š“āā ļø Blackbeard Stole the Wine. Another Pirate Stole a Fortune.
Blackbeard steals the wine, a storm reveals a buried shipwreck, and Christopher Condent pulls off the ultimate pirate retirement... Issue #75 ā Oct 2nd, 2026 Ahoy, MateySometimes the sea takes history. And sometimes, centuries later, it gives it back. This week, a norāeaster uncovers a long-buried shipwreck on Nantucketāand gives us a remarkable connection to Black Sam Bellamy and the Whydah. Then Blackbeard raids a ship for its wine, Christopher Condent pulls off the pirate dream of getting rich and actually knowing when to quit, and we've got three pirate gatherings stretching from California to England. Plus, one of our own crew has brought along some plunder. Hoist the colors. Issue 75 is underway. š“āā ļø  šĀ THIS WEEK IN PIRATE HISTORYš·Ā September 29, 1717 ā Blackbeard Really Wanted the WineNear Cape Charles, Virginia, Blackbeard and his pirates came upon the 40-ton sloop Betty. And apparently they were thirsty.  The pirates took pipes of Madeira wine along with other goods from the vessel. But here's the part that makes the story particularly Blackbeard: They didn't even want the ship. After plundering the Betty, the pirates sank her. One historical account says this was retaliation because the vessel had resisted them during a short fight. This was also an interesting moment in Blackbeard's career. Stede Bonnet had recently been wounded, and Blackbeard had taken command of Bonnet's Revenge. Within two months, he would capture the French slave ship La ConcordeĀ and transform her into the legendary Queen Anne's Revenge. Imagine being the captain of the Betty. Pirates appear. There's a fight. Blackbeard boards your ship. He looks through the cargo and essentially says: āWe'll take the wine.ā Then he sinks your ship anyway. Blackbeard may not have become history's most famous pirate through moderation. Ā Ā š°Ā October 3rd, 1720 ā The Pirate Who Knew When to QuitIf Blackbeard represents the spectacular end of the Golden Age pirate, Christopher Condent represents something much rarer: A pirate who actually won. In October 1720, Condent was cruising near Bombay when his pirates captured a huge Arab trading vessel carrying silks, spices and an extraordinary quantity of gold and silver. Contemporary-derived accounts put the value of the prize at roughly Ā£150,000. Condent understood exactly how dangerous the situation was. The British East India Company was already deeply concerned about piracy in the Indian Ocean. So Condent reportedly gave his crew an unusual order: Do not mistreat the passengers or crew. Not necessarily because Condent had suddenly developed a conscienceābut because brutalizing them could bring even more British attention down upon him. Then the pirates headed back toward their Madagascar base and divided the fortune. Here's where our sources disagree slightly. Some accounts give each pirate approximately Ā£2,000, while others put the individual share closer to Ā£3,000. Either way, it was a staggering fortuneāenough that one contemporary observer reportedly believed they never needed to go to sea again. And Condent did something extraordinarily unusual for a Golden Age pirate. He quit. He and about forty men sailed to the French island of Bourbonāmodern RĆ©unionāand negotiated pardons. Condent married the French governor's sister-in-law, eventually moved with her to Brittany, and became a wealthy merchant in Saint-Malo. He apparently died around 1734, not swinging from a rope, drowning in a hurricane, or being blasted apart in battle. He died a wealthy former pirate living in France. š“āā ļøĀ THE PIRATE REPUBLIC TAKE Blackbeard died fighting aboard his ship. Calico Jack went to the gallows. Stede Bonnet went to the gallows. Charles Vane went to the gallows. Christopher Condent captured an enormous fortune... and went home. Perhaps the most valuable skill a pirate could possess wasn't swordsmanship, seamanship or courage. It was knowing when you'd already won.  šš“āā ļøĀ WHEN THE STORM GIVES HISTORY BACKA Norāeaster Just Uncovered a Shipwreck on NantucketSometimes the sea doesn't just take ships. Sometimes it gives them back. A powerful norāeaster battered Nantucket this past weekend, tearing away huge amounts of sand along the island's south shore. When the storm passed, something was sticking out of the beach: A shipwreck.  Photo by Jason Graziadei Large wooden timbers held together with rusted iron had emerged from beneath the sand near Miacomet Beachāwreckage maritime archaeologists believe is probably part of the Warren Sawyer, a three-masted schooner lost there more than 140 years ago. The identification isn't yet certain, but wreckage previously exposed at essentially the same location was identified as probably belonging to that vessel. AP News On December 22, 1884, the Warren Sawyer was sailing from New Orleans to Boston carrying 1,115 bales of cotton and 28 tons of scrap ironĀ when gale-force winds drove her onto Nantucket. Her captain and seven-man crew were rescued. The schooner remained on the beach for about two weeks while islanders salvaged cargo. Then another storm arrived on January 6, 1885 and tore the ship apart, scattering wreckage along more than half a mile of shoreline. For more than a century, much of what remained disappeared beneath Nantucket's shifting sand. Until another storm came along... and uncovered it again. See the newly exposed wreckage at Nantucket Current ā ļøĀ But Here's Where the Story Gets Very Pirate Republic...Nantucket isn't far from another stretch of Massachusetts coastline where a norāeaster played a pivotal