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VAIL, Colorado — Barry Clifford has been searching the high seas from Africa to Cape Cod, and he's hit real treasure.
The Massachusetts-based historian and underwater explorer discovered the wreckage of the Whydah, a pirate ship that sunk off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717, making him the discoverer of the only confirmed pirate treasure in existence. He'll be in Vail tonight talking about his pirate adventures as part of the Vail Symposium's Unlimited Adventure Series, a speaker series now in its eighth year.
The Whydah discovery not only gave historians a never-before-seen view inside the age of 17th century pirates, but yielded real treasure — plunder from almost 50 other ships that included West African art, treasure chests of gold and silver and weapons from the time. The discovery will be featured in an exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science that opens March 4 called Real Pirates.
Treasure in Madagascar
Clifford will also give the audience a preview of his latest discovery, seven pirate ships sunk off the coast of Madagascar. The discovery will be the subject of a National Geographic documentary, and Clifford plans to return to the site in May to continue excavating the sites.
“We have seven shipwrecks off the coast, completely untouched and buried in the mud,” he said. “They are really fabulously rich ships, filled with artifacts and antiquities from the India-China trade.”
Based on documents from the time, the identified ships include The Adventure Galley (flagship of the infamous William Kidd), as well as The Great Mahomet, a ship that was returning from a pilgrimage from Mecca. The ship was captured then sunk by pirates to keep the British navy from capturing it, Clifford said.
Clifford and his colleagues have also discovered a complex tunnel system that they think was built by 17th century pirates. He said he's excited to share the not-yet-published details of his newest discoveries with a Vail audience.
“This is a really important discovery, because previously the only accurately discovered pirate ship was the Whydah,” he said. “And here, we have seven.”
“X” marks the spot
Much of Clifford's presentation will revolve around his discoveries in the Whydah, a project he has spent more than 25 years on. The ship is rife with mystery and fascinating drama — the ship, captained by Sam Bellamy, sunk with almost all of its 146-man crew. This included the youngest known pirate, 10-year-old John King. The surviving crew was tried and hung. Bellamy, it is thought, was on his way back to Massachusetts with his booty-laden ship to meet his girlfriend, a woman who was later burned at the stake as a witch.
Clifford, who was a history teacher and ship salvager, spent years searching for the wreckage based on a 17th century map made by officials at the time — in this case, “X” literally marked the spot.
“It was a ship of legend where I grew up, this incredibly wealthy ship and sinks off of Cape Cod,” Clifford said. “I'd read court documents and found maps. Growing up on a place like the cape and hearing those stories really piqued my interest. Later when I began to do the research, I realized that it was real.”
The Whydah was a captured slave ship, and almost a third of its crew was African slaves. Clifford said the most fascinating thing is that these former slaves were freed as pirates, and some were even taking positions of leadership aboard pirate ships.
“On board pirate ships, they were free. So we have this little floating microcosm of freedom and democracy, but they were robbing other ships,” he said. “I like to pose the question, ‘Who was wrong?' The pirates? There's a great irony.”
The Unlimited Adventure series runs weekly for six weeks and will feature speakers such as extreme skier Chris Anthony and “The Deadliest Catch” producer Cameron Glendenning.
“We really wanted variety in our speakers,” said Vail Symposium Executive Director Liana Moore. “(Clifford) will be a very unique addition to the series. We're excited to have him kicking off the series.”
The Massachusetts-based historian and underwater explorer discovered the wreckage of the Whydah, a pirate ship that sunk off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717, making him the discoverer of the only confirmed pirate treasure in existence. He'll be in Vail tonight talking about his pirate adventures as part of the Vail Symposium's Unlimited Adventure Series, a speaker series now in its eighth year.
The Whydah discovery not only gave historians a never-before-seen view inside the age of 17th century pirates, but yielded real treasure — plunder from almost 50 other ships that included West African art, treasure chests of gold and silver and weapons from the time. The discovery will be featured in an exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science that opens March 4 called Real Pirates.
Treasure in Madagascar
Clifford will also give the audience a preview of his latest discovery, seven pirate ships sunk off the coast of Madagascar. The discovery will be the subject of a National Geographic documentary, and Clifford plans to return to the site in May to continue excavating the sites.
“We have seven shipwrecks off the coast, completely untouched and buried in the mud,” he said. “They are really fabulously rich ships, filled with artifacts and antiquities from the India-China trade.”
Based on documents from the time, the identified ships include The Adventure Galley (flagship of the infamous William Kidd), as well as The Great Mahomet, a ship that was returning from a pilgrimage from Mecca. The ship was captured then sunk by pirates to keep the British navy from capturing it, Clifford said.
Clifford and his colleagues have also discovered a complex tunnel system that they think was built by 17th century pirates. He said he's excited to share the not-yet-published details of his newest discoveries with a Vail audience.
“This is a really important discovery, because previously the only accurately discovered pirate ship was the Whydah,” he said. “And here, we have seven.”
“X” marks the spot
Much of Clifford's presentation will revolve around his discoveries in the Whydah, a project he has spent more than 25 years on. The ship is rife with mystery and fascinating drama — the ship, captained by Sam Bellamy, sunk with almost all of its 146-man crew. This included the youngest known pirate, 10-year-old John King. The surviving crew was tried and hung. Bellamy, it is thought, was on his way back to Massachusetts with his booty-laden ship to meet his girlfriend, a woman who was later burned at the stake as a witch.
Clifford, who was a history teacher and ship salvager, spent years searching for the wreckage based on a 17th century map made by officials at the time — in this case, “X” literally marked the spot.
“It was a ship of legend where I grew up, this incredibly wealthy ship and sinks off of Cape Cod,” Clifford said. “I'd read court documents and found maps. Growing up on a place like the cape and hearing those stories really piqued my interest. Later when I began to do the research, I realized that it was real.”
The Whydah was a captured slave ship, and almost a third of its crew was African slaves. Clifford said the most fascinating thing is that these former slaves were freed as pirates, and some were even taking positions of leadership aboard pirate ships.
“On board pirate ships, they were free. So we have this little floating microcosm of freedom and democracy, but they were robbing other ships,” he said. “I like to pose the question, ‘Who was wrong?' The pirates? There's a great irony.”
The Unlimited Adventure series runs weekly for six weeks and will feature speakers such as extreme skier Chris Anthony and “The Deadliest Catch” producer Cameron Glendenning.
“We really wanted variety in our speakers,” said Vail Symposium Executive Director Liana Moore. “(Clifford) will be a very unique addition to the series. We're excited to have him kicking off the series.”
