WEBVTT - Pirates 8: Rules of the Rogues 0:00:05.320 --> 0:00:09.440 Everyone knows the word mutiny. We can't talk about life 0:00:09.440 --> 0:00:12.160 on the high seas without diving into the stories about 0:00:12.160 --> 0:00:16.920 sailors rebelling against their captains or the reasons behind those insurrections, 0:00:17.239 --> 0:00:19.680 and our intro today starts with one of the British 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:23.280 Navy's most infamous captains and how the mutiny all began. 0:00:23.680 --> 0:00:27.160 A tropical fruits related to the fig that would be 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:30.440 bread fruit. Discovered in seventeen sixty nine. It was a 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:34.239 cheap and nutritional food source. It grew well in tropical areas, 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:37.120 and plantation owners in the Caribbean used the fruit to 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:42.040 supplement enslaved workers diets. Fast forward to seven, when the 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:45.839 British Crown sent the HMS Bounty to Tahiti to harvest 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:49.280 saplings for transport to the West Indies. The journey wouldn't 0:00:49.320 --> 0:00:52.240 be difficult or long, requiring a crew of just forty 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:56.560 six including two botanists. On this trip, Captain William Blyth 0:00:56.880 --> 0:00:59.840 decided to take Fletcher Christian, the son of a family 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:02.680 end and teach him how to be a good sailor. 0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:07.600 Captain and crew departed England on December and looked forward 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:10.560 to an easy trip. Three months into the journey, though 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:13.920 the weather forced them to take a longer route. Tempers 0:01:13.959 --> 0:01:17.759 flared and tensions ran high, but not because of the detour. 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:21.800 You see, the crew despised their captain. Bligh seemed to 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:24.720 find fault in everything they did, often in the most 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:28.880 condescending ways. He took delight in humiliating his men, the 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:32.720 officers in particular. By the time they reached Tahiti in 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:36.399 October of seventeen eight seven, the men were overjoyed to 0:01:36.480 --> 0:01:39.120 leave the ship. It would be five months before the 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:42.399 rainy season ended, delaying their journey to the West Indies. 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:47.160 While they indulged in relationships with the female population, Captain 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:50.520 Bligh worked on trading with the indigenous people, picked out 0:01:50.560 --> 0:01:54.600 breadfruit saplings, and made extensive lists complaining about his men. 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:57.480 So when the crew set sail for the West Indies 0:01:57.520 --> 0:02:00.920 on April fifth, seventeen eighty nine, the ten between captain 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:04.400 and crew hovered as thick and dark as any storm cloud. 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:09.040 Bli took the shouting insults at everyone, even young Fletcher Christian. 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:13.799 Something had to give. That time came when Bli accused 0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:17.840 Christian of stealing coconuts simply because the pile appeared smaller 0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:21.760 than he recalled. Christian denied the theft, and Bli promptly 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:24.799 punished the entire crew. And while it's not clear what 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:28.080 instance of Bligh's abuse led to the mutiny, his journal 0:02:28.160 --> 0:02:30.640 states that Christian and a few other men entered his 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:34.560 cabin early on April. They tied his hands and set 0:02:34.639 --> 0:02:37.200 him and a few men adrift in a boat loaded 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:41.480 with provisions. Bli eventually reached a Dutch settlement and informed 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:44.160 the British Navy of the mutiny. He wrote to his wife, 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:46.960 telling her that he was innocent of all wrongdoing and 0:02:47.000 --> 0:02:50.240 that he had acted with valor. Eleven months later, Bli 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:53.160 returned to England, where locals hailed him as a hero. 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:58.280 Christian and the others didn't fare so well. Eighteen years later, 0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:01.360 in eighteen oh eight, a each team discovered one of 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:05.120 Bligh's old crew members in a small community on Pitcairn Island. 0:03:05.480 --> 0:03:08.880 As the lone survivor of Bligh's crew, he explained his 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:13.000 fellow crewman's fate. Without a chain of command, everything had 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:19.120 fallen apart. Mutiny had led to anarchy and eventually to death. 0:03:20.600 --> 0:03:30.680 I'm Aaron Manky and welcome two pirates. We've probably all 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:34.440 heard the expression before to run a tight ship. Roughly, 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:38.480 it means keeping an organization or company well organized or controlled. 