Landlubber who could hold the key to 300-year riddle of pirate Black Sam
Has last resting place of Black Sam, Britain’s richest pirate been found?
A BRITISH descendant of the world’s richest pirate has given a DNA sample which could confirm whether his infamous relative has finally been found.
Simon Bellamy, 33, is believed to be related to Captain Samuel ‘Black Sam’ Bellamy – who plundered booty worth more than £85million in today’s money.
Legend has it he went down with his ship, the Whydah Gally, when it sank off New England in 1717. But this has never been proved – and now scientists are hoping to do so with the help of Mr Bellamy, a carpenter from Somerset.
A saliva swab was taken from the married father-of-two to compare his DNA against that of a femur discovered in the shipwreck. It is believed the bone could belong to Black Sam because it was found next to pistols matching descriptions of his handguns.
Mr Bellamy said: ‘This is meant to be one of the archaeological discoveries of the decade, so it is exciting to potentially play a small role in it ... The story of Black Sam is fascinating. Pirates are known for their ruthlessness, but Black Sam has been likened to Robin Hood – he seemed to avoid violence.’ He added: ‘I can see that we are both ruled by a sense of adventure. I love the sea, but I’m not sure that’s the sort of thing I would want to do. I’ll stick to building houses.’
The mission to trace Mr Bellamy, who was unaware of his connection to Black Sam, was spearheaded by US author Casey Sherman, who tracked him down after calling dozens of Britons with the same last name.
His DNA sample has been taken back to the US for analysis. If the remains are confirmed to be those of the pirate, Mr Sherman plans to bring them back to the UK to be buried in his home village of Hittisleigh, Devon. Mr Sherman, from Boston, Massachusetts, said: ‘He spent 300 years in the shipwreck, in the sea, and it’s time to bring him home.’
Born in 1689, Black Sam joined the Navy before turning to piracy, earning his nickname for his long black hair. He died at 28 when his boat was caught in a storm.
The shipwreck was found off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1984 by explorer Barry Clifford. Archaeologists have since recovered 200,000 artefacts, including gold coins.
Mr Bellamy insists he has no plans to claim the riches. ‘Mr Clifford is the one who found it – finders keepers,’ he said. ‘It’s his treasure – it costs a lot of money digging out gold from the bottom of the sea.’