland eventually lead to her and her parents emigrating to South Carolina. Subsequent chapters cover her life in that colony, her marriage to James Bonny, her move to the Bahamas, her love affair with Calico Jack Rackham, her life as a pirate, and her capture and trial. The account of her life concludes with what happens to her after she vanishes from her gaol cell until her death in 1782. The narrative ends with a conclusion and endnotes. Maps and black-and-white illustrations are included throughout the book.

This volume has a number of weaknesses. The absence of an actual bibliography and index make it difficult to locate information within the narrative. The format of the endnotes causes confusion as to which part of the narrative provides either the subject discussed or the quotation. Also, only a few source materials cited here fall under the category of primary documentation. The majority are secondary or tertiary resources; a few, such as Wikipedia and Answers.com, are questionable resources. Dr. Tucker incorporates source citations within the endnotes, but only the first usage includes the author, full title, and publication date. If the resource is a website, a URL is never provided and trying to locate it using a search engine is nearly impossible from the limited information that is given.

Equally frustrating is the frequent use of language conveying hypothetical conclusions, such as likely, might, possibly, perhaps, maybe. In a non-fiction book that purports to set the record straight and to fill in the gaps, how can this be achieved without providing definitive historical evidence to back up these claims? A subsection of chapter two is “Dynamic Irish Women,” yet the first woman role model discussed is Joan of Arc, who is French. If Anne knew of Grace O’Malley, who was Irish, her story may have inspired Anne as Dr. Tucker claims.

Several of his points also raise red flags. On page 49, Anne is “unaware that piracy was a most dangerous profession.” Captain William Kidd’s imprisonment, trial, and execution in 1701, are big news back then and Anne is not illiterate. Newspapers and broadsheets often carry tales of pirate attacks. The zenith of bringing pirates to justice and executing them may not have been reached at the time Anne becomes a pirate, but she associates with them in the taverns of New Providence when Woodes Rogers is tasked with the job of ridding the Caribbean of pirates. How can she not have known piracy is dangerous?

Two other examples pertain to Edward Teach or Blackbeard. On page 56, Dr. Tucker writes, “Some scant evidence exists that even Edward Teach . . . was of mixed black and white ancestry.” Ten pages later this becomes a rumor and that he was “a light-skinned mulatto,” yet no evidence is provided to support or discount this – why include a rumor in the first place? As to Dr. Tucker’s claim that Anne “might well have seen Blackbeard on the sandy streets” of Nassau, this is highly improbable. Anne doesn’t arrive there until November 1718, and, in November, Blackbeard is in the environs of the Carolinas and is slain on 22 November.

On the other hand, this book provides an interesting perspective of Anne and how cultural influences and societal attitudes may have influenced her life and her decisions. It also shows her as a typical teenager, experiencing the angst of growing up and living in patriarchal societies where religion and on which side of the tracks you are born play a role in who and what you can be, especially if you are female. Dr. Trucker also does a commendable job expressing why society fears Anne and what she represents.

Black Bart Roberts: The Greatest Pirate of Them All
By Terry Breverton
Pelican, 2004, ISBN 1-58980-233-0, US $16.95

Perhaps the most successful pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy, Bartholomew Roberts never achieves the lasting infamy of Blackbeard and few people today will recognize his name. Yet, he seizes more ships than any other pirate and his hunting grounds range from the Caribbean to Africa and from the South American coast to Canada. For three years (1719-1722), he terrorizes mariners from England, France, Holland, Portugal, and Spain. Rough estimates put the total worth of ships and goods he confiscates at £100,000,000 in today’s currency.

Black Bart Roberts is the story of Bartholomew Roberts. The first two chapters are devoted to Howell Davis, the pirate who introduces Roberts to the brotherhood. Of particular interest is the reprint of Captain Snelgrave’s account of his capture by Davis, which was published in 1734, for it provides a telling portrait of life as a pirate and how they treated prisoners. Four of the seven chapters concentrate on Roberts’s life, his voyages, and the demise of him and his crew. The final chapter is about John Phillips, a pirate aboard one of Roberts’s ships.

Too much emphasis is placed on Howell Davis, and the chapter on John Phillips seems out of place. The level of inconsistency is also disturbing. Sometimes sources are cited, while other times they are lacking. Discrepancies about factual details on ships surface. For example, thirty-two ships make up the Lisbon fleet in one paragraph and, in the next, the count is forty-two. The Royal Fortune, one of Roberts’s ships, has forty-eight guns, then two sentences later it has forty-four. At times, the author draws conclusions without verifying facts. The most glaring of these is when he states that Roberts’s “red silk outfit, with the large diamond cross, gave him the epithet by French merchants and pirates of Le Joli Rouge, probably the origin of The Jolly Roger.” Le joli rouge predates Roberts and, while “Jolly Roger” may stem from this French phrase, the first occurrence of pirates flying the Jolly Roger dates to 1701, almost two decades before Roberts becomes a pirate. Even so, this is an interesting introduction to a pirate that writers often neglect.

Cover Art:
Blackbeard: The Truth Revisited

Blackbeard: The Truth Revealed
by Robert Jacob
DocUmeant, 2024, ISBN 978-1957832395, US $49.99
Also available in other formats

Everyone knows the story of Blackbeard, or do they? Myth and legend permeate Edward Thache’s life, which is why Jacob delves further to separate fact from fiction in his latest offering. Comprised of thirty-six chapters, this book attempts to examine all aspects of Blackbeard’s entire life. Jacob relies primarily on contemporary documents to accomplish this goal, although there are instances where he uses poetic license to enliven some events for readers rather than presenting a list of dry facts.

