Who was Captain Sam Bellamy?
Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy was born in 1689 in Hittisleigh, Devon, England . While little is known about Bellamy’s early life, we do know that he began sailing in the British Royal Navy as a teenager, beginning his career at sea. Eventually Bellamy makes his way to Cape Cod around 1715, and according to legend, falls in love with a then 16 year old Goody “Maria” Hallett (the later famed “Witch of Wellfleet”). As the famous story goes, Maria’s parents did not approve of Sam Bellamy being a poor sailor. Bellamy then vowed to leave and return with riches for his Maria, turning to piracy as a way to be reunited with his love.
Sam Bellamy leaves Cape Cod in 1716 with a group of men to seek treasures off the coast of Florida. After little success, Bellamy’s crew joins forces with captain Benjamin Hornigold, who happened to have been in command of another famous pirate, Edward “Blackbeard” Teach. In the summer of 1716, Hornigold gives Bellamy control of his ship the Marianne which he used to capture his next trader ship, the Sultana. From here, Bellamy continues to wreak havoc around the Caribbean, growing his crew and amassing more and more riches.
His big break comes in 1717, when Bellamy spots the Whydah, a 300 ton, 102 foot long state of art English slave ship sailing between Hispaniola and Cuba. The ship had just finished a leg of the Atlantic Slave trade, loaded with gold, ivory, indigo, and other precious goods from the sale of some 300 slaves. Equipped already with 18 cannons, Bellamy and his crew had literally struck gold. After a few days of pursuit, the Whydah surrendered. In a stroke of generosity, Bellamy trades the Sultana for the Whydah.
Fitted with his new ship, a crew of around 200, and loads of gold (and wine), Bellamy makes his way back to New England in April 1717, allegedly to pick up his dear Maria and take her off with him on his continued travels. As they made their approach near Wellfleet, the crew encountered a violent nor'easter around midnight on April 26, 1717. Despite the Whydah’s size and scope, the ship could not handle the storm. The ship capsized and quickly sank, taking all but two lives of the 145 pirates on board. The boat along with the roughly 5 tons of treasure sank to the sea floor, about 500 feet from the coast of Wellfleet.
Sam Bellamy was known for his democratic leadership, and would often refer to himself as the Robin Hood of the sea. He felt that he was liberating his captured ships, as described in this famous quote from Captain Charles Johnson in 1724:
I am sorry they won’t let you have your sloop again, for I scorn to do any one a mischief, when it is not to my advantage; damn the sloop, we must sink her, and she might be of use to you. Though you are a sneaking puppy, and so are all those who will submit to be governed by laws which rich men have made for their own security; for the cowardly whelps have not the courage otherwise to defend what they get by knavery; but damn ye altogether: damn them for a pack of crafty rascals, and you, who serve them, for a parcel of hen-hearted numbskulls. They vilify us, the scoundrels do, when there is only this difference, they rob the poor under the cover of law, forsooth, and we plunder the rich under the protection of our own courage. Had you not better make then one of us, than sneak after these villains for employment?
I am a free prince, and I have as much authority to make war on the whole world as he who has a hundred sail of ships at sea and an army of 100,000 men in the field; and this my conscience tells me! But there is no arguing with such snivelling puppies, who allow superiors to kick them about deck at pleasure.
Captain Sam Bellamy, 1724
“Haydn the Pirate”
Sunday, October 20th, 3 PM
Join us at 2:15 PM before our concert to learn more about this historic wreckage as we sit down with Chris Macort, underwater field archaeologist for the Whydah Pirate Museum.
Pilgrim Church, 533 Rt. 28, Harwich Port
Join the CCCO in a program featuring the life and story of “Black Sam” Bellamy, who after becoming one of the richest pirates in history, goes down with his crew in 1717 aboard the Whydah during a violent storm off the coast of Wellfleet. Composer Sam Wu premieres a new work depicting this harrowing story as we present a collaborative concert with the Whydah Pirate Museum.
The CCCO will also perform Sibelius’ reaction to Belshazzar’s Feast, a selection of music from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s ballet and opera works, and Haydn’s “Mourning” Symphony.
PROGRAM:
SIBELIUS Belshazzar’s Feast
RAMEAU Selections from Ballet and Opera
SAM WU “Black Sam” Bellamy Commission
HAYDN Symphony №44 “Mourning”
Tickets start at just $30, available at www.capecodchamberorchestra.org. Children and Students are admitted FREE all season. Get our entire season by getting a Season Pass here.
ABOUT the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra
Founder and conductor Matthew Scinto has a vision for the future of classical music on Cape Cod; by collaborating with local Cape individuals, arts organizations, and local causes, the orchestra aims to create a unique concert experience while providing high quality, enriching, and memorable orchestral music. The 2018–19 season included projects with poet Judy Askew, the Harwich Guild of Artists, and the Edward Gorey House. Recently named the “Best New Cultural Attraction of 2019” by Yankee Magazine, the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra was created in part to feature young artists, performers, soloists, and composers in our concert programs and to promote these future leaders of classical music. We believe the key to inspiring new audiences is by infusing contemporary music with local Cape flavor, performing both standard repertoire and music by traditionally under-represented composers, and engaging with our audiences on a personal level.
