The World’s Only Authenticated Pirate Treasure: Discovering The Shipwreck of ‘The Whydah’

On April 26, 1717, amidst the golden age of piracy, Captain Samuel ‘Black Sam’ Bellamy tried to navigate a violent storm  off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The flagship of his pirate fleet, The Whydah Gally, shipwrecked and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean where it stayed until 1984. Now, more than 300 years after the wreck, HBH is excited to be joined by the man who discovered the Whydah, Underwater Archaeologist, Explorer and Author: Barry Clifford.The only pirate shipwreck in the world whose whose identity is unquestionably authenticated, the Whydah contained a vast treasure including the booty from more than 50 ships which the 140-plus man crew had pirated, as well as 60 cannons. Surprisingly, the 110-foot Whydah contained much more than its buried treasure. Also excavated was extensive evidence and documentation that perhaps the most progressive, diverse and inclusive democracies in the world at the time were found on-board pirate ships, 59 years before the founding of the United States. Moreover, due to a promise to his close friend and First Mate, John F. Kennedy Jr., none of the artifacts from the Whyda shipwreck have ever been sold. They are on display at the incredible Whydah Pirate Museum in Yarmouth, Massachusetts. Barry Clifford is the author of seven books including ‘Expedition Whydah: The Story of the World's First Excavation of a Pirate Treasure Ship and the Man Who Found Her’.