As much as he wants to tell Blackbeard’s story from beginning to end, there are occasional gaps in the historical record. When these occur, Jacob does speculate; that speculation, which is usually identified as such, is grounded in facts and schooled hypothesis. If he cannot provide an educated response, he shares existing viewpoints and discusses the pros and cons of conclusions drawn by “historian authors.” (He uses this collective term to denote professional historians, amateur researchers like himself, and authors who write on subjects of interest.)

The opening chapters lay the groundwork for readers and discuss Jacob’s search for information, the many variations of Blackbeard’s name (Thach, Teach, and Thache to name a few), Jacobite pirates, the scavenging of the 1715 treasure fleet, early pirates of the golden age (Benjamin Hornigold and Henry Jennings, for example), and Captain Charles Johnson’s bestseller and the start of the Blackbeard legends. Chapters six through twenty-five examine Thache’s early years to his demise at Ocracoke at the hands of Lieutenant Robert Maynard and his men. Among the topics covered here are Stede Bonnet and his partnership with Blackbeard, Queen Anne’s Revenge, various cruises, the siege of Charles Town, South Carolina, and Thache’s time in places like Bath, North Carolina and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The subsequent five chapters deal with the aftermath of the Ocracoke battle and the politics involved, what happens to the crew, and the charges levied against Tobias Knight, a government official in colonial North Carolina. The final six chapters examine the legends and mysteries surrounding Israel Hands, Black Beard and Edward Thache, and Blackbeard’s wife, as well as some of the stories of the pirate and his treasure.

Sidebar notes define words (an example being reales, a Spanish coin of silver) or provide historical facts (such as 1603-1625 when James I ruled England or HMS Scarborough, a fifth-rate warship, carried thirty-two guns). Eighty-six black-&-white figures (maps, illustrations, and historical documents) are included as is an appendix that summarizes pirate activity (not just Blackbeard’s), vessels taken and what happens to them, and the dates of the attacks. In addition to end notes, there is a glossary, a bibliography, and an index.

In his preface, Jacob identifies this book as “the first comprehensive and definitive look at the world’s most famous pirate.” (xii) This is accurate because he also looks at more than just the historical Blackbeard, whereas Baylus C. Brooks’s Quest for Blackbeard focuses almost exclusively on the historical record and who Blackbeard is and the world in which he lives. Together they make compelling resources for anyone who wants to know the truth and seeks the historical evidence without having to do the hands-on research themselves. The difference between the two books is that the latter is written by an academic historian, whereas Jacob is a reenactor who thrives on ferreting out the truth and sharing that knowledge with readers.

While this is a fascinating investigation into the man who was Blackbeard and the myths surrounding him, there are occasional missteps. Contrary to Jacob’s belief in Arne Bialuschewski’s 2004 theory, there is no definitive proof that Captain Johnson and Nathaniel Mist are one and the same. A copyeditor would have picked up on some of the misspellings, incomplete sentences, and formatting issues. There are times when the phrasing of sentences presents something as fact, when it’s actually Jacob’s belief. One example occurs when Blackbeard and Hornigold are discussing the King’s pardon. “John Martin was certainly in on the discussion, as well as Blackbeard’s current quartermaster, William Howard.” (150) This is supposition because there is no historical record of the meeting that lists who was or wasn’t there.

What Jacob does well is to show his resources and the depth of his research. He clearly demonstrates that the story of Blackbeard is “the most complicated pirate tale ever told. There is nothing straightforward about it. Political intrigue abounds. Challenging relationships within his crew and between him and his partners add to the complexity.” (1)

Meet the author
Read an article excerpted from the book

Dead Men Tell No Tales: The Lives and Legends of the Pirate Charles Gibbs
By Joseph Gibbs
University of South Carolina Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57003-693-4, US $29.95

In 1831, Charles Gibbs is hanged at Ellis Island for piracy. Between the time of his trial and execution, he allows tidbits of information about himself to leak out. At one point, he confesses that his real name is James D. Jeffers. Dead Men Tell No Tales attempts to separate the fact from the myth in an effort to learn about the real man behind the bloodthirsty legends that Charles Gibbs became. While documentary evidence concerning the trial and the final days of his life exists, it is far more difficult to step further back in time to determine the facts about his earlier life. Some question remains as to whether Jeffers is his real name. Even the information he supplies is laced with contradictions and inconsistencies. As the author writes in the epilogue, "James Jeffers claimed that his goal was not to cover his crimes, but to shield his identity. If so, he succeeded. Today the Jeffers name is little known in pirate history while Charles Gibbs still catches enthusiasts’ imagination."

Sifting through historical documents to unravel facts from legends is tedious work, but sometimes the gems discovered make the diligence worthwhile. While the author’s journey leaves more questions than answers, and at times the account seems to get sidetracked, Dead Men Tell No Tales contains a wealth of information on Caribbean piracy in the 19th century. Few books explore this period of piratical history, and fewer still dare to compare the villains of this era with their counterparts a century earlier. Joseph Gibbs does both and does it well. The inclusion of footnotes, sources consulted, and a detailed index provide ready access to the history and people mentioned in the book. Readers seeking to learn more about the notorious pirate may be disappointed, but those yearning to become better acquainted with the Caribbean marauders of the 1800s will find their appetites sated.