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:41.640 And although BLI ran a well disciplined ship, he might 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:44.560 have been a little too tight. Contrary to the belief 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:47.600 at the time that pirates were lawless, they did have rules. 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:50.320 Those who have seen the Pirates of the Caribbean films 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:53.280 will recall the Pirate Code. The Code, as the movie 0:03:53.280 --> 0:03:56.880 refers to it, was a book containing laws for pirates 0:03:56.920 --> 0:04:00.880 by pirates that they must all adhere to well. Mostly, 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:04.600 the consequence for breaking the code was death, unless it 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:08.760 was interpreted as a guideline. In real life, lawlessness and 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:11.560 chaos in a pirate's line of work would surely get 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:14.600 them killed, either by their own crew, their targets, or 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:16.919 by a sudden drop and stop at the end of 0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:20.680 a rope. While no single book existed, pirate captains and 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:24.000 communities did have written rules that every new member read 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:27.560 before joining. Now, aside from the rules governing members right 0:04:27.600 --> 0:04:30.840 to vote, the ratio of pay and equality, there were 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:34.880 other laws to job. Duties were often spelled out, hierarchies 0:04:34.880 --> 0:04:37.680 were explained, and a form of a judicial system was 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:40.960 put in place. Captains didn't create these rules solely from 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:44.400 the goodness of their buccaneer hearts. Though pirating was a 0:04:44.440 --> 0:04:48.880 business and operations had to run smoothly, less the consequences 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:52.599 be death no guidelines about it, and while pirate rules 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:55.680 seem much more reasonable and afforded sailors better pay than 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:59.120 those aboard navy and merchant ships, they were practical too. 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:02.880 Given the working conditions for the government or working aboard 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:06.360 a pirate ship, captains understood the value of creating loyalty 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:10.360 among the crew. Naval captains like Bly often ruled with 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:14.240 an iron fist. With such poor treatment and pay, merchant 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:17.559 ships had to create horrific punishments to prevent theft among 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:22.880 the already disillusion crew. Those impressed or forced into service 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:25.960 aboard British naval ships weren't paid at all. It was 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:29.599 a horrible, horrible life. All that neglect and abuse aboard 0:05:29.680 --> 0:05:34.120 legitimate ships only encouraged solidarity among those on pirate vessels. 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:38.000 Their code adapted over the years, starting from laws that 0:05:38.040 --> 0:05:40.760 were cherry picked from those on land and altered to 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:44.240 best fit life at sea. Rolls aboard pirate ships were 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:47.560 clearly defined due to the danger of the job. Experience 0:05:47.640 --> 0:05:51.560 mattered over race or status when placing a crew member. However, 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:55.400 the crew voted captains and other high ranking officers into position, 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:58.480 and they could vote them out as well. Every crew member, 0:05:58.520 --> 0:06:02.920 regardless of nationality, had equal suffrage. While higher ranks meant 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:05.920 a larger share of the plunder. The officers earned that 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:09.560 extra by effectively leading the crew and managing the risks. 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:13.280 The amounts and benefits varied from ship to ship. For some, 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:17.279 the captain and officers received extra portions, while others thought 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:21.200 equal portions kept egos in check and speaking of officers 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:23.640 of all the kinds on board, the captain and crew 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:26.920 trusted the quartermaster the most. The crew elected someone who 0:06:26.960 --> 0:06:30.039 would do the job best at balancing out the captain's power, 0:06:30.440 --> 0:06:33.159 ensuring that every member of the crew received fair treatment, 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:37.320 and enforced the ship's rules. Every action the captain took 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:40.640 had to pass through the quartermaster first. The role also 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:45.039 entailed selecting new crew members, dividing the booty, and dispersing 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:48.560 food and drink. The quartermaster's motto could easily have been 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:52.640 equal pay for equal prey. Many who held the