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'Real Pirates' a real treasure
Milwaukee Public Museum’s newest exhibit showcases artifacts from Whydah pirate ship

By KIRSTEN KLAHN - Special to TimeOut

December 20, 2012


MILWAUKEE - Break out your eye patches and discover the world’s only pirate treasure at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

The “Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship and Pirate Ship” exhibition that opened at the Milwaukee Public Museum on Friday includes more than 200 artifacts ranging from cannons and pirate accessories to treasure that went down with the ship Whydah.

“The important thing to keep in mind is this is the only pirate treasure that’s ever been found,” said Barry Clifford, the underwater explorer who discovered the wreck. “There is no other.

“It’s the first fully authenticated pirate ship discovered in American waters,” Clifford added. “We can trace everything on the Whydah to the real pirate, ‘Black Sam’ Bellamy.”

Before Bellamy captured the Whydah off the Bahamas in February 1717, it was operating as a slave galley between Africa and America. Forty-foot waves sank the ship on April 26, 1717, off the Massachusetts coast with treasures from more than 50 captured ships going down with the crew.

Two members of the 146-man crew survived.

Clifford said he began looking into the ship after hearing rumors regarding a pirate ship that had sunk hundreds of years ago. He discovered the first remains of the Whydah in 1984.

“Discovering the Whydah was the most exciting moment in my career,” Clifford said. “The sheer volume of artifacts the Whydah carried, from more than 50 other ships captured by the pirate captain Sam Bellamy and his men, provides a rare window into the otherwise mysterious world of 18th century pirates.”

The “Real Pirates” exhibition tells the story of four members of the Whydah crew. One includes the youngest known pirate aboard the Whydah, Johnny King, who was believed to be 9 years old at the time of the shipwreck. Excavators found his leg bone, silk stocking and leather shoe in the wreck of the Whydah.

Museum visitors can also check out what was going on below the Whydah’s decks the day it went down, as well as examine the gold the pirates collected.

Those coming to learn more about the ship’s history can hear tales of how the Whydah held slaves captive below deck, including the types of chains used to hold the ship’s captives.

Among the vast range of treasures discovered by Clifford is the ship’s bell. Legend has it, Clifford said, that bells are the spirits of ships. The brass bell is engraved with “Whydah Gally 1716,” which he said helped confirmed the identity of the discovered ship.

Another attention-grabbing artifact pulled from the wrecked ship includes pirate grenades. The grenades were filled with chemicals such as sulfur and pitch, lighted and thrown aboard other ships to smoke out the enemy.

And, of course, there’s the real treasure.

More than 2,500 silver pieces and other coins found in the Whydah’s wreckage fill exhibition chests. The displays represent coins from all around the world that were taken by Bellamy and his crew. Not only can visitors look at the pieces of eight, but they’re also invited to touch the coins in an interactive display.

The discovery of this pirate ship is a better tale than any movie could tell, said Jeffrey Bolster, a professor of early American and Caribbean history at the University of New Hampshire, who is also a member of an advisory panel that reviews and provides feedback on the contents of the exhibition.

“Through the cache of artifacts brought to the surface by Clifford and his team, we see a world generally undisclosed, one in which the Caribbean was the economic center and values were very different; an era before civil rights, before individual liberties and before democracy was institutionalized,” Bolster said. “Without the slave trade and the wealth of the region, piracy would not have existed. This is a story of the making of America - a true story more powerful than fiction.”

The recovery of the buried ship has been ongoing for more than two decades, but Clifford said there’s still much more to be discovered.

“There is more to be found,” he said. “We are still very much active.”

The exhibition runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through May 27, with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays, at the Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St. Tickets prices Mondays through Thursdays are adults $24, seniors $22 and children $17.50. Friday-through-Sunday prices are adults $26, seniors $24 and children $18.50. Admission to the rest of the museum is included.

For information, visit www.mpm.edu or call 414-223-4676.