Drake: the Life and Legend of an Elizabethan Hero
by Stephen Coote
St. Martin’s, 2003, ISBN 0-312-34165-2, US $27.95 / CAN $40.95

Francis Drake, “a man of no particular distinction of birth or ancestry,” became a legend in his own time -- feared by the Spanish, a favorite of his queen, Elizabeth I. He learned from his mentor and kinsman, John Hawkins, the ropes of sailing and the requirements to be a leader of men. Drake’s exploits earned him social standing, wealth, and fame. Stephen Coote recounts the many sides of this extraordinary man, who lived his motto: from small beginnings great things may come.

Within the pages of this compelling biography, Coote introduces readers to a young Drake, the events in his life that affect him, and the decisions he makes. Divided into chronological chapters, the book discusses Drake’s piracy, circumnavigation of the world, privateering, and defense of his country and his faith. To complement the story, the author incorporates explanations of world events, politics, and discoveries to provide the reader with a better understanding of Drake’s motives and actions.

Cover Art:
Filibusters, Pirates & Privateers of
the Early Texas Coast

Filibusters, Pirates & Privateers of the Early Texas Coast
By Jean L. Epperson
Liberty County Historical Commission, 2010, ISBN 978-0-9822899-4-5, US $20.00

In the years before Texas becomes a state, its southern shores along the Gulf of Mexico provide a base from which pirates and privateers can operate. Perhaps the most famous of these is Jean Laffite, who operates out of Galveston Island after he leaves Barataria near New Orleans. The pages of this book contain a collection of short articles on him and other filibusters written by Jean Epperson, who has researched the Laffites and their associates for many years. Many of these articles, which first appeared in The Laffite Society Chronicles, primarily focus on the Texas coast between 1815 and 1823.

The contents of the book are divided into seven chapters.

1. Col. Henry Perry on Bolivar & 1816 Maps
2. Corsairs on Galveston Bay – Aury & the Laffites
3. The Final Years of Jean & Pierre Laffite
4. Some Associates of Perry, Aury & the Laffites
5. Gen. James Long
6. Ramon Lafon the Founder of Port Isabel in 1823 & the Three Pirates Lafon
7. Related Topics to the Major Characters

The last of these chapters includes discussions on a wide range of subjects, including Stanley Faye, John Andrechyne Laffite and the Laffite Journal, Maison Rouge, the flags Laffite flew, and paintings of the Laffites.

Accompanying the text are a variety of period maps and illustrations of some participants. Each article contains endnotes detailing the documentary sources consulted in the author’s research. The book is also indexed.

This is an easily read book that provides access to material often not found in other volumes, which makes it useful to readers who want to know more about the Laffite brothers and Texas pirates. The book has a few drawbacks of which readers should be aware. First, a good copy editor would have greatly enhanced the spelling and punctuation of the text. Second, there are times when readers unfamiliar with the subject matter may feel a bit lost, as if important details that would have grounded the reader are left out. Third, a few articles are more a solicitation for information because historical records haven’t yet revealed the answers to some questions. On the other hand, this book’s particular strength lies in the diversity of topics covered in a succinct style that permits readers to grasp the essence of what is known and serves as a stepping stone for further research.

Jean Laffite Revealed: Unraveling One of America’s Longest-running Mysteries
by Ashley Oliphant and Beth Yarbrough
University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press, 2020, ISBN 978-1-946160-72-0, US $20.00

Jean Laffite is a master of deception. He muddies the water to such an extent that separating truth from fiction is a monumental undertaking – one that often leads to disagreement among historians as to which “truth” is real. His time in New Orleans and Galveston is well documented, but even 200 years later some mysteries remain, especially as regards his life once he departs Texas. The authors of Jean Laffite Revealed believe that they have unearthed the truth about this period, and it is up to readers to read and weigh the evidence in order to determine whether their hypothesis is correct.

Their search for Jean Laffite actually springs not from an interest in this “gentleman pirate,” but from tales of another man, Lorenzo Ferrer, who lives in Lincolnton, North Carolina, from 1839 until his death in 1875 at the age of 96. Supposedly, this man is really Laffite. This book is a culmination of their research, detailing how they backtrack his true identity and what documentary evidence they uncover to support their suppositions.

To conduct their research, they follow the protocol of any scholarly research, but they choose to write in the vernacular of a wider audience. As they pen in their preface, “Prepare yourself for one of the most unbelievable yet verifiably true stories you can imagine, a tale complete with international Freemason plots, double agents, explorers charging into open frontier, jail breaks, miraculous rescues, faked deaths, shady financial scams, and murder – all of it hinging upon control of the Gulf of Mexico and the sustainability of one of the most effective black market operations the United States has ever known. Parts of our hypothesis contradict commonly accepted Laffite historical chronology and challenge long-held beliefs about what ultimately happened to him. . . . Hang on to your hat because this is not our mama’s sleepy history book.” (xii)

Their investigation is divided into three parts. Part I summarizes the known facts about Laffite during his years as a pirate/privateer. They sift through two centuries of the best published resources to recount his life in Louisiana, Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico. Part II concerns when Ferrer first appears in Mississippi; before then, they find no documentary evidence to prove his existence. This section also discusses connections he makes that eventually bring him to North Carolina, which is the subject of Part III. Here is where they delve into their theory and demonstrate that contemporaries of Ferrer’s begin speculating about his true identity in the 19th century.

In addition to the narrative, the authors include a sampling of the documents they collected during their search. Unfortunately, the poor quality of some of these copies makes it difficult to see what they see. Several appendices and endnotes are included, as is a list of the works they cite. The preface does include a cast of characters. What is missing is an index, which would make it easier for other researchers to find information.

