John Julian
The Teenage Pirate
By Laura Nelson
The Teenage Pirate
By Laura Nelson
There are only two known survivors
of the April 1717 wreck of the Whydah, commanded by
Sam Bellamy: Thomas Davis,
a carpenter, and John Julian, a pilot.1 Although the
majority of historical records list John as a Cape Cod Indian, further research
by the team recovering artifacts from the wreck site reveals that he was
actually a Miskito Indian from the
region of Nicaragua and Honduras in Central America called the Costa de Miskitos (the
Mosquito Coast).
John was probably around 16 years
old when he became the Whydah's
pilot and guided it in and out of hidden harbors through the difficult waters
of Cape Cod.” (Clifford, Real, 81)
According to William Dampier, who interacted with the Miskito Indians circa 1687, “They are tall, well made, raw-boned, lusty, strong, and nimble of foot; long visaged, lank black hair, look stern, hard favour’d, and of a dark Copper-colour Complexion. . . . Their chiefest employment in their own Country is to strike Fish, Turtle, or Manatee . . . . For this they are esteemed and coveted by all Privateers; for one or two of them in a Ship will maintain 100 men: So that when we careen our Ships, we choose commonly such places where there is plenty of Turtle or Manatee for these Moskito Men to strike: and it is very rare to find Privateers destitute of one or more of them, when the Commander, or most of the Men are English . . . .” (Dampier, 7-8)
In addition to their fishing skills, Dampier also wrote, “They are very ingenious at throwing the Lance, Fisgig, Harpoon, or any manner of Dart.”2 (Dampier, 7) He then goes on to comment that “. . . they often come with the Seamen.” (Dampier, 10)
Colin Woodard in his book The Republic of Pirates states that John “had served with Bellamy aboard his periaguas.”3 (Woodard, 185) While there is no specific record of how John joined Sam Bellamy's crew, in March 1715, Bellamy was with a band of pirates that operated in the Bay of Honduras, the region where the Miskito Indians lived.
It was fairly common that when a
pirate crew captured a slave ship still carrying its cargo, many slaves, once
freed, joined the pirates.4 Even if they lacked
skills as seamen, they often had martial skills that made them valuable to
their new crews. Many learned sailing skills after joining the pirates. “Blacks
received shares of booty and enjoyed other perquisites of crew membership,
including the right to vote. Rewards and incentives appear to have been based
on an individual's ability to function effectively within the pirate crew
rather than on skin color.” (Kinkor, 200)
Black men were well represented amongst pirate crews.
Black men were well represented amongst pirate crews.
*Blackbeard's crew was 60 percent
black;
*Edward England's crew of 300 included about 80 black pirates;
*Half of John Lewis's crew of 80 were black men from English colonies;
*On his last voyage, Christopher Condent's crew of some 500 pirates included an estimated 200 black men;
*Bart Roberts's crew included 70 black men out of a total of 267; and
*Two pirate crews, the names of their commanders unknown, were almost 100 percent black. (Clifford, Real, 80)
*Edward England's crew of 300 included about 80 black pirates;
*Half of John Lewis's crew of 80 were black men from English colonies;
*On his last voyage, Christopher Condent's crew of some 500 pirates included an estimated 200 black men;
*Bart Roberts's crew included 70 black men out of a total of 267; and
*Two pirate crews, the names of their commanders unknown, were almost 100 percent black. (Clifford, Real, 80)
According to A General History of the Pyrates, when Captain Olivier Levasseur (also known as La Buse, the Buzzard) met up with Howell Davis off the coast of Gambia, half of his crew were blacks.