position, 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:56.920 like Calico Jack Rackham, went on to become captains with 0:06:57.000 --> 0:07:01.239 the rules or codes in fighting was severely curtailed. Crew 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:04.080 Members who didn't adhere to the rules or stole or 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:09.920 hid bounty found themselves marooned or worse. Pirating was dangerous work, 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:14.000 sometimes resulting in death or dismemberment. To encourage the crew 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:17.080 to embark on raids, captains made provisions for those who 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:21.040 became injured. Many offered disability pay or allowed the men 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:23.200 to stay on board the ship for as long as 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:25.720 they liked, and still gave them a part of the 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:31.640 booty pirate. Jeremiah Huggins received gold pistols, gold dust, silver, 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:35.640 and other treasure after he became injured. John Fenn, who 0:07:35.720 --> 0:07:39.440 lost an arm, became a captain, and, perhaps most famously, 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:43.400 Blackbeard delayed taking a pardon, opting for one last raid 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:46.480 on ships in Charleston Harbor. He didn't do it out 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:49.400 of greed, though he risked everything to get his sick 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:53.640 crew medicine. It's a unique perspective on the legendary pirate. 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:56.760 In the end, it was his devotion to his crew 0:07:57.120 --> 0:08:00.160 that set in motion the events that led to his 0:08:00.200 --> 0:08:11.040 own death. Blackbeard wasn't alone. Although Edward teaches selfless act 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:13.480 seems more widely known. We would be remiss if we 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:16.320 left out the story of Sam Bellamy, otherwise known as 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:20.440 Black Sam, and the loyalty he inspired in his crew. Tall, 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:23.920 dark haired, and charismatic, Bellamy became one of the most 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.680 well known pirates of his day. Although his looks won 0:08:26.800 --> 0:08:29.000 over the love of his life, and his charm and 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:32.120 expertise made him popular with his crew, it was his 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:35.760 own unjust treatment that turned the small town boy into 0:08:35.800 --> 0:08:39.200 a well loved pirate. Captain Sam Bellamy was born in 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:42.680 England on March eighteenth of six eighty nine. One of 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:46.040 five children. He became the only son to survive to adulthood, 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:49.280 making him the sole heir to his father's estate. At 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:52.199 the time, only the eldest son of a male landowner 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:55.840 could inherit the family wealth. The family estate wasn't much, 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:58.800 just a parcel of farmland in a town consisting of 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:02.400 a few cottages. The Bellamy family struggled to survive planting 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:05.920 crops of potatoes, but over time English lords drove off 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:08.440 the peasants who had lived on the land for generations, 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:12.400 taking the property for themselves. Bellamy soon found work on 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:15.280 a naval ship in seventeen o two. The promise of 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:17.800 a warm bed and free food sounded far better than 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:21.320 poverty and starvation. What he found, though, at the tender 0:09:21.360 --> 0:09:25.320 age of thirteen, was hard labor and beatings. After four 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:28.800 years and surviving the War of Spanish Secession, seventeen year 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:31.200 old Bellamy made a break from the navy. He set 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:33.199 out for the New World, hoping to make a better 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:37.120 life for himself. He settled in Cape Cod finding two things, 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:40.760 work as a sailor and Mary Hallett. On a spring 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.760 night in seventeen fifteen, he met the sixteen year old 0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:46.000 at a local tap room and fell in love at 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:49.160 first sight. He charmed her with his adventures at sea, 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:53.760 and Mary, impressed with his looks and story, was equally infatuated. 