This book requires readers to make a leap of faith, yet there is one segment for which there is no documentation in support of their hypothesis. It is this gap that is the most telling. Whether Laffite dies at sea following a battle, or he survives and lives a long life remains a matter of debate and conjecture. Since the authors have been unable to find any proof of Ferrer’s existence prior to his arrival in Mississippi, they believe he is Laffite. Yet, there is no definitive evidence to prove this. They do point out similarities between these two men, who may well have known some of the same people. They did turn up an interesting clue in one letter that could be a code name for Laffite.

Jean Laffite Revealed is an interesting addition to Laffite history. Each reader must decide the veracity of what is proposed. The strengths of this book are the depth of research that the authors conducted and that they recognize this as a starting point for other seekers who wish to prove their hypothesis. This is also a great resource for those seeking information on North Carolina history and genealogy.

Memoirs of Captain Sam Bellamy, the Prince of Pirates: Saint Croix, 1716-1717
By John A. Boyd
Independently Published, 2015, ISBN 978-1517768058, US $19.95
Also available in other formats

In March 1717, Sam Bellamy purportedly leaves his journal in the safekeeping of a pirate, who chooses to remain on Saint Croix rather than accompany Sam north to Cape Cod. Centuries later, a descendant of this pirate shares the journal with Boyd on the provisos that Boyd will neither divulge his identity nor make copies or photographs of it. From his notes and other historical resources, Boyd shares Bellamy’s story with readers. Specifically, this is the story of his association with Olivier Levasseur and Paulsgrave Williams.

The story begins with Bellamy’s account of Olivier Levasseur (also known as La Buse or The Buzzard), who serves as Sam’s mentor after they separate from Benjamin Hornigold. Levasseur comes from a wealthy French family and studies both military history and religion. He joins the Knights of Malta and, eventually, becomes one of their galley captains. The religious order’s greed and lack of celibacy, as well as Levasseur’s refusal to take hostages, causes a crisis of faith, and he leaves the order to serve his king, Louis XIV. Later, he turns to outright piracy.

After recording this information, Bellamy digresses to write about his youth and how he comes to the Caribbean. The youngest of six children, he is intelligent and curious, wishing to discuss anything and everything with anyone he meets. A local minister provides him with an education, and from that learning, Bellamy comes to believe knowledge and hard work will allow him to rise above his station in life. All is fine until Bellamy questions aloud the divine right of kings, which the minister deems blasphemous and sends him packing. He moves to Exeter, England, where he does odd jobs, which leads to work as a courier for Jewish merchants – a job that provides him with contacts and knowledge in international trade. At the age of nineteen, he joins the Royal Navy, but later retires to become a merchant in New England. This is when he meets Maria Hallett, and they decide to marry, but her influential father refuses to allow it.

Bellamy and his friend, Paulsgrave Williams, set off to the West Indies. Bellamy’s objective is to gain sufficient wealth to return to Cape Cod and marry Maria; Paul seeks adventure. They begin their joint venture as wreckers on the Moskito Coast, which is when Bellamy first meets John Julian. A chance encounter with Henry Jennings and Charles Vane leads Sam and Paul into piracy, and they eventually join Benjamin Hornigold’s crew. The majority of the rest of the journal covers Sam’s exploits as a pirate, particularly in consort with Levasseur and on Saint Croix. The last few chapters cover the capture and sinking of the Whydah; the aftermath of the wreck; what happens to Levasseur, Williams, and Julian; and a discussion on the authenticity of the memoir. The book also includes images and maps, an annotated bibliography, and some additional thoughts pertaining to William Snelgrave, one of the sources Boyd consults.

There are a few puzzling segments in this story. The first comes in the introduction where Boyd’s choice of words may lead readers to believe Sam Bellamy does not die in the storm that sank the Whydah. Only two men are known to have survived the sinking, and one of these is John Julian. (There were seven other survivors, but they are aboard the Marianne at the time.) Boyd also calls into question whether the wreckage Barry Clifford discovers is Bellamy’s Whydah or one of the other slave ships known by that name.

Memoirs of Captain Sam Bellamy makes for entertaining reading, and the material seems genuine. The problem comes in the lack of provenance that allows us to authenticate the journal. Also, there doesn’t seem to be any historical documentation to back up Levasseur’s, and even Sam’s, early history. Although the book would have benefited from a professional copy editor, Memoirs provides an interesting tale about golden age pirates and a good mystery for discussion among pirate aficionados.

Memoirs of Captain Sam Bellamy, the Prince of Pirates: Saint Croix, 1716-1717
By John A. Boyd
Independently Published, 2015, ISBN 978-1517768058, US $19.95
Also available in other formats

review by Laura Nelson

I was asked to review this book by Cindy because of my knowledge of Sam Bellamy and Olivier Levasseur. I've never done this kind of review before. It's been an interesting experience.

The back cover of this book says it is about three pirate captains: Samuel Bellamy, Paulsgrave Williams, and Olivier Levasseur. But it actually is more about treasure hunting than it is about these men’s exploits as pirates.

