Yes, I am a Pirate

Yes, I am a Pirate Historical Imagineer. Destination Speaker-American Cruise Lines. Certified in Pirate History. St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum.

Certified St Augustine Tour Specialist. Author-A Piece of Pirate Treasure

08/26/2026

PIRATES—“MORE SIN THAN MONEY”

In 1646, Plymouth Colony was broke, burdened by debt and struggling to survive.

Then a violent storm drove three ships carrying nearly 80 pirates into Plymouth Harbor.

The men, led by Captain Thomas Cromwell, had returned from plundering Spanish settlements and ships in the Caribbean. They arrived with pockets full of treasure—and an appetite for rum, gambling and trouble.

For five wild weeks, the pirates drank, gambled, celebrated and scattered their stolen money throughout the struggling colony.

Governor William Bradford reportedly described them as arriving “drunk and distempered”—spreading:

“A great deal of money among the people—and even more sin than money.”

The pirates eventually spent enough to provide Plymouth with a desperately needed economic boost.

That’s right…

The colony founded by the Pilgrims may have been financially rescued by pirates!

History has a sense of humor—and sometimes salvation arrives flying a Jolly Roger.

08/23/2026

BLACK SAM BELLAMY—HISTORY’S RICHEST PIRATE

In 1715, an entire Spanish treasure fleet was shattered by a hurricane off the coast of Florida.

Gold and silver spilled into the sea—and fortune hunters came running.

Among them was a young English sailor named Samuel Bellamy.

Bellamy reportedly left Cape Cod with his friend Paulsgrave Williams, determined to recover enough treasure to change his life. The salvage expedition failed—but Bellamy discovered another path to fortune.

Piracy.

After sailing with pirate captain Benjamin Hornigold, Bellamy quickly rose through the ranks. When Hornigold refused to attack English ships, his crew removed him from command. Bellamy was elected captain—and “Black Sam” began one of the most spectacular careers in pirate history.

In little more than a year, Bellamy and his men captured dozens of vessels. Some accounts credit his fleet with taking more than 50 prizes during an astonishingly successful stretch at sea.

But Bellamy’s greatest prize was still ahead.

In February 1717, his pirates spotted the Whydah Gally—a massive, heavily armed slave ship returning to England after completing its first voyage through the Atlantic slave trade.

Bellamy pursued her for three days.

When the Whydah finally surrendered, Bellamy claimed a vessel loaded with ivory, indigo, silver, gold and thousands of coins. He gave the captain his smaller ship in exchange—an act that helped build Bellamy’s reputation as the “Robin Hood of the Seas.”

Bellamy reportedly called himself a “Free Prince,” commanding a floating society in which the crew elected its leaders and divided its treasure according to agreed-upon articles.

But Bellamy’s reign would be brutally short.

On the night of April 26, 1717, the Whydah was caught in a violent nor’easter near Cape Cod. Towering waves drove the ship toward the shoals.

The richest pirate ship of the Golden Age was torn apart.

Of the more than 140 men believed to have been aboard, only two survived.

Black Sam Bellamy—still only about 28 years old—vanished beneath the waves with his ship and his fortune.

For more than 260 years, the Whydah remained hidden beneath the sand.

Then, in 1984, underwater explorer Barry Clifford located the wreck. A ship’s bell bearing the words “THE WHYDAH GALLY 1716” later confirmed the discovery—making the Whydah the first fully authenticated Golden Age pirate shipwreck ever found.

08/22/2026

LICENSE TO STEAL—LETTERS OF MARQUE

Queen Elizabeth I knighted Francis Drake after his plundering voyages as a privateer. King Charles II knighted Henry Morgan after his raids on Spanish towns. Both men operated as “legal pirates” under the protection of royal authority and Letters of Marque.

But how could piracy possibly be legal?

A Letter of Marque was an official commission issued by a king, queen or government authorizing a privately owned ship to attack the vessels and settlements of an enemy nation during wartime.

The captain who carried it was called a privateer.

To the nation that issued the commission, he was a patriot fighting the enemy. To the sailors whose ships were captured, their cargo stolen and their towns attacked, he was still a pirate.

The arrangement benefited everyone involved—except the victims.

Governments could rapidly increase their naval strength without paying to build, supply and operate every ship. Wealthy investors could finance privateering expeditions in hopes of receiving a share of the captured treasure. Captains and crews could become rich while claiming to serve their country.

And, of course, the Crown received its share of the plunder.

But a Letter of Marque was not permission to attack anyone, anywhere. It identified which enemy could be targeted and was generally valid only while the nations remained at war. Privateers were expected to bring captured ships and cargo before a prize court, where the seizure could be declared lawful.

Attack the wrong ship—or continue attacking after peace was declared—and a privateer could suddenly become a pirate.

That dangerous line became especially important after the War of the Spanish Succession ended in 1714. Thousands of privateering sailors were no longer needed. Men who had been paid to hunt enemy ships suddenly found themselves unemployed—but they still possessed ships, cannons, weapons and experienced crews.