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:56.959 While his fellow sailors were more of a love him 0:09:56.960 --> 0:10:00.360 and leave him type, Bellamy doated on Mary mean more 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:03.680 smitten with her. As their relationship continued. The two soon 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:07.360 began talking about marriage and their life together. Her wealthy 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:10.080 parents were less than thrilled with the prospect of a 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:13.160 penniless sailor for a son in law, and quickly forbade 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:17.400 Mary from seeing him again. Angry and humiliated, Bellamy left 0:10:17.440 --> 0:10:20.079 Cape Cod, promising Mary that he would return for her 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:23.400 once he made his fortune. Soon after, he connected with 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:26.000 a silver smith by the name of Paul's Grave Williams. 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:28.840 He was the son of an influential Rhode Island family. 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:33.880 The Williams ran an unregulated business and needed an experienced sailor. 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:36.840 The pair planned on using a family owned ship to 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:40.040 smuggle goods from the West Indies. Of course, that was 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:45.560 before a better opportunity presented itself. On July thirteenth, seventeen fifteen, 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:49.040 a Spanish treasure ship set sail from Havana, flanked by 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:52.400 ten other vessels. Six days into the trip, the ships 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:55.240 found themselves in the midst of a fatal hurricane. The 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:58.800 next day, their treasures of gold, silver, jewels, and other 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:02.800 valuables glitter in the relatively shallow water among the many 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:07.200 corpses ships descended on the area like vultures. Williams and 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:10.719 Bellamy arrived in January of seventeen sixteen, but they were 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:13.920 too late. Pirate Henry Jennings had managed to run off 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:16.520 with a hefty amount of the treasure, leaving the pair 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:19.840 to scrounge for the leftovers along with hordes of other 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:23.360 treasure seekers. What Bellamy wasn't aware of was that back home, 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:26.600 Mary had given birth to their stillborn child alone in 0:11:26.640 --> 0:11:30.800 her parents barn. Neighbors heard her screams, and, upon discovering 0:11:30.840 --> 0:11:35.080 the deceased child, accused her of murder. Mary was publicly 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:39.400 whipped for her loose morals, they said. Afterwards, she roamed 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:42.920 the cliffs along the coastline, waiting for Bellamy's return. She 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:45.400 would be waiting for some time, though, having yet to 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:49.640 fulfill his promise, Bellamy was still at sea seeking his fortune. 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:53.040 He and Williams headed to South America that March. They 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:55.559 worked with a handful of pirates, but not from a 0:11:55.640 --> 0:12:00.320 mighty ship. They operated from a pair of small sailing canoes. Still, 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:04.040 they successfully looted and stole a Dutch vessel. After recruiting 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:07.160 a larger crew for the ship, they seized an English vessel, 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:10.199 and when they returned to Cuba, that came across Jennings 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:13.600 and a French ship right for the picking. Late that night, 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:17.959 Jennings watched in total amazement the smaller pirate fleet beat 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:21.720 them to the target. Bellamy's men all naked and howling 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:25.880 like madmen and waving cutlasses and brandishing pistols, boarded and 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:30.119 attacked the ship. The Jennings astonishment, the French captain surrendered 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:42.440 without a single shot fired. Out Numbered, all Bellamy and 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:46.240 Williams could do was wait while Jennings crew divided the booty. 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:48.800 One of the men called out, pointing to an approaching 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:52.760 ship flying a pirate flag. Jennings recognized the ten guns 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:56.360 sloop as one belonging to Benjamin horne Goold. To say 0:12:56.360 --> 0:12:59.599 that Jennings and Hornegold where enemies would be an understatement. 