The book opens with a long history lesson about the Knights of Malta, as it was reportedly told to Bellamy by Levasseur as the tale of his childhood upbringing. I don’t know enough about the Knights of Malta to vouch for the authenticity of this narrative. I do know that in Jugement du Pirate La Buse, written 7 July 1730 before Levasseur’s execution for piracy, it says he was a native of Calais and benefited from an excellent education. I think if Levasseur truly were a member of the Knights of Malta, such a significant piece of information would have been recorded. While there are documents suggesting Levasseur was a Mason, this is the first one I’ve encountered that claims he was a Knight of Malta.

Next comes Bellamy’s tale of childhood, beginning with his birth in England and early education by a local minister, who took a poor boy under his wing. Then, at fifteen, Bellamy and the minister have a falling out and Bellamy leaves for Exeter where he becomes interested in the jewelry trade. He is taken in by one of the families in the trade and makes a living at it for several years. At seventeen he gets an opportunity to work some courier jobs and finally, at nineteen, he joins the Royal Navy. After a few adventures, Bellamy leaves the Royal Navy in 1713 to head to America.

Bellamy eventually makes his way to Cape Cod where he meets the family of Maria Hallett. When Maria’s father refuses his request to marry her, Bellamy plans to hunt for treasure to make his fortune. He puts together a crew and sails on a treasure-hunting mission in the Caribbean. He and Williams make several trips, meeting future crew member and Miskito Indian John Julian. During one expedition, they are stalked by Henry Jennings and Charles Vane. Compelled to join the pirates on a couple of attacks, Bellamy and Williams are horrified by the unprovoked cruelty of Jennings and Vane. They eventually manage to escape and return to salvaging treasure wrecks.

In this story, Bellamy encounters Benjamin Hornigold in March, 1716, while seeking out pirates to learn more about their ways so he can avoid Jennings and Vane in the future. Eventually, Hornigold is deposed for his refusal to attack English ships. From here the majority of the story is familiar to those who’ve studied Bellamy. He and Williams take up with Levasseur, who is sailing in consort with Hornigold. Together, they make frequent trips to St. Croix because of its safe harbor.

During one of their layovers on St. Croix, a group of men, both pirates and treasure hunters, decides they want to stay on the island. A group marriage ceremony, presided over by Levasseur and Bellamy, is held and the men are allowed to begin new lives.

The book has it that Bellamy’s crew insists on plundering nearly every fishing and merchant ship they come across and allowing anyone who wishes to join their crew. This is all reportedly in spite of Bellamy’s wishes that they only attack larger vessels and be more particular about who may join the crew.

The story ends with Bellamy leaving St. Croix, intending to pick up Maria Hallett and bring her back to join a secret colony, and to become a gentleman planter.

This is an entertaining story for those who wish to read about piracy and treasure hunting; unfortunately, I cannot recommend it as a reliable source for someone trying to research Bellamy, Williams, or Levasseur. My biggest problem is that the majority of this story is based on a secret document the author could only look at for a few hours a day, couldn’t take pictures of, and couldn’t reveal the location of. Even if the document could be proven to be authentic, Levasseur’s story, written by Bellamy as it was told to him by Levasseur, makes this portion of the document mere hearsay.

Additionally, since the document must remain secret and hidden, it is not available to scholars and researchers to do any sort of authentication, such as testing the ingredients of the ink used, the type of implement it was written with, or the means of manufacturing the parchment or paper the document is written on. There is, therefore, no means to prove Bellamy is the true author of the document, or any way to trace how the document came into the owner’s possession.

A friend and I did a quick translation of chapter two of Jean-Baptiste Labat’s Nouveau Voyage aux isles de l’Amerique, 1663-1738 (volume 7, pages 46-56). We were not able to verify Mr. Boyd’s claim of the existence of a secret colony on St. Croix. Labat only talks about a settlement and visiting various ports, and says nothing about the residents having to conceal themselves from any of the governments of the day. In fact, it has so little detail that there isn’t even a description of the residents or any towns there.

Another big problem for me with this story concerns the group marriage ceremony on St. Croix. During his interrogation before his 1717 trial for piracy in Boston, Massachusetts, Simon Van Vorst relates an incident of three men trying to escape from the pirates on St. Croix. One is caught and severely whipped for the infraction. This story, unfortunately, neither addresses why some men were allowed to marry and establish new lives while another was whipped for trying to escape, nor why the author paints Bellamy as not believing in forced labor yet punishes men who don’t want to be pirates.

Boyd has Bellamy joining Hornigold’s band of pirates to merely learn more about piracy to help him avoid Jennings and Vane, yet that same month, Bellamy immediately forces Peter Cornelius Hoof to join his crew after capturing the ship he’s serving on. (Remember, the author claims these things are done against Bellamy’s better judgment.)

I can go on with such examples, but I want to leave it open for you to read the book and judge for yourself. As I stated, it’s an entertaining story. If the author had created his own characters and settings, it could be the beginnings of a great fictional pirate story. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book as being useful to researchers of pirate history.

The Notorious Captain Hayes: The Remarkable True Story of William “Bully” Hayes, Pirate of the Pacific
By Joan Druett
HarperCollins, 2016, ISBN 9781775540977, NZ $36.99 / US $18.99
Also available in other formats

William Henry Hayes. After newspapers in Hong Kong and Singapore first print stories of him in 1859, the headlines are just the beginning of a legend that begins while he lives and grows after he dies in 1877. People want to read the latest grisly details about the man described as a “remarkable scoundrel,” “notorious maritime swindler,” and “thief, pirate, plunderer, kidnapper.” He is an American sea captain with magnetic charm, an aptitude for persuasion and bluff. He is also adept at cheating people out of merchandise, monies due, and ships, as well as evading the law.

