November 9, 1716—In a dramatic and somewhat shocking turn of events, a young boy named John King became the youngest pirate in history after threatening to harm his mother unless notorious pirate Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy allowed him to join his crew. The extraordinary incident unfolded aboard the Bonetta, a passenger ship en route from Jamaica to Antigua, which was captured by Black Sam and his crew.
On that fateful day, the Bonetta was overtaken by Bellamy’s pirates, who looted the ship for 15 days. During this time, young John—estimated to be between eight and eleven years old—became increasingly fascinated by the pirate way of life. Desperate to join them, John reportedly begged Bellamy to allow him to become part of the crew. According to Captain Abijah Savage, who was aboard the Bonetta, the boy even threatened to kill himself and harm his mother if Black Sam refused.
Bellamy, the most profitable pirate of his time, acquiesced to the boy’s request, taking him aboard his ship, the Mary Anne, as part of the pirate crew.
What makes John’s story even more remarkable is his apparent background. While many young boys in the 18th century joined pirate crews as cabin boys or “powder monkeys”—a role where they carried gunpowder from the hold to the gun decks—John was thought to come from a well-off family. According to reports, he was dressed in French woven-silk stockings and leather shoes fastened with buckles, items that were typically worn by the upper classes at the time. This suggests that John’s decision to join the pirates may have stemmed from a fascination with adventure rather than a desire to escape poverty, a common motivation for poor children who turned to life at sea.
Unfortunately, John’s pirate career was tragically short-lived. Shortly after joining the crew, Black Sam Bellamy and his pirates captured the heavily armed Whydah, a slave galley that Bellamy soon claimed as his flagship. This marked the beginning of a series of daring raids and further adventures for the infamous pirate, but for young John, his time with the crew would soon come to an end.
The story of John King remains a captivating tale of youthful daring, and his brief stint as a pirate highlights both the unpredictability of life on the high seas and the enduring mystique of pirate lore.
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