Summary
Describes what happened when a slave ship packed with plunder was captured by pirates in 1717 then sunk by a brutal storm. Tells the story of the 1984 expedition to locate the wreck and what was uncovered. Full description
Summary: |
Describes what happened when a slave ship packed with plunder was captured by pirates in 1717 then sunk by a brutal storm. Tells the story of the 1984 expedition to locate the wreck and what was uncovered. Launched in 1716 to ply the Triangular Trade route, the Whydah was designed to be fast and to hold large amounts of cargo, both material and human. Captain Prince had completed the sale of slaves brought from Africa to the Caribbean and had turned the Whydah toward England laden with riches when his ship was overtaken by one of the most successful pirates of the time. Black Sam Bellamy sought not only fortune but a ship with a large capacity to carry it. He used the Whydah as his flagship and loaded it to the gunnels with loot from vessels plundered along the East Coast of America. But on a stormy night in 1717, the Whydah ran aground on a sandbar off Cape Cod and sank. Cape Codders salvaged what washed ashore. The govenor of Massachusetts sent his best man to look for the rest - but nothing could be found. It wasn't until 1984 that marine archaeologists found the wreck and its treasure of old and priceless artifacts, as well as a wealth of historical evidence that changed much of what we thought about pirates. -- from dust jacket. |
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Physical Description: |
170 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm |
Audience: |
1270L |
Awards: |
School Library Journal's Best Books, 2017 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Recommended Book, 2018 2018 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist |
Bibliography: |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 165-166) and index. |
ISBN: |
9780763680336 0763680338 |
Author Notes: |
Martin W. Sandler is the author of Lincoln Through the Lens and The Dust Bowl Through the Lens. He has won five Emmy Awards for his writing for television and is the author of more than sixty books, two of which have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Among Sandler's other books are the six volumes in his award-winning Library of Congress American History Series for Young People, a series which has sold more than 500,000 copies. Other books by Mr. Sandler include: Island of Hope: The Story of Ellis Island, Trapped in Ice, The Story of American Photography, The Vaqueros, America: A Celebration, and This Was America. Martin Sandler has taught American history and American studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and at Smith College. In 2014 his title, Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans during World War II, made The New York Times Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) |