His past is somewhat murky; one story recounts that he hanged twenty-five Chinese pirates without a trial and was then court-martialed for doing so. Or maybe he resigned in disgrace from the Imperial Chinese Navy, for blackmailing coastal merchants in order to protect them from pirates. Or perhaps tale neither is true.

He has friends of influence. He trades and mortgages one ship for another, even if he doesn’t have the authority to do so. He marries more than once, although at least once he may have two wives at the same time. He captures island natives and sells them elsewhere. Several girls accuse him of attacking them. His demise comes at the hands of his own men.

Druett examines the life of this notorious sea captain and shows readers how difficult it is to separate fact from myth. She traces events from period newspapers and documents, and the story unfolds chronologically through each ship that he acquires. The histories of these vessels and accounts of the people who cross paths with Hayes are intricately woven into the telling to give readers a fuller appreciation of who, what, when, and where, even if the why isn’t always known. While there are occasional references to piracy, and in particular the pirate Eli Boggs and his connection to Hayes, Druett clearly shows that Hayes was not a pirate but a consummate con man who knew how to manipulate others to get what he wanted.

Cover Art:
Pirates and Buccaneers of the
Atlantic Coast

Pirates and Buccaneers of the Atlantic Coast
by Edward Rowe Snow
Commonwealth Editions, 2004, ISBN 1-889833-71-1, US $21.95

Edward Snow, a consummate storyteller, combines his knowledge of New England’s maritime history with tales of pirates who visited these shores. This particular volume, originally published in 1944, chronicles their exciting exploits while attempting to show their true nature, which was often cruel and violent. The author includes such well-known pirates as Samuel Bellamy, Thomas Tew, George Lowther, Bartholomew Roberts, William Kidd, and Blackbeard. He also writes of lesser-known pirates and women pirates, including Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Cheng I Sao. The book concludes with several chapters on buried treasure, and is illustrated with more than thirty photographs and maps.

Jeremy D’Entremont, the editor, provides notes and summaries to clarify erroneous facts, including information unearthed through recent investigations. The new detailed index allows readers to more easily access the wealth of information found within these pages. While Snow sometimes obscures the facts in favor of writing a rousing adventure, this book remains a good introduction to pirates for readers who may not otherwise read a history book.

Cover
Art: Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay

Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay: From the Colonial Era to the Oyster Wars
By Jamie L. H. Goodall
History Press, 2020, ISBN 978-1-4671-4116-1, US $23.99
Also available in other formats

Sometimes people turn to piracy strictly because they want easy money. Other times they are driven to piracy. The latter is what happens to the first documented pirate of the Chesapeake Bay, a man named William Claiborne. His felonious activities occur during the 1630s and are discussed in the introduction to Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay. Contrary to what this title suggests, Goodall describes her book as “a collection of stories that follow some of the Chesapeake’s most notorious pirates and valiant privateers and the local residents, merchants and government officials who aided, abetted and sometimes captured them.” (23) Her goals in bringing these individuals together in a single volume are to (a) identify who takes part in these piratical acts and what roles they play; (b) locate where the nefarious exploits occur; (c) explain why the Chesapeake Bay is both a haven and a target of piracy; and (d) identify what causes the depredations in this 200-mile region that extends from Havre de Grace, Maryland, to Virginia Beach, Virginia, to be suppressed. Of course, this supposes that all the depredations described within are acts of piracy. In actuality, they are not.

To achieve these objectives, Goodall divides the book into five time periods: Colonial (1630-1750), the Revolutionary War (1754-1783), the War of 1812 (1805-1815), the Civil War (1860-1865), and the Oyster Wars (1865-1959). (The latter is really about poaching, rather than piracy, although contemporary newspapers refer to those involved as “pirates.”) The majority of people mentioned will be unknown to most readers: Richard Ingle, Joseph Wheland, Jr., George Little, John Yates Beall, and William Frank Whitehouse, among many others. A few – Lionel Delawafer (better known as Lionel Wafer, the pirate surgeon), William Kidd, Samuel Bellamy, and Thomas Boyle, for example – are often discussed in books about pirates and privateers. Readers will also find a timeline of major conflicts, maps, pictures, a glossary, notes, a bibliography, and an index.

This is an interesting summary of piratical and privateering activity in a vital, but often overlooked, region that introduces readers to individuals rarely discussed in other maritime history books. That said, some missteps call into question this historian’s research. For example, on page 36, the vivid description of a body gibbeted in May 1699, in the Thames River is identified as being that of Captain Kidd. Four pages later, the text reads, “On May 23, 1701, Kidd ultimately met his fate at the end of the hangman’s noose.” (In 1699, Kidd was in American colonial waters trying to clear his name after sailing the Quedagh Merchant to the West Indies.) On page 45, Samuel Bellamy’s first victim is identified as the Whidah. He had already captured at least two vessels the previous year after going on the account. In fact, when he captured the Whidah, he was aboard the Sultana, which he had taken in December 1716. Nor did the pirates run Whidah aground, as stated on page 47. A severe nor’easter drove her ashore. The final paragraph states: “Sam Bellamy and his few surviving crewmembers [sic] were imprisoned, condemned and executed for piracy. They met their makers at the end of the hangman’s noose.” While several members of Bellamy’s crew were hanged, Bellamy was not one of them and they weren’t aboard Whidah at the time that she sank. Bellamy died in the shipwreck. Only two men survived Whidah’s sinking; Thomas Davis was acquitted while John Julian was sold into slavery.