role in pirate history. On the night of April 26, 1717, pirate captain Samuel āBlack Samā BellamyĀ was sailing north aboard his flagship, the Whydah Gally. Bellamy had captured the WhydahĀ only weeks earlier and transformed her into his pirate flagship. According to the National Park Service, Bellamy had been plundering ships throughout the Caribbean before sailing north along the American coast. Then the weather turned. A tremendous norāeaster struck Cape Cod. The WhydahĀ was driven into the shoals near present-day Wellfleet and destroyed. Only two men survived. And aboard Bellamy's ship was an extraordinary accumulation of pirate plunderāthe proceeds of a career in which Bellamy's pirates had captured dozens of vessels. Almost immediately, people descended upon the wreck looking for treasure. One contemporary account described hundreds of people plundering material washing ashoreĀ from the pirate wreck. The sea swallowed Bellamy's ship. The sand buried what remained. And there it stayed until the wreck was ultimately located centuries later. š“āā ļøĀ THE PIRATE REPUBLIC TAKEThere's something wonderfully fitting about putting these stories together. In 1717, a norāeaster buried one of America's greatest pirate wrecks beneath the waters and sands of Cape Cod. In 2026, another norāeaster stripped the sand away from a forgotten shipwreck on nearby Nantucket. The same ocean that hides history can reveal it. And somewhere beneath the beaches and shoals of New England... who knows what the next storm might uncover?Ā š“āā ļøĀ  š“āā ļøĀ PIRATE PORTS OF CALL ā Three Events This Weekā ļøĀ Buccaneer Days ā Two Harbors, Catalina Island, California October 1ā3, 2026  Catalina's Two Harbors is once again surrendering to the pirates! Buccaneer Days brings three days of pirate costumes, live music, treasure hunting, contests and plenty of grog to one of Southern California's most appropriately nautical settings. š“āā ļøĀ Buccaneer Days details Ā Ā āļøĀ Port Royal Pirate Festival ā Port Royal, Virginia October 3, 2026  Pirates invade historic Port Royal for a day of cannon fire, sea shanties, costume contests, vendors, food and family-friendly pirate mayhem. Best of all, admission is free. š“āā ļøĀ Port Royal Pirate Festival Ā Ā Weymouth Pirate Festival 2026 ā Weymouth, England Oct 2-4  The Dolmen's pirates return to Weymouth for another weekend of live music and piratey mayhem throughout the town, including the traditional Pirate Paradeāand this year, the return of pirate skirmishes on the beach. Pirates, lubbers and seafolk are all invited to dress in their finest ribbons and follow the drums through Weymouth. Huzzaarrrgh! š“āā ļøĀ Weymouth Pirate Festival event page  šš“āā ļøĀ PLUNDER OF THE WEEK ā 12 Pirate Comics Worth Reading This week's plunder comes from one of our own Pirate Republic crew members, Angelo Collazo! Angelo spent countless hours tracking down and reading pirate comicsāsomeone had to do itāand turned his research into The Pirate Comics Guide: 12 Must-Read High Seas Adventures. He counts down his personal favorites from #12 to #1, complete with artwork, publication details, summaries and a buying guide. The list ranges from historical adventures like Blackbeard: Legend of the Pyrate KingĀ to A Man Among Ye, Long John SilverĀ and even a certain Dark Knight who once took to the high seas. And be warned: some selections contain what Angelo calls the ā5 B's of pirate lifeā ā Blood, Blasphemy, Betting, Brothels and Booze. Sounds like our kind of reading list. š š“āā ļøĀ Get Angelo's FREE Pirate Comics Guide:12 Must-Read High Seas Adventures And if comics are your thing, give our shipmate a follow at Angelo Collazo Comics, where he shares his own pirate themed newsletter and more from the world of comics. Follow Angelo Collazo Comics on Facebook Angelo, thanks for sharing the treasure with the rest of the crew! š“āā ļø  ā ļøĀ Captainās LogAnother voyage is in the books, mates. A storm reveals a shipwreck. Blackbeard raises the wine. Christopher Condent grabs his fortune and sails off into retirement. And somewhere out there, another forgotten piece of maritime history is undoubtedly waiting beneath the sand. Until next week, may the wind fill your sails, may treasure find your holdāand should you ever stumble upon enough gold to retire... take a lesson from Condent and know when to get off the damn ship. šĀ Fair winds, Captain Blackquill š“āā ļø āThe sea keeps her secrets... until she decides otherwise.ā Ā Ā š£ļøĀ SHARE THE SPOILS, MATEYKnow a landlubber whoād savor tales of treasure, ghost ships, and true pirate history? Donāt hoard the gold ā recruit āem to the crew. šĀ Join The Pirate Republic hereĀ āhttps://www.thepiraterepublic.com/weeklynewsletter-thepiraterepublic New voyages, bold stories, and rich plunder await those who sail with us. Ā Ā āĀ SAIL WITH US ACROSS THE DIGITAL SEASšĀ TikTok: @thepiraterepublicā¶ļøĀ YouTube:Ā The Pirate Republic Ā Ā šļøĀ THANKS FOR SAILING WITH THE CREWWe set sail every Friday, storm or shine ā delivering pirate history, legends, and lore from across the seas. Keep yer spyglass trained on the horizon,rest when the winds allow,and may your course be steady, your hold full, and your tales worth telling. If ye stumble upon treasure, tall tales, or pirate lore worth sharing, send word to:š§Ā captainblackquill@gmail.com Ā Ā Disclosure:Ā Some links in this newsletter are affiliate links, which means we may earn a few extra doubloons if you make a purchase ā at no extra cost to you. Thanks for keeping The Pirate RepublicĀ afloat, ya savvy sea dog. š“āā ļø |
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