Men such as Henry Jennings and Benjamin Hornigold had learned how to hunt Spanish treasure with the approval of the Crown.

When the royal commissions ended, the hunting did not.

Many former privateers abandoned the law, turned pirate and helped ignite the Golden Age of Piracy in Nassau and throughout the Caribbean.

The difference between a decorated privateer and a condemned pirate could be nothing more than a royal signature, the flag of the victim—and whether that “license to steal” was still valid.

Knighted by one nation. Cursed by another.

Hero…privateer…pirate.

Sometimes, the only difference was a piece of paper.

We are all treasure hunters in this world…treasure may look different to each of us, but the lure of treasure is simply ...
08/20/2026

We are all treasure hunters in this world…treasure may look different to each of us, but the lure of treasure is simply irresistible.
Jack Sparrow told us in Pirates of the Caribbean…All treasure is not silver or gold mate… and its true.
Thanks to all of our 6000+ pirates that contribute to Yes, I am a Pirate…
The voyage is just getting underway…may you all find YOUR treasure.

08/19/2026

🏴‍☠️ PIRATE WEAPONS—PART 5: AMMUNITION

A cannon was only as deadly as what pirates loaded inside it.

When most people picture a pirate cannon firing, they imagine one massive iron ball smashing through the side of an enemy ship.

But pirate ammunition was far more creative—and far more terrifying.

Pirates were not trying to sink a vessel. A ship was valuable. Its cargo was valuable. Even its crew might be valuable.

The goal was often to cripple the ship, destroy its ability to escape and force its crew to surrender.

That meant choosing the right ammunition for the job.

⚫ ROUND SHOT

The classic solid iron cannonball was designed to hammer wooden hulls, damage cannon positions and send deadly splinters exploding across the deck.

On a wooden ship, the cannonball was only part of the danger. When heavy shot tore through thick planking, shattered pieces of wood could become razor-sharp projectiles.

⛓️ CHAIN SHOT AND BAR SHOT

Two iron balls or sections of shot were connected by a chain or solid bar.

Once fired, they could spin violently through the air—tearing into sails, severing lines and smashing through rigging.

A ship stripped of its sails or damaged at the mast could no longer maneuver effectively.

It became easier to chase.

Easier to board.

Easier to capture.

💥 GRAPESHOT

Grapeshot consisted of multiple small iron or lead balls packed together and fired from a cannon.

When discharged, the balls spread outward like an enormous shotgun blast.

At close range, grapeshot could sweep across an exposed deck, tear through tightly grouped defenders and turn a boarding fight into chaos.

🔩 LANGRAGE AND SCAVENGED METAL

When proper ammunition was unavailable, almost any small piece of metal could become a weapon.

Nails.

Musket balls.

Scrap iron.

Broken chain.

Jagged metal fragments.

Packed into a cannon and fired at close range, this improvised ammunition could create a deadly storm across the enemy’s deck.

💣 GRENADOES

Pirates and sailors also used early hand grenades—sometimes called grenadoes.

These could be made from hollow iron, glass or ceramic containers filled with gunpowder and fitted with a fuse.

Grenadoes could be thrown onto an enemy deck during close combat, spreading fire, fragments, smoke, confusion and fear.

For pirates, ammunition was not simply about destruction.

It was about strategy.

Destroy the sails.

Shatter the rigging.

Clear the deck.

Create panic.

Then close the distance and take the ship.

Because the most valuable ship was not the one resting at the bottom of the sea…

It was the one the pirates could capture—and claim as their own.

08/16/2026

🏴‍☠️ WOODES ROGERS AND THE KING’S PARDON
EXPULSIS PIRATIS, RESTITUTA COMMERCIA

On July 26, 1718, the fate of Nassau’s Pirate Republic was decided.

Woodes Rogers arrived in the Bahamas as the new royal governor, accompanied by British warships and charged with restoring order to an island ruled by pirates.

But Rogers carried something more powerful than cannons:

The King’s Pardon.

Pirates who surrendered and abandoned their former lives would be forgiven. Those who refused would face the full force of the Crown.

Hundreds chose the pardon.

Benjamin Hornigold and other former pirates accepted the offer and eventually helped Rogers hunt down men who returned to piracy.

But Captain Charles Vane refused to surrender.

Trapped inside Nassau Harbor, Vane transformed a captured French vessel into a fire ship. Under the cover of darkness, the pirates set it ablaze and sent the burning ship directly toward Rogers’ fleet.

Flames climbed the rigging. Smoke rolled across the harbor. The British ships broke formation to avoid the floating inferno.

In the confusion, Vane and his men escaped through Nassau’s narrow eastern passage—firing their guns in one final act of defiance.

Charles Vane escaped.

But the Pirate Republic did not.

Woodes Rogers took control of Nassau, rebuilt its defenses and restored British authority over the Bahamas. His mission would become immortalized in the words:

EXPULSIS PIRATIS, RESTITUTA COMMERCIA

Pirates Expelled. Commerce Restored.

The Golden Age of Piracy was not yet over—but its greatest stronghold had fallen.

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