Samuel Smedley: Connecticut Privateer
by Jackson Kuhl
History Press, 2011, ISBN 978-1-60949-228-1, US $19.99

In 1778, Britain and her American colonies are at war when Captain Dike of the Cyrus, a British merchant vessel, spots two ships sailing toward him and another vessel he sails with named Admiral Keppel. They are bound for St. Kitts and Jamaica, laden with cargo and passengers. Both British vessels carry letters of marque, which permit them to attack enemy ships even though their primary task is trade. Dike hoists a French flag to trick the Americans into assuming he is a friend, but the ploy fails. The night before the two American ships had wined and dined a French captain, who warns them of the British vessels.

Dike’s initial volley misses the Defence, while the Oliver Cromwell pursues the Admiral Keppel. Instead of firing, Defence sails ahead of the Cyrus, whose second round of shot also misses. This time, Defence returns fire and one gunner’s aim splinters the enemy’s rudder wheel so that her helmsman can no longer control her. A second broadside does further damage and with thirty-five crewmen dead, Dike surrenders to Defence’s captain, Samuel Smedley. This privateer is a bold and daring captain who first boards his vessel three years earlier as a lieutenant of the marines. “Over his career, he would capture or aid in capturing more than a dozen prizes, survive shipwreck, battle Loyalists off the shores of his hometown, twice captain privateers and twice be captured by the British, escape the infamous Mill Prison in England and sail victoriously, at war’s end, back to the newly independent country he so strenuously loved.” (16)

The book includes an abundance of maps, illustrations, and photographs. At the conclusion of the main text are chapter notes, a bibliography, and an index.

The author begins his narrative with an absorbing account of the battle between Cyrus and Defence. Just before the latter cripples the former, Kuhl steps out of the past to compare the firing of the guns to the cruising speed of a 747, which destroys the impact of the scene. He sufficiently grounds the reader in the time and place: Fairfield, Connecticut during the American Revolution. While this is an interesting account of one privateer, the known information on Samuel Smedley fills at most two of the chapters. The remaining text focuses on Connecticut and its role in the struggle for freedom. Readers meet a variety of people, some more famous than others, but each plays a part in the defense of this state and crosses paths with Smedley.

Kuhl does, at times, cite unique trivia about the way the colonies are organized and work. He also clearly explains the differences between the Continental navy and Connecticut’s navy, particularly as regards the division of prizes, which often greatly impacts the latter’s ability to crew vessels. Another intriguing action of Smedley’s is his decision to inoculate his crew against smallpox.

Meet the author

Selkirk's Island: The True and Strange Adventures of the Real Robinson Crusoe
By Diana Souhami
Harcourt, 2001, ISBN 0-15-100526-5, US $24.00

While Defoe’s Crusoe was fictional, Alexander Selkirk inspired the tale. In 1703 this Scotsman signed aboard William Dampier’s expedition to capture the Spanish treasure fleet. Obstacles and disagreements haunted the privateers from the start, and climaxed at an island over three hundred miles off the Chilean coast where Selkirk was marooned. He prayed the captain would return. Instead four years passed before another English ship ventured near the island.

This is a historical account of man’s survival on a remote island with only goats and seals for companions and nature and Spaniards for enemies. Yet, it goes far beyond a telling of Selkirk’s life. It is also the island’s story from its creation to the present day. Ms. Souhami also recounts the privateering ventures that led to Selkirk’s marooning and rescue. To complete the story, she relates how reality became fiction and what happened to those who encountered Alexander Selkirk throughout his life.

Well-researched and accompanied by passages from primary documents, the book is a spellbinding historical account that provides glimpses into the times and adventures of a marooned man who’s often lost in the myth created by Daniel Defoe. Winner of the 2001 Whitbread Biography Award.

Originally reviewed for Historical Novels Review, May 2002

Sir Martin Frobisher: Seaman, Soldier, Explorer
By Taliesin Trow
Pen & Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-232-8, UK £19.99 / US $39.95

Most people have heard of Queen Elizabeth I’s pirates, but few can readily name any unless his name is Sir Francis Drake. Trow remedies this oversight with his latest book, Sir Martin Frobisher, an English Sea Dog who searches for a Northwest Passage and gold to fill English coffers. Frobisher is impulsive, hot-headed, self-centered, and egotistical, but he is also an able seaman and an adventurer. At different times in his life he is a prisoner, an interpreter, a trader, a thief, a privateer, a pirate hunter, and a defender of the realm. He leads three voyages to the New World, introduces the English to a new race of people, and is one of the few to venture into the icy waters of the North Atlantic to reach such places as Greenland and Baffin Bay as he searches for gold and Meta Incognita.

There is little documentary evidence to give us a good picture of Frobisher the man, but there are many historical references to him as a mariner and explorer, and it is from these that Trow crafts a succinct look into this man and the issues of importance during his lifetime. Doing so grounds the reader and provides a compelling overview of the period. By unveiling various facets of the man, the author allows the reader to discover that Frobisher is human, rather than just a stick figure who makes his mark on history.

The journey through Frobisher’s life is enriched with black-and-white illustrations and maps, as well as a timeline of the man’s life and New World exploration. An appendix covers the ships he used. There are also chapter notes, a selected bibliography, and index.

Chapter 11, “Our Land, Our Strength,” is a bit tenuous in its inclusion, for the material is presented after Frobisher’s death and concerns the Thule (the native tribe mentioned earlier) and later explorations of the region. In spite of this, Sir Martin Frobisher provides readers with an intriguing glimpse into an explorer often overlooked and the times in which he lived.

