The Flying Dutchman

OK, it's not about the Whydah, but it is an interesting article about the legend of the Flying Dutchman, and I thought you might enjoy reading it.  

Follow the link to the article:



https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4427

 Enjoy!


Dunning, B. "The Legend of the Flying Dutchman." Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media, 12 Aug 2014. Web. 29 Nov 2015. <http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4427>

John King - The Boy Pirate

My latest article is now published! You may read it here:

http://www.cindyvallar.com/JohnKing.html

More about the pirates who held him captive from Captain Snelgrave

The French ship just now mentioned, fell into their hands about a fortnight after I was taken by them, in this manner. It was not bound to Sierraleon, but having not had an Observation for several days, because the Sun was near their Zenith, they made land unexpectedly; and not knowing certainly whereabouts they were, but seeing several Ships in the River at an Anchor, they came boldly towards them.

I was then on board Captain Cocklyn’s old Ship; for they had not quite fitted mine for their use, not having at that time any Guns mounted; so I saw the great fear and confusion that was amongst them. My Mate, who had entered with them, said, “He believed, by the Ship’s coming in so boldly, it was the Launceston Man of War of forty Guns, whom we had left in Holland. For he had heard me say, she was to follow us to the Coast of Guinea.”

Happy would it have been for us and many more, if it had been so. For had that, or even a smaller Ship of twenty Guns, with the King’s Commission, come in at that time, or any other, whilst I was in their hands, I am persuaded they would have easily destroyed them. For the new-entered-men had little Courage; and the far greater part both of old and new Pirates, were so much in drink, that there could have been no Order or Conduct amongst them in an Engagement. So that it would have been very easy to have subdued them, and prevented that terrible Destruction, which happened to above one hundred Sail of Ships, that fell afterwards into their Hands, in their going down the Coast of Guinea: Together with those Damages that happened a good while after in the East Indies, by some of this Gang; and the great Ravage made by Roberts (who rose out of Davis’s Ashes) the second time, on the Coast of Guinea, till he was happily destroyed by Sir Chaloner Ogle in the Swallow Man of War. 

But the reason why no timely care was taken to prevent so great a Destruction, is not proper for me to mention in this place. 

As I had no business to be on board the Pirate Ship in time of Action, I asked Captain Cocklyn’s leave to go on board their Tender, which he readily granted. Just as I was going, several of my People who had entered with him, said, “They would go along with me, for they had never seen a Gun fired in anger.” Cocklyn hearing that, told them, “That now they should learn to smell Gunpowder,” and caned them heartily.

So I went on board Captain Elliot, where I soon saw the French Ship taken. For coming so unexpectedly into the Pirate’s hands, they made no Resistance; And because the Captain did not strike on their first firing, they put a Rope about his Neck, and hoisted him up and down several times to the Main-yard-arm, till he was almost dead. 

Captain La Buse coming at that instant, luckily saved his Life: And highly resenting this their cruel usage to his Countryman, he protested, “he would remain no longer in Partnership with such barbarous Villains.” So, to pacify him, they left the Frenchman with the Ship in his care; and after the Cargoe was destroyed, they cut the Ship’s Masts by the board, and run her on Shore, for she was very old, and fit for their purpose. 


Snelgrave, William. A new Account of Some Parts of Guinea... A relation of the author's being taken by pirates, London: printed for James, John, and Paul Knapton, 1734. Reproduction by British Library, pgs 259 - 262

A Different Look at John Julian

I came across this article while web surfing. It offers a differing opinion as to whether John Julian, captured after surviving the wreck of the Whydah Galley was the Julian the Indian later executed in Boston, Massachusetts for killing a bounty hunter while attempting to escape slavery.

     

  

Mystery of the Whydah survivors

Almost 300 years ago today, on the night of April 26, 1717, a violent storm blasted the Cape and crashed a large sailing ship into the sandbanks just off shore. Nearly all of the crew perished in the storm, the bodies of many victims washing up near Marconi Beach. Today that shipwreck is still making headlines, since the Whyd...

By Gregory N. Flemming

Posted Apr. 26, 2014 at 2:15 AM

Almost 300 years ago today, on the night of April 26, 1717, a violent storm blasted the Cape and crashed a large sailing ship into the sandbanks just off shore. Nearly all of the crew perished in the storm, the bodies of many victims washing up near Marconi Beach. Today that shipwreck is still making headlines, since the Whydah is one of the only pirate ships ever uncovered by divers. Three decades after the initial discovery, Barry Clifford's Expedition Whydah continues to recover gold, weapons and other artifacts from the ocean floor.

But one aspect of the Whydah shipwreck remains a mystery. What happened to the two lone survivors who swam ashore in the storm? One was an "Englishman" named Thomas Davis. The other, according to newspaper reports and trial records, was an "Indian" named John Julian. There is no record of what happened to either of these survivors once they were taken to Boston shortly after the wreck.

