Real Pirates History Comes To Life At New Salem Museum

SALEM, MA — The fascinating, entertaining — and perhaps misunderstood — world of pirates is coming to the Witch City.

The new Real Pirates Salem Museum opens at Charlotte Forten Park on Derby Street Saturday with the story of "Black Sam" Bellamy, the "Witch of Wellfleet" Maria Hallett and genuine artifacts retrieved from the sunken Whydah off the coast of the outer Cape telling the story of what it was like to be a pirate three centuries ago.

"During the golden age of piracy, it was perhaps the most democratic, egalitarian society in the world," Real Pirates Museum Director Bill Golden told Patch. "Once you signed the articles (the pirate code) it was like signing the Declaration of Independence. You were declaring yourself a nation free from any other where everyone had a vote and everything was shared.

"You had Africans, Native Americans and Europeans all living in the same society where every individual had a vote and equal right to that society."

While the very nature of piracy lends itself to a rather nefarious reputation, Golden argues that in a world full of imperialists, slave merchants and monarchs, the life of a pirate was one of relative virtue.

"People said of pirates: 'They were robbers. They were thieves. They were bad people,'" Golden said. "One of the questions we ask is: 'Who really were the good guys and who were the bad guys?'

"That's the story we want to tell. And we want to talk about pirates. Because pirates are fun."

Golden said Real Pirates Salem landed in the Witch City after a four-year journey that included considerations in Washington D.C., New York City, and the Seaport, Long Wharf, Faneuil Hall and Beacon Hill sections of Boston.

He said it was when he came to Salem that he realized the combination of rich maritime history, a cultural melting pot and its destination as a Halloween haven made it the ideal choice for the Real Pirates Museum.

"When I saw Salem and saw what was happening in this city I knew this was the place to be," he said. "What's really nice about Salem is that it's where history meets the magic of all things possible. It's a city where the community has come together in a way that I felt is really unique."

The museum tells the story of Black Sam — one of the youngest and most successful pirates of his era — and the love of his life, the Witch of Wellfleet. The exhibit introduces museum-goers to the crew of the Whydah, which amassed one of the greatest treasure collections in the world before reaching its demise in the waters off Truro, Wellfleet and Provincetown.

Famed underwater archaeological explorer Barry Clifford discovered the sunken Whydah 40 years ago with the museum exhibit including coins that were recovered from the vessel once thought long lost.

There is a Discovery Lab where visitors can learn all about the history and preservation process of the artifacts as well as interactive activities, including learning how to tie traditional knots, raise the pirate flag and the chance to touch the actual treasures of the sea.

"The real treasure isn't the gold and silver," Golden said. "The real treasure is the truth."

He said that is one tie that binds Salem's history of the 1692 Witch Trials and its new pirate inhabitants.

"It's the human quest to be free," Golden said. "It's the desire to know the real truth whether it be at a witch trial or on a pirate ship."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)