September 3, 2025 • 7 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, few figures loomed larger on the seas than Black Sam Bellamy. He was young, charismatic, and ruthless enough to seize more ships and gold than nearly any pirate in history. His black flag struck fear into sailors from the Caribbean to the coast of New England. But his success was short-lived. In 1717, the richest pirate of his age went down in a wreck that left legends in its wake. Our regular contributor, Ashley Hlebinsky, shares the tale and the truth behind one of piracy’s most infamous names.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American people.
Samuel Bellamy was a pirate who operated off the coast
of New England and throughout the Caribbean. Later known as
Black Sam, he became one of the wealthiest pirates before
his untimely death in seventeen seventeen. Here to tell the
(00:32):
story is Ashley Lebinski. She's the former co host of
the Discovery Channel's Master of Arms, and she's a frequent
contributor here on Our American Stories. Take it away, Ashley.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
When one thinks of pirates, images of Johnny Depp and
Eyeliner and dreadlocks tend to come to mind.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
But the history is far more complicated than that.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
In fact, one pirate from the early seventeen hundreds is
considered far more robin Hood than Jack Sparrow. But perhaps
that too, is romanticized lore. This story actually begins at
the end. In nineteen eighty four, an American underwater archaeologist
named Barry Clifford discovered a shipwreck not too far from
the Massachusetts coastline.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
There was a story here that was much more valuable
than any of the artifacts. You know, of all the
treasures in the world, it's the only documented pirate treasure period,
all of the treasures that we've heard about, you know,
in the Caribbean. It's not pirate treasure Spanish galleons. This
is real pirate treasure. This is the stuff that Robert
Louis Stevenson wrote about. It's the stuff that I dreamt about.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
And the shipwreck was actually only under fourteen feet of
water and five feet of sand. A year later, the
ship's bell was recovered and the bell had the name
of the ship on it, so it made this the
first fully authenticated pirate ship from the Golden Age that
was found in North America. The ship's name was the
wood Up and at the time of it sinking, it
(02:00):
held the largest pirate prize with treasure that was weighing
about five tons and that included indigo, precious metals, and
tens of thousands of pounds of sterling.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
The wood As.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Sank one faithful night on April twenty sixth, seventeen seventeen,
after it capsized during a nor'eastern which drove the boat
onto a sandbar by well Fleet, Massachusetts, just after midnight.
The masts broke, and according to first hand accounts from
the few survivors, the dozens upon dozens of cannons on
the ship helped rip through the deck, driving the wood
(02:34):
down into thirty feet of water and with it.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
One hundred and forty six.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Men and the mooncussers showed up the next day. These
are people who cursed the moon because they wanted things
dark so that they could rub ships that came ashore.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
It was not the only ship to go down that night.
Its sister ship, the Marianne, also wrecked. In total, two
survived the wooda and seven on the Marianne. The captain,
though went down with the ship. Captain Samuel Bellamy is
known as one of the wealthiest pirates in recorded history.
Black Sam, as he was called, was known for his
(03:11):
long black hair and an odd sympathy and generosity to
those he captured, well as generous as a pirate can be.
In the one year he was a pirate, he and
his crew captured over fifty ships. Known also as the
Prince of Pirates, Bellamy's life actually began in service. Born
(03:31):
in Devon, England in sixteen eighty nine, Bellamy initially sailed
for the British Royal Navy, and according to lore, while
he was in Cape Cod, he had an affair with
a woman named Goody Hallett, and this woman also would
be a historical figure in her own right and earn
the moniker the.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Witch of Wellfleet.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
There are several stories that exist as to why Bellamy
left her for a life of piracy, one being that
he was looking for treasure to better their life together.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Another was that she was.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Already married he had to get out of town regardless.
After Bellamy left, Hallett gave birth to a child who
did not survive the night due to choking. Despite the
fact that this was an accident, she was charged with
murder and thrown in jail, although she constantly escaped, and
then after she escaped so many times, they let her
just go out during the evenings and she would wander
(04:20):
the beaches at night, as some say, looking for Captain
Bellamy and gaining her nickname in the process. Bellamy left
Cape Cod in early seventeen sixteen with his crew. He
was initially more of a treasure hunter, and he was
in search of an infamous treasure that was supposed to
exist at the bottom of the ocean in South Florida
(04:41):
from a very famous sunken fleet, but they quickly turned
to piracy and joined the crew of Benjamin Hornigold and
is second in command Edward Teach, who's better known as Blackbeard.
