John King (pirate)
Encyclopedia
John King was an 18th century pirate. He joined the crew of Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy
while still a juvenile, and is the youngest known pirate on record.
On November 9, 1716, Bellamy and his crew, sailing the sloop
Mary Anne (or Marianne), attacked and captured the Antigua
n sloop Bonetta, which was then en route from Antigua to Jamaica
. John King, then aged between eight and eleven, was a passenger on the Bonetta. According to Abijah Savage, the Bonettas commander, the pirates looted the ship for 15 days, during which time King demanded to join Bellamy's crew. "(F)ar from being forced or compelled (to join)," Savage wrote in his report, "he declared he would kill himself if he was restrained, and even threatened his Mother, who was then on board as a passenger and his father who did not like him."
While teenage pirates were common in the 18th century, and though the Royal Navy
employed young boys as "powder monkeys" to carry gunpowder from ship's magazine to their cannon
s, boys of King's age were unknown as pirates. However, after an initial show of defiance, Bellamy allowed King to join him. In the subsequent months, Bellamy and his crew would capture and loot many ships, including the Whydah
in February 1717, a heavily-armed slave galley which Bellamy claimed for his flagship. On April 26, 1717, the Whydah was wrecked in a storm off the coast of Cape Cod
, killing Bellamy and most of his crew, including King.
King's remains were tentatively identified in 2006, when Barry Clifford, principal of Expedition Whydah Sea Lab & Learning Center in Provincetown Massachusetts, and Project Historian Ken Kinkor had partial human remains recovered from the wreck analyzed by researchers at the Smithsonian Institution
and Center for Historical Archaeology in Florida. The remains, consisting of a 11-inch fibula encased in a shoe and linen stocking, were determined not to belong to a small man, as originally thought, but to a young boy of King's approximate age.
Samuel Bellamy
Samuel Bellamy , aka "Black Sam" Bellamy, was an English pirate who operated in the early 18th century....
while still a juvenile, and is the youngest known pirate on record.
On November 9, 1716, Bellamy and his crew, sailing the sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
Mary Anne (or Marianne), attacked and captured the Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
n sloop Bonetta, which was then en route from Antigua to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. John King, then aged between eight and eleven, was a passenger on the Bonetta. According to Abijah Savage, the Bonettas commander, the pirates looted the ship for 15 days, during which time King demanded to join Bellamy's crew. "(F)ar from being forced or compelled (to join)," Savage wrote in his report, "he declared he would kill himself if he was restrained, and even threatened his Mother, who was then on board as a passenger and his father who did not like him."
While teenage pirates were common in the 18th century, and though the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
employed young boys as "powder monkeys" to carry gunpowder from ship's magazine to their cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s, boys of King's age were unknown as pirates. However, after an initial show of defiance, Bellamy allowed King to join him. In the subsequent months, Bellamy and his crew would capture and loot many ships, including the Whydah
Whydah Gally
The Whydah Gally was the flagship of the pirate "Black Sam" Bellamy. The ship sank in a storm off Cape Cod on April 26, 1717, taking Bellamy and the majority of his crew with it.-History:...
in February 1717, a heavily-armed slave galley which Bellamy claimed for his flagship. On April 26, 1717, the Whydah was wrecked in a storm off the coast of Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
, killing Bellamy and most of his crew, including King.
King's remains were tentatively identified in 2006, when Barry Clifford, principal of Expedition Whydah Sea Lab & Learning Center in Provincetown Massachusetts, and Project Historian Ken Kinkor had partial human remains recovered from the wreck analyzed by researchers at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
and Center for Historical Archaeology in Florida. The remains, consisting of a 11-inch fibula encased in a shoe and linen stocking, were determined not to belong to a small man, as originally thought, but to a young boy of King's approximate age.