Treasure and Intrigue: The Legacy of Captain Kidd
By Graham Harris
Dundurn Press, 2002, ISBN 1-55002-409-4, US $15.99 / CAN $22.99

On 23 May 1701, Captain William Kidd is hanged for murder and piracy at Execution Dock in London. Prior to his death, he claims to have buried treasure from the Quedagh Merchant in the Indies, but that treasure has never been found. Or has it? Mr. Harris puts forth this thesis in this book, believing that the noblemen who back Kidd's anti-piracy venture retrieve the treasure several years after his death with the assistance of some of his crew, who bargain their knowledge in exchange for their lives.

At times the book seems like a collection of essays rather than having a natural progression from start to finish. The author discusses Kidd’s hanging, piracy in the Indian Ocean, the Adventure Galley, the seizure of the Quedagh Merchant and her treasure, Kidd’s association with Robert Culliford (a pirate who is pardoned), 17th-century navigation, the Kidd-Palmer Charts (maps denoting where Kidd buries the treasure), William Dampier, Captain Charles Johnson, Kidd’s testimony and letters, and who recovers the treasure. Additional details can be found in the appendix, list of references, and index.

While Treasure and Intrigue is an interesting proposal about the whereabouts of Kidd’s treasure, and is readily acknowledged as the author’s speculation, there are several points that may make the reader wary as to the veracity of the author’s thesis. First, he treats Captain Misson as a real person, even though no evidence exists that this pirate ever existed. Second, Harris's claims clearly show his bias on the subject rather than keeping to the facts. Third, minor facts are omitted or inaccurate, such as when he lists how mariners die. He mentions that some are shipwrecked, swept overboard in storms, sunk in battle, or slain by pirates. What he doesn’t include is that the majority of mariners died from disease. An example of inaccuracy involves Kidd, who didn’t hang from a gallows with a trap door. Readers with a passion for treasure hunting and an interest in piracy, though, will enjoy this treasure hunt.

Caover Art: The Whydah
Pirates Speak, volume 2

The Whydah Pirates Speak, Volume Two
By Laura Nelson
Independently published, 2019, ISBN 978-1096132448, US $9.95
Also available in other formats

review by Irwin Bryan

This book is a collection of articles originally appearing on the Pirates and Privateers website (www.cindyvallar.com). All of the material deals with men who are part of pirate Samuel Bellamy’s crew, including two men who survive the Whydah’s destruction and several others who also are wrecked in a captured prize.

As this book is the second volume in a series about the Whydah pirates, you would hope to see all new material. Unfortunately, there’s a limited amount of new information presented and much of it deals with the pirate Oliver Levasseur and his career after parting with Bellamy. Although the chapters are new, many cover the same stories that appeared in Nelson’s first book. Once again, the details of John Julian and John King becoming pirates are given, as is the entire testimony of the pirates’ trials.

There are also repetitions of the text within this book. Thomas South is a carpenter forced to join Bellamy’s crew. In trying to have him released, South’s captain is told the pirates “would shoot him before they would let him go.” (33) The same quote is also found in a new chapter just three pages later.

Another example occurs in the chapter on Levasseur when describing his trial in 1730, thirteen years after the Whydah sinks. His punishment includes having him “make amends in front of the main door of the church of this parish, naked in a shirt, a rope around his neck and holding in his hand a burning torch . . . and there to declare with loud and intelligible voice, that maliciously and recklessly he made for several years the job of piracy of which he repents.” This lengthy quote is found on page 111 and again in the next paragraph on page 112.

Shortly after being chosen as pirate captain, Bellamy and crew go to La Blanquilla, a small island north of Venezuela. When they are ready to leave, Nelson says, Bellamy and Williams decided to “head back towards the Leeward Islands and the Windward Passage.” (37) This is confusing. Being close to Venezuela means the entire Caribbean Sea is to the north. The Windward Islands are close by to the east; the Leeward Islands are north of the Windward Islands. But the “Windward Passage” is between Cuba and Hispaniola, over 800 miles from the nearest Leeward Island.

As it turned out, they stopped in Spanish Town, on Virgin Gorda, and took shelter from a storm at St. Croix. After this, they did head to the Windward Passage and capture the Whydah, in February 1717.

Some tales offer contradictory versions of the same subject. Bellamy joins Paulsgrave Williams to search for wrecked Spanish treasure. On page 43 it says, “Historians agree that it was probably Williams who had the money to finance the trip.” But on page 65 it says Bellamy “managed to persuade . . . Williams . . . to join him.”

There are even differences in the stories of the wreck. In the first version, after capturing the Whydah, the pirates head north to America and are caught in a storm off Cape Cod. But another story about Bellamy says they first sail to Maine, where they perform maintenance and build a fort, before sailing south from Maine and wrecking in the storm.

Supporting the text are footnotes, a bibliography, and an index. The last is useful for searching for people and vessels, but no geographic locations are included.

If you missed Nelson’s first volume or are interested in learning about Sam Bellamy, the Whydah, or Barry Clifford’s recovery of pirate treasure, you are encouraged to read this book as an introduction to the full tale and the treasure still waiting to be recovered. More information can be found by reading Barry Clifford’s Expedition Whydah: The Story of the World’s First Excavation of a Pirate Treasure Ship and the Man Who Found Her or A.T. Vanderbilt’s Treasure Wreck: The Fortunes and Fate of the Pirate Ship Whydah.