Not long after, though, the crew voted Horner, Goold and
Teach out of command, electing Bellamy.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
As the new captain.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
He quickly captured other ships, and in spring of seventeen seventeen,
he captured his prize, the Woodha Galley, when sailing through
the Windword passage. The Woodah was originally a slave ship
built in England two years prior. It was three hundred
tons and one hundred and two feet long and had
eighteen guns and could reach speeds of fifteen miles an hour,
(05:21):
which doesn't seem like a lot today, but back then
was quite significant.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
It began its voyage in the Atlantic slave.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Trade, selling a total of three hundred and twelve enslaved
peoples before its capture. Bellamy chased the ship for three
days and he only had to fire one shot for
the captain to surrender. As an award for the captain's
lack of resistance, Bellamy actually gave him one of his
other ships. He would not stay Captain Long though, as
he was killed in that faithful storm that took down
(05:49):
most of his what was actually a pretty diverse crew.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
A third of these people were of African origin. They
were black, and some of them were being elected by
per dominantly European crews as officers and even captains on
board slave ships. We have absolute proof of this, but
a third of the pirates in the Golden Age of
piracy were of African origin, most of whom will form
(06:13):
of slaves.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
The nine survivors were captured and prosecuted in Boston. Involved
in the trial was actually none other than Reverend Cotton Mather,
whom a lot of people know better for his involvement
in the Salem witch trials. Of the nine, two were
pardoned because it was believed they were forced into piracy,
and six were hanged. And then there was a sixteen
year old boy who they believe was sold into slavery.
(06:38):
In total, around one hundred and four bodies were found
washed upon the shore after the wreck, and the governor
of Massachusetts was concerned about looting, so he sent his
own captain and cartographer, whose name was cypri and Southact
to salvage what he could there. South act created a map,
and what's neat about that is the map is the
same one that Barry Clifford used in the nineteen.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Eighties, and that would be what he would follow to
find the remains of the ship. And this ship is
one of those ships.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
That has an incredibly ugly past, especially with the slave trade,
but briefly sailed for one of the most notorious pirates
in history.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
And a terrific job by the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler. A special thanks to Ashley
Lebinski the story of Samuel Bellamy here on our American
story Lee h Habib Here as we approach our nation's two
hundred and fiftieth anniversary, I'd like to remind you that
all the history stories you hear on this show are
brought to you by the great folks at Hillsdale College.
(07:39):
And Hillsdale isn't just a great school for your kids
or grandkids to attend, but for you as well. Go
to Hillsdale dot edu to find out about their terrific
free online courses. Their series on Communism is one of
the finest I've ever seen. Again, go to Hillsdale dot
edu and sign up for their free and terrific online
courses
This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories,
the show where America is the star and the American people.
Samuel Bellamy was a pirate who operated off the coast
of New England and throughout the Caribbean. Later known as
Black Sam, he became one of the wealthiest pirates before
his untimely death in seventeen seventeen. Here to tell the
(00:32):
story is Ashley Lebinski. She's the former co host of
the Discovery Channel's Master of Arms, and she's a frequent
contributor here on Our American Stories. Take it away, Ashley.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
When one thinks of pirates, images of Johnny Depp and
Eyeliner and dreadlocks tend to come to mind.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
But the history is far more complicated than that.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
In fact, one pirate from the early seventeen hundreds is
considered far more robin Hood than Jack Sparrow. But perhaps
that too, is romanticized lore. This story actually begins at
the end. In nineteen eighty four, an American underwater archaeologist
named Barry Clifford discovered a shipwreck not too far from
the Massachusetts coastline.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
There was a story here that was much more valuable
than any of the artifacts. You know, of all the
treasures in the world, it's the only documented pirate treasure period,
all of the treasures that we've heard about, you know,
in the Caribbean. It's not pirate treasure Spanish galleons. This
is real pirate treasure. This is the stuff that Robert
Louis Stevenson wrote about. It's the stuff that I dreamt about.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
And the shipwreck was actually only under fourteen feet of
water and five feet of sand. A year later, the
ship's bell was recovered and the bell had the name
of the ship on it, so it made this the
first fully authenticated pirate ship from the Golden Age that
was found in North America. The ship's name was the
wood Up and at the time of it sinking, it
(02:00):
held the largest pirate prize with treasure that was weighing
about five tons and that included indigo, precious metals, and
tens of thousands of pounds of sterling.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
The wood As.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Sank one faithful night on April twenty sixth, seventeen seventeen,
after it capsized during a nor'eastern which drove the boat
onto a sandbar by well Fleet, Massachusetts, just after midnight.
The masts broke, and according to first hand accounts from
the few survivors, the dozens upon dozens of cannons on
the ship helped rip through the deck, driving the wood
(02:34):
down into thirty feet of water and with it.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
One hundred and forty six.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Men and the mooncussers showed up the next day. These
are people who cursed the moon because they wanted things
dark so that they could rub ships that came ashore.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
It was not the only ship to go down that night.
