The Whydah, a perfectly preserved pirate museum, sat on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean for almost 300 years before it was brought to the surface. The secrets held in its walls revealed details of pirate life, making the Whydah a priceless artifact and an important find. Its fascinating mysteries are on display through Feb. 6, 2011 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science Real Pirates! exhibit.
Before Captain Sam Bellamy and his crew met their demise, the Whydah earned a reputation for being fast and that made it feared. A former slave ship meant to carry human cargo, the Whydah had a 300-ton galley that could be sailed or rowed. The latter was especially important to pirates who needed the ability to slip into coves undetected or hide from pursuers.
“This Whydah was very cutting edge and built 30 years ahead of its time,” HMNS curator David Temple said.
The ship was a speed demon for the day, reaching 13 knots, and because the Whydah was a shallow-drafted boat with a low silhouette, it was a dream to maneuver. As Temple explained, it was “good for going up river and getting into nooks and crannies, hiding in harbor and unloading goods.”
Another boon for Bellamy and his crew were the massive amounts of weapons on board, ranging from cannons to pistols. High-powered X-rays of booty recovered from the Whydah reveal exciting details of just what was onboard when the ship sank, including a Sun King pistol. Priceless items such as the pistol were concreted in the ocean depths. They are now submerged in fresh water and on view throughout the Real Pirates! exhibit.
Weaponry wasn’t the only valuable commodity found on the Whydah. Coins, known as pieces of eight, were in abundance on the ocean floor, giving another glimpse into the perfectly preserved pirate past. Pieces of eight were so called because each piece weighed eight reales, a bit more than an English ounce. The coins were then separated into eight equal pieces.
Adding to the exquisite loot found aboard the Whydah was Akan gold jewelry that was traded in Africa and taken aboard slave ships headed to Europe. Once in Europe it was often melted down and recast, but many pieces of jewelry survived and were concreted in the Whydah shipwreck. Authenticated pieces of Akan jewelry are among the treasures in the Real Pirates! exhibit and date back to the late 1400s. Other stunning Whydah discoveries include real gold bars and treasure from Potasi, a mountain on Bolivia where precious metals were mined.
The importance of the Whydah could easily be overshadowed by pirate lore, but thanks to the discovery of the sunken ship, realities of pirate life are exposed. The innovation of the Whydah, coupled with the ingenuity of her crew, make the ship a legend and something not to be missed while it’s on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science through Feb. 6.
"Whydah Capture"