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:02.280 Bellamy couldn't help but wonder what this meant for his 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:05.480 share of the bounty. Once Jennings and a small crew 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:09.280 left to intercept Hornegald, Bellamy and his crew ransacked the 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:11.960 French ship and rode off in canoes loaded with pieces 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:15.920 of eight. By the time Jennings returned, Bellamy, Williams and 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:19.280 the treasure were long gone. The pair didn't get far 0:13:19.400 --> 0:13:22.800 before running into Hornegal though. However, instead of relieving them 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:26.080 of their treasure, Hornegald welcomed the brash young pirate who 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:29.200 had fleeced his enemy. He even made Bellamy captain of 0:13:29.200 --> 0:13:33.319 the Marianne, a recently acquired ship. Later During a hunt 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:36.800 off the western edge of Cuba, Hornegald, Bellamy, and another 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:40.840 pirate ally named Olivier le Bouse spotted an English merchant ship. 0:13:41.120 --> 0:13:45.240 Being the eternal patriot, Hornegald refused to attack, although Bellamy 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:49.000 and Leboos had no such reservations. The crew under Hornegal's 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:52.000 command voted this time in favor of the raid. The 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:54.839 attack was successful, and the trio moved on to an 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:59.120 even more prosperous ship carrying cocoa. Hornegald left for Nassau 0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:03.720 and May of seventeen sixteen. Meanwhile, Williams Bellamy and Laboos 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:07.240 set sail for Hispaniola. In the hopes of securing cannons. 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:11.319 They rated English ships, which didn't go over well with Hornigold. 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:14.560 Upon their return, tensions among the three men and their 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:17.400 crew continued to rise. When horn and Goold refused to 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:20.440 attack on another English ship, his crew voted to relieve 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.840 him of his command and replaced him with Bellamy. A 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:26.720 crew member sewed their new flag, the infamous skull and 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:30.440 crossbones we know as the Jolly Roger. Bellamy allegedly told 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:34.080 his men the flag represented resurrection, not death. They were 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:37.720 free men who raided any ship regardless of nationality, but 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:41.640 especially those who had treated them poorly. Laboose and Bellamy 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:44.960 left Hornigold and decided they should move on. The crew agreed, 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:48.560 and by November nine, the pirates captured an English passenger 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:52.800 sloop traveling to Antigua. Bellamy and Laboose took the sloop 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:55.360 to an island and used it to make repairs to 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:58.080 their own ships. Bellamy made sure that none of the 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:02.160 ship's crew or the exceptionally wealthy passengers were hurt, except 0:15:02.200 --> 0:15:05.360 for one man who tried to escape. Joseph King, a 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:08.200 boy of about ten or eleven years old, asked to 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:11.360 join the crew. Bellamy obliged, taking him on as his 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:14.920 ship's boy. Then he released the sloop, taking only some 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.240 fine clothing. Before he and the crew set sail, they 0:15:18.280 --> 0:15:20.320 came upon a ship that was a step up from 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:22.760 the Mary Anne. He asked his crew to vote on 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:26.440 taking over the Sultana, equipped with twenty six guns, and 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:31.280 they all agreed. Again. Bellamy now commanded three ships. They're 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:34.880 growing numbers emboldened them to take on even larger ships, 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:37.600 like the Widow, an English merchant ship with four and 0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:40.760 a half tons of gold and silver on board. Bellamy's 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:45.280 tactic of wild behavior worked yet again. Captain Lawrence Prince 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:49.120 fired two rounds before surrendering. Once the pirates boarded, he 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:51.760 found their behavior had been a ruse. Bellamy and his 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:56.480 men treated him and his crew fairly. Bellamy, having realized 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:59.000 that he had just become exceedingly wealthy from the raid, 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:02.600 offered the cow another sultana twenty pounds in gold and 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.920 silver as a gesture of goodwill. With the approval of 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.960 his crew. One last time, he suggested that they make 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:12.440 one more trip. For Bellamy, it was time to go home. 0:16:12.920 --> 0:16:16.760 Mary would be waiting, and soon enough he was almost home. 