The best books about pirates (fact and fiction)

The best books about pirates (fact and fiction)
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Sunday, January 17, 2016

What happened after separating from Bellamy

Something interesting about the Whydah I found while surfing around Wkipedia:

Abenaki Indians called it Matinicus, meaning "far-out island." The French used it as an early fishing station.

In early May 1717, several pirates from their snow (a type of two masted vessel), the Anne, raided several vessels that were off the shore of Matinicus at the time. The Anne had originally been captured off the Virginia Capes in April by the pirate Samuel Bellamy in the Whydah, which wrecked in a storm on the night of April 26, 1717, off of Cape Cod. The Anne made it through the storm with another captured vessel, the Fisher (which was soon abandoned and the pirates aboard her transferred to the Anne). The pirates arrived at Monhegan Island, Maine, on April 29 and waited for the Whydah, for the pirates had not seen or heard about the Whydah wrecking in the storm of the night of April 26. The pirates eventually realized the Whydah was lost, and proceeded to attack vessels in the area. Several of the pirates set out in a launch from the Anne and proceeded to Matinicus:
"...where they took a sloop belonging to Colonel [Stephen] Minot, one shallop belonging to Capt. [John] Lane and three Schooners. They brought the Sloop and Shallop and (as we are informed) the sails and compasses of the 3 schooners to Menhagen [Monhegan], whereupon they manned the last mentioned Sloop with ten hands..."
The pirates soon departed the area on May 9, 1717, on the 25-ton sloop formerly belonging to Colonel Minot, with a pirate crew of 19.[6]


"Deposition of Ralph Merry and Samuel Roberts" Boston. May 11, May 16, 1717. in Jameson, John Franklin. "Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period: Illustrative Documents." New York: Macmillan Company, 1923, pp. 301-302; "John Newman to Governor Shute" Gloucester. May 12, 1717. Massachusetts Archives 51:290

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Some words of Cotton Mather concerning the execution of the pirates of the Whydah



"Diary of Cotton Mather"  MHS Collections, Series Seven Vol.8 (herinafter Cited as MD) p.481.


October 17, 1717: G.D. Tho' Satan by frequent Assaults upon me, designs and labours to discourage my unceasing Projections to serve the Kingdom of God; for I am satisfied, I should not suffer what I do from him, and his Instruments, if my continual contrivances to do Good were not such as they are: Yett, I will in this way make myself much more vile; and be stedfast and immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; beleeving a good Issue of all.
            What I now think of, is; how to render the conditon of the poor Pyrates, who are coming on their Trial, serviceable unto the Interests of piety in the World.

MD:481
October 21, 1717: G.D. I would entertain the Flock, with a discourse agreeable to the Said Occasion given, in a Number of Wicked Pirates, who are speedily to be destroyed among us. A Discourse on the Folly of getting Riches, and not by Right.

MD:491.
November 26, 1717: I had sometimes made a Prayer, that the Condition of the late Pirates, might be so ordered, as to furnish me with some special Opportunities to do Service for the Kingdome of GOD. After the Execution of the Criminals, I had some thoughts of writing down the conference I had with them in the way from the Prison to the Gallows: adding the strange story of their capture, and the Sermon I preached unto my Flock on their occasion. But my thoughts were so feeble and flitting that I laid them aside. However, I resumed them; and remaining still entirely at a loss what to do, I betook myself unto the Lott. I wrote one Bitt of Paper, "Proceed," on another, "Forbear," and after a solemn Invocation of the glorious Lord, I drew the Lott, which fell to be "Proceed." I sett myself to the Work, and in a few Hours I made a Strange Dispatch of it. The Bookseller for whom I intended the Work, declined it; which caused me to wonder at my Direction to Proceed. But some other Booksellers, from whom I least expected it, without any offer of Mine to them, accepted it, and print no less than twelve hundred of them; and the Cause of Piety, is likely to be more than a little served.

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