On the fateful morning of Friday, April 26, the pirates in the Whydah had captured a vessel heading to New York. The pirate captain, Samuel Bellamy, put seven men on the ship, but those men "drank plentifully" of the wine they found aboard and soon lost control of the vessel. The weather got worse with every passing hour. Sometime after 10 that night, a horrendous storm pounded the coast, bringing lightning and heavy sheets of rain. The Whydah sank just off Marconi Beach. Nearly all of the more than 130 men aboard the Whydah died — except for Davis and Julian.

The following Saturday, Davis and Julian were taken to Boston on horseback with the seven other pirates who had gotten drunk aboard the captured vessel. The men were tried for piracy in Boston, and most were convicted and hanged. But the court believed Davis' claims that he was innocent, a forced captive. John Julian, presumably because he was an "Indian" and assumed to be a servant, was never brought to trial.

Today, it is widely claimed that Julian was sold into slavery and then executed 16 years later for murder. The victim was a man named John Rogers, who was chasing a fugitive slave in September 1732. The fugitive was called Julian the Indian, and Rogers captured him later that day. When Julian tried running away again the next morning, Rogers chased him into a cornfield. The two men struggled, and Rogers was stabbed in the chest with a jackknife, dying almost immediately. Julian was convicted of the murder and, ultimately, executed on Boston Neck in a snowstorm on March 22, 1733.

 

Descriptions of the Whydah survivors almost always suggest that John Julian was the same Julian who was executed for John Rogers' murder 16 years later. But there is no conclusive proof. In both instances Julian is described as an "Indian," but in the trial following the Whydah shipwreck, he is specifically referred to as John Julian. In every document surrounding the 1733 execution, the first name John is never used — he is only described, in newspaper reports and execution leaflets, as Julian, an Indian. The Expedition Whydah research also concludes that Julian from the Whydah was a young man, maybe just 16 years old. In at least one execution narrative attributed to Julian, he claims he lived with his family until he was about 20.

Barry Clifford's divers continue to uncover new evidence about the Whydah — more artifacts and information than we have about any other pirate ship that sailed the Atlantic. But the fate of the only two Whydah survivors, including John Julian, may remain a mystery forever.

Gregory N. Flemming is the author of "At the Point of a Cutlass: The Pirate Capture, Bold Escape, and Lonely Exile of Philip Ashton," to be published in June (www.gregflemming.com).

You may view this on the original web site if you wish at: http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20140426/Opinion/404260341#ReaderReaction

     

  

Levasseur in pirate fact - or fiction? Pt 2

I found this article while browsing the internet. Quite a bit of it is factual, but parts of it are not. For one, I don’t know where the author got their information that Levasseur’s nick name is “The Hawk.” I have always seen his nickname listed as “La Buse” (The Buzzard) and “La Bouche” (The Mouth.)

The comments about his appearance while walking to the gallows I am unable to verify, as unfortunately the author, like so many articles like this, does not identify their sources.

The editor’s note about not being able to find any family links is interesting and I would love to know more about this, but again, no source material is cited. 

The Hawk's Cryptogram: The Hidden

Treasures of the Pirate

Vo l . 4  Number 3   ISSN  1 4 8 1 - 5 9 9 0   P a g e 7

ALA 2008    www.Levasseur.org

Olivier Levasseur, "The Hawk" (~1680 (?) - Hanged July 7 1730)

The Pi r a te' s Cryptogram

Prior to being h a n g e d o n

Reunion Island in Saint-Paul, the

Hawk tossed a scribbled message

to the crowd shouting: “My

treasures, to he who understands ! ”

Though it has been translated,

the text remains impenetrable and

the treasure was never found. Take

note treasure hunters!

Olivier Levasseur, the Hawk, born in Calais was a bloodthirsty buccaneer.

When he climbed on the scaffold at Reunion Island in Saint-Paul on a

warm July day in 1730, he donned a pleasant and challenging appearance.

Severe according to some and ironic according to others, he took a piece of

paper with scribbling on it from his pocket and tossed it to the crowd

shouting: “My treasures to he who understands”. Without flinching an eye

he said to the hangman: “Proceed with your task”. Who picked up the

cryptogram? No one knows. All we know is that the Hawk's famous

cryptogram is in the hands of numerous treasure seekers who have studied

it carefully but it has remained impenetrable. Many have searched the

Islands around Madagascar for the Hawk's treasure but their search has

been to no avail. (ref. Magazine GÉO)

Grave covered with black lava flagstone on which one can

read:

“ Here lies Olivier Levasseur,

alias the Hawk, piratebuccaneer of the South Seas,

executed in Saint-Paul en

1730”. 

Born in Calais, the Hawk initially sailed the Atlantic and

then the Indian Ocean which was less patrolled by the

England. He lived by his plunders for a brief period of

time of the coast Malgache near the Bay of Antongil prior

to being captured by the (The rest of this note is cut off on the web page - Laura)

Editor's Note: Olivier Levasseur, the Hawk, was born in Calais, France. His roots are French but

 he has never docked his ship in any of the ports in New France. No family link has ever been

established with any of our ancestors who settled in North America.

Here is the actual web site for those who wish to view it:

http://www.levasseur.org/doc/dossiers/200407_Olivier_Levasseur_La_Buse_eng.pdf