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:20.320 One night, while off the coast of Cape Cod, Bellamy 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:23.560 stood on the deck deciding what to do next. Lightning 0:16:23.640 --> 0:16:27.960 illuminated the cliffs they had sailed into. A northeaster rains 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:30.880 pummeled the Widow, and the storm tossed the ship around 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:33.760 in the high waves. The anchors were all that stood 0:16:33.800 --> 0:16:36.880 between them and the jagged rocks, but if they stayed, 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:39.640 the waves would also tear the ship apart, so he 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:42.320 asked his men to vote on cutting the anchors and 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:45.440 to try to steer the ship to shore. He'd been 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:48.280 fair and honest, always adhering to the rules that he 0:16:48.280 --> 0:16:51.480 had written and adjusted to match his own kinder values 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:54.240 and morals. They lived by the code, and if they 0:16:54.240 --> 0:16:56.840 were wrong, they would die by the code. The men 0:16:57.000 --> 0:17:00.280 believed in their captain, and so they cut the anchor hopes. 0:17:00.920 --> 0:17:04.879 If Mary still walked the cliffs, her weight had finally ended. 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:10.960 The next day. Only two survivors were found, Sam Bellamy 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:23.119 was not among them. Scholars who study pirates are faced 0:17:23.160 --> 0:17:26.760 with a problem. Items aboard sunken vessels are difficult enough 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:30.040 to identify, and even worse when they are documents written 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:32.520 on paper. Perhaps this is why so much of what 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:36.120 we know of pirate life almost reads like legend. When 0:17:36.119 --> 0:17:39.200 the news hit about Bellamy and the widow, treasure hunters 0:17:39.240 --> 0:17:42.520 descended upon Cape Cod just as Bellamy and Williams had 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:45.800 done after the Spanish vessel met a similar fate years before. 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:49.880 None of the fortune seekers were successful, though, until October 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:56.080 of Barry Clifford ignored everything else in his life, his job, 0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:59.160 his marriage, and his family. Over the years, he poured 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:03.000 over records, talked with treasure hunters, and recovered scraps of 0:18:03.040 --> 0:18:05.720 iron he believed had once belonged to the Widdaw In 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:08.439 two he went as far as the U. S. District 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:11.480 Court to secure all rights to any treasure he might find. 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:14.760 With his request granted, he anchored his boat in the 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:17.240 area that he believed the Widow had anchored That night 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:21.080 in seventeen seventy one, after moving sand on the ocean floor, 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:24.880 his team uncovered millions of dollars worth of treasure. They 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:27.520 had a problem, though they couldn't prove the ship was 0:18:27.560 --> 0:18:30.720 the Widow. Without proof, he had no claim to the treasure, 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:35.359 at least until his crew uncovered the ship's bell after 0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:39.159 archaeologists cleaned it. Clifford had his proof. The inscription on 0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:44.040 the bell read the Widdah Galley seventeen sixteen, with millions 0:18:44.040 --> 0:18:47.400 of dollars in treasure at stake. The state of Massachusetts 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:50.959 sued for joint ownership for three years, the case remained 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:55.440 in litigation. In night, Clifford won his case, saved by 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:58.080 his earlier grant handed to him from the U. S. 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:01.440 District Court. His team can in you to extract artifacts 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:04.760 and treasure over the years, making a monumental discovery. In 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:09.040 two thousand six, they uncovered bones and a shoe Forensic 0:19:09.080 --> 0:19:12.159 evidence suggests the skeleton belonged to a ten or eleven 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:16.520 year old boy, most likely that of Joseph King. Last year, 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:20.440 in one Clifford's team recovered the remains of six more men. 0:19:20.880 --> 0:19:23.760 They tested the DNA taken from a leg bone against 0:19:23.800 --> 0:19:28.000 the DNA of a Bellamy family descendant. Unfortunately, that particular 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:31.639 femur was not a match to the famous pirate. The 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:34.200 site is still active, though, and there may be more 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:38.000 to find among the wreckage. Until then, just as Mary 0:19:38.080 --> 0:19:42.080 did all those years ago, all we can do is wait. 0:19:50.440 --> 0:19:53.399 Pirates and mutiny go hand in hand like an ocean 0:19:53.440 --> 0:19:57.040 born chocolate and peanut butter. Everywhere you look, stories of 0:19:57.040 --> 0:19:59.800 the High Seas and the criminals who sailed them never 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:03.680 semed to be without a bit of well organizational restructuring, 0:20:04.280 --> 0:20:06.399 which is why it should be no surprise that we 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:08.800 have one more tale to tell. And if you stick 0:20:08.800 --> 0:20:12.080 around through this brief sponsor break, my crewmates Alie Steed 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:26.680 will tell you all about it. She had what might 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:32.520 be the worst midlife crisis in history, and he wasn't 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:37.639 even thirty. It was August and most of the pirate 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:40.720 community and NASA still mourned the loss of Sam bellamy. 