Black Sam

The "Prince of Pirates"

At a Glance

Given name: Samual Bellamy
Born: 1689
Died: 1717
Active period: 1689-1717

Flag of Black Sam — Samuel Bellamy's Flag

Bellamy sailed off the eastern coast of North America on the Whydah. Originally part of Benjamin Hornigold and Edward Teach’s (Blackbeard's) crew aboard the Mary Anne, Bellamy rose to captain and soon gained fortune when he captured the ship Whydah, a gigantic slave ship carrying riches on its second leg in the Atlantic. Bellamy attempted to sail the ship back to a lover he left in New England but never made it, sinking off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts during a violent storm.

The location of the wrecked Wydah Gally off of Cape Cod. By Captain Cyprian Southack - "Expedition Whydah" – Official website of The Whydah Museum, Public Domain.