Its sister ship, the Marianne, also wrecked. In total, two
survived the wooda and seven on the Marianne. The captain,
though went down with the ship. Captain Samuel Bellamy is
known as one of the wealthiest pirates in recorded history.
Black Sam, as he was called, was known for his
(03:11):
long black hair and an odd sympathy and generosity to
those he captured, well as generous as a pirate can be.
In the one year he was a pirate, he and
his crew captured over fifty ships. Known also as the
Prince of Pirates, Bellamy's life actually began in service. Born
(03:31):
in Devon, England in sixteen eighty nine, Bellamy initially sailed
for the British Royal Navy, and according to lore, while
he was in Cape Cod, he had an affair with
a woman named Goody Hallett, and this woman also would
be a historical figure in her own right and earn
the moniker the.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Witch of Wellfleet.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
There are several stories that exist as to why Bellamy
left her for a life of piracy, one being that
he was looking for treasure to better their life together.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Another was that she was.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
Already married he had to get out of town regardless.
After Bellamy left, Hallett gave birth to a child who
did not survive the night due to choking. Despite the
fact that this was an accident, she was charged with
murder and thrown in jail, although she constantly escaped, and
then after she escaped so many times, they let her
just go out during the evenings and she would wander
(04:20):
the beaches at night, as some say, looking for Captain
Bellamy and gaining her nickname in the process. Bellamy left
Cape Cod in early seventeen sixteen with his crew. He
was initially more of a treasure hunter, and he was
in search of an infamous treasure that was supposed to
exist at the bottom of the ocean in South Florida
(04:41):
from a very famous sunken fleet, but they quickly turned
to piracy and joined the crew of Benjamin Hornigold and
is second in command Edward Teach, who's better known as Blackbeard.
Not long after, though, the crew voted Horner, Goold and
Teach out of command, electing Bellamy.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
As the new captain.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
He quickly captured other ships, and in spring of seventeen seventeen,
he captured his prize, the Woodha Galley, when sailing through
the Windword passage. The Woodah was originally a slave ship
built in England two years prior. It was three hundred
tons and one hundred and two feet long and had
eighteen guns and could reach speeds of fifteen miles an hour,
(05:21):
which doesn't seem like a lot today, but back then
was quite significant.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
It began its voyage in the Atlantic slave.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Trade, selling a total of three hundred and twelve enslaved
peoples before its capture. Bellamy chased the ship for three
days and he only had to fire one shot for
the captain to surrender. As an award for the captain's
lack of resistance, Bellamy actually gave him one of his
other ships. He would not stay Captain Long though, as
he was killed in that faithful storm that took down
(05:49):
most of his what was actually a pretty diverse crew.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
A third of these people were of African origin. They
were black, and some of them were being elected by
per dominantly European crews as officers and even captains on
board slave ships. We have absolute proof of this, but
a third of the pirates in the Golden Age of
piracy were of African origin, most of whom will form
(06:13):
of slaves.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
The nine survivors were captured and prosecuted in Boston. Involved
in the trial was actually none other than Reverend Cotton Mather,
whom a lot of people know better for his involvement
in the Salem witch trials. Of the nine, two were
pardoned because it was believed they were forced into piracy,
and six were hanged. And then there was a sixteen
year old boy who they believe was sold into slavery.
(06:38):
In total, around one hundred and four bodies were found
washed upon the shore after the wreck, and the governor
of Massachusetts was concerned about looting, so he sent his
own captain and cartographer, whose name was cypri and Southact
to salvage what he could there. South act created a map,
and what's neat about that is the map is the
same one that Barry Clifford used in the nineteen.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
Eighties, and that would be what he would follow to
find the remains of the ship. And this ship is
one of those ships.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
That has an incredibly ugly past, especially with the slave trade,
but briefly sailed for one of the most notorious pirates
in history.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
And a terrific job by the production, editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler. A special thanks to Ashley
Lebinski the story of Samuel Bellamy here on our American
story Lee h Habib Here as we approach our nation's two
hundred and fiftieth anniversary, I'd like to remind you that
all the history stories you hear on this show are
brought to you by the great folks at Hillsdale College.
(07:39):
And Hillsdale isn't just a great school for your kids
or grandkids to attend, but for you as well. Go
to Hillsdale dot edu to find out about their terrific
free online courses. Their series on Communism is one of
the finest I've ever seen. Again, go to Hillsdale dot
edu and sign up for their free and terrific online
courses
Host
Lee Habeeb
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