The Book of Pirates by Jamaica Rose

Author:Jamaica Rose
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Published: 2010-10-10T07:00:00+00:00

But I WANNA Sign the Articles!

The Boy Who Had to be a Pirate

John King was just an ordinary boy living with his mother until a fateful event occurred that would change his life forever...

At least his life was ordinary until he met the charismatic pirate captain Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy. John was traveling with his mother from the island of Jamaica to another British colony on Antigua aboard the sloop Bonetta.

The voyage was uneventful until November 9, 1716. According to the captain’s log, that was the day they were attacked and captured by Samuel Bellamy and his crew of pirates. Bellamy tied his sloop, the Marianne, alongside the Bonetta and spent fifteen days thoroughly ransacking the vessel. The passengers aboard the Bonetta may have been horrified by their ordeal, but young John King was thrilled. He was fascinated by the colorful pirates and especially by their charismatic leader. After some of the Bonetta’s crew decided to join the pirates, John was determined to become a pirate himself.

The pirates were probably amused by the young boy who followed them around and insisted that he wanted to be a pirate, too! But they never took him seriously until one day he demanded that Captain Bellamy let him join his pirate crew. Bellamy was reluctant to let such a young boy (John was reported to be between 8 and 11 years old at the time) join his crew. But John declared that he would kill himself if anybody tried to stop him. When his mother protested and tried to interfere, he threatened her as well.

Bellamy must have admired the boy’s spirit and show of defiance. He changed his mind and decided to let the boy aboard the Marianne. John made history that day, becoming one of the youngest boys ever known to have signed the articles and joined a pirate crew.

But his career as a pirate was short-lived. He lasted less than three months before he met his end. A few months after taking John aboard, Captain Bellamy captured the slave ship Whydah and transferred himself and part of his crew aboard, including John King. After taking several prizes, Bellamy decided it was time to head home. Bellamy’s small pirate fleet headed north for Maine, but Bellamy never made it. The Whydah was wrecked off the coast of Cape Cod when she violently ran aground during a storm. As the Whydah capsized, canons and other articles broke loose and crashed across the deck. John was hurled so violently across the deck that his leg bone was impaled in a pewter teapot. Then one of the ship’s cannon came crashing down upon him. It was the end.

How do we know this, you might ask? Because they found John’s leg bone inside his silk stocking with his shoe. It was concreted together with the teapot under that same cannon. It must have been a horrible way to die. Sometimes, it just doesn’t pay to defy your mother.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.