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:45.920 When a strange boat arrived, morning turned to curiosity. Usually 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:49.400 few civilians ventured to the island. After all, the captain, 0:20:49.560 --> 0:20:52.879 a plump, soft looking man, appeared on deck wearing a 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:57.040 nice dressing gown. Steve Bonnet might have been unusual, but 0:20:57.160 --> 0:21:01.720 the pirates in Nasa hardly considered him threat. Bonnet was 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:05.199 an aristocrat, born into wealth and had grown up in 0:21:05.400 --> 0:21:09.640 rather a charmed life. His family owned over four hundred 0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:14.080 acres of sugarcane fields, ninety four enslaved peoples, and three 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:18.240 household servants. He had the very best education money could buy, 0:21:18.320 --> 0:21:20.639 while serving as a major in the local militia, a 0:21:20.800 --> 0:21:24.680 requirement rather than a preference. Bonnet courted Mary allenby, the 0:21:24.760 --> 0:21:28.160 daughter of another plantation owner. The two married in seventeen 0:21:28.200 --> 0:21:30.919 o nine and settled into a comfortable life together in 0:21:30.960 --> 0:21:34.119 a house just south of Bridgetown Harbor. It seemed he 0:21:34.240 --> 0:21:38.320 led the perfect fairytale life, but nothing good lasts forever. 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:41.880 The couple's first child died, and although they had three more, 0:21:42.240 --> 0:21:44.720 the loss haunted Bonnet for the rest of his life. 0:21:45.160 --> 0:21:48.760 Around the same time, residents were worried about pirates. Stories 0:21:48.800 --> 0:21:52.159 of teach born a gold and Bellamy struck fear in 0:21:52.280 --> 0:21:57.400 everyone's hearts, except for Bonnet, who was delighted with the tales. 0:21:57.880 --> 0:22:00.320 He began to see pirate life as a means of 0:22:00.440 --> 0:22:03.240 escaping the loss of his child and the discomfort he 0:22:03.280 --> 0:22:06.880 felt in his marriage. He bought a warship, telling authorities 0:22:06.960 --> 0:22:11.200 he planned to hunt pirates. He christened the ship the Revenge, 0:22:11.560 --> 0:22:14.520 though he had nothing to get revenge against, and hired 0:22:14.520 --> 0:22:18.280 a crew. One night in late spring of seventeen seventeen, 0:22:18.359 --> 0:22:20.919 he bid farewell to his family and set sail for 0:22:20.960 --> 0:22:25.040 South Carolina. His wife and children would never see him again. 0:22:25.640 --> 0:22:29.600 Johnston's harbor made it a popular destination, like a sandbox 0:22:29.680 --> 0:22:33.600 for pirates in training lots of easy targets. On August, 0:22:34.200 --> 0:22:37.159 Bonnet rated his first ship there, though the bounty was 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:41.639 barely worth the effort. Other raids followed with minimal successes. 0:22:42.040 --> 0:22:46.200 Feeling more confident, he sailed into Spanish territory. This proved 0:22:46.240 --> 0:22:50.200 to be a mistake, however, Experienced pirates new to steer 0:22:50.280 --> 0:22:53.080 clear of more powerful ships and could tell the difference 0:22:53.119 --> 0:22:56.200 between a merchant ship and a man of war. Bonnet 0:22:56.560 --> 0:22:59.800 did not. He took on a warship, and either was 0:23:00.040 --> 0:23:03.040 sheer luck or because the Revenge was smaller and faster. 0:23:03.160 --> 0:23:05.880 They managed to escape with their lives, but the fighting 0:23:06.080 --> 0:23:09.080 cost him half his crew, and he himself suffered a 0:23:09.160 --> 0:23:13.439 serious injury. The ship lumbered into Nassau, where at first 0:23:13.600 --> 0:23:18.640 pirates soon granted Bonnet refuge and Blackbeard spotted an opportunity. 0:23:18.680 --> 0:23:22.200 While Bonnet recovered from his injuries, Blackbeard prepared the sloop 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:25.040 and added two additional cannons to make future battles a 0:23:25.040 --> 0:23:28.760 little more of a fair fight. Afterwards, Blackbeard put his 0:23:28.880 --> 0:23:33.440 most trusted crewmen in charge. Quartermaster William Howard took control 0:23:33.440 --> 0:23:36.880 of the Revenge, and Bonnet joined teach on Queen Anne's Revenge. 0:23:37.520 --> 0:23:40.720 In return for the swap, Bonnet would learn from Blackbeard, 0:23:40.920 --> 0:23:44.080 one of the most feared and experienced pirates operating in 0:23:44.080 --> 0:23:46.639 the Caribbean. They sailed together for a time, but it 0:23:46.720 --> 0:23:50.000 isn't clear why the two separated. In early sevent eighteen, 0:23:50.560 --> 0:23:54.040 now captaining the Revenge and with his original crew, Bonnet 0:23:54.080 --> 0:23:57.480 took to hunting ships near Honduras. They spotted a large 0:23:57.480 --> 0:24:01.680 ship four times the size of the Revenge, and despite 0:24:01.720 --> 0:24:05.440 the odds and his previous disasters, Bonnet decided to risk 0:24:05.480 --> 0:24:09.040 an attack, Bonnet shouted to the captain on the other 0:24:09.080 --> 0:24:12.760 ship that his crew would give no quarter the plumb 0:24:12.800 --> 0:24:15.600 captain and the smaller vessel did little to intimidate the 0:24:15.680 --> 0:24:19.800 larger ship's captain. The resulting battle lasted three hours before 0:24:19.840 --> 0:24:24.400 Bonnet ordered a retreat. Exhausted with Bonnet and his antics, 0:24:24.440 --> 0:24:27.480 the crew voted to return to Turnip in Central America 0:24:27.560 --> 0:24:31.080 to meet with Edward Teach. Their captain had clearly learned 0:24:31.280 --> 0:24:34.920 nothing while acting as his apprentice. When they arrived, black 0:24:34.920 --> 0:24:38.600 Beard listened to their grievances and ordered a vote. A 0:24:38.680 --> 0:24:41.439