Black Sam Bellamy

Crew and plunder: the toughest start and the richest voyages.

History in brief

Samuel Bellamy, remembered as “Black Sam,” was probably born in Devon, England, around 1689; the nickname is said to come from his dark hair, worn long instead of a wig. He turned pirate in 1716, sailing with Paulsgrave Williams and, for a time, in company with Benjamin Hornigold.

In early 1717 Bellamy captured the Whydah, an English slave ship, and made her his flagship. On the night of 26 April 1717 she was wrecked in a storm off Cape Cod, and Bellamy and most of his crew drowned. The wreck was found in 1984 and identified by her bell, which makes her one of the very few pirate wrecks ever positively identified. Later writers called him a “Prince of Pirates”; the speeches the General History gives him may owe more to its author than to Bellamy.

In the game

• Captain HP: 80
• Crew: 40
• Style: Crew and plunder
• Passive: Prince of Pirates: starts with Henry Jennings as Quartermaster; +30% silver from fights; hires cost 25% less; +8 max hull.
• Captain’s order, Fair Shares: restore 6 crew, draw 2 and gain 1 energy. (every 4 turns)

Starting deck (11 cards)

• 3× Broadside (Gun, 2 energy): Fire the guns: 6 damage to the hull.
• 1× Swivel Gun (Gun, 1 energy): Light gun: 3 damage to the hull. No powder.
• 2× Tack Hard (Sail, 1 energy): Gain 7 Block.
• 2× Cutlasses (Crew, 1 energy): Your boarders kill 6 enemy crew.
• 1× Rally the Crew (Crew, 1 energy): Gain 4 Block. Restore 3 crew.
• 1× Prince's Share (Signature, 0 energy): Bellamy: restore 6 crew, gain 4 Block, draw 1.
• 1× Hold the Rail (Crew, 1 energy): Gain 6 Block.

Card values are the base, unupgraded numbers before ship upgrades and captain bonuses.

Tips

• You can take a hit. Bellamy has the most HP (80), the biggest crew (40) and +8 max hull, so he can trade broadsides early while other captains must play safe.
• Spend the silver. +30% silver from fights, Henry Jennings’s +15%, and hires 25% cheaper make ports and recruiters better value. Hire officers early.
• Save Fair Shares for the swing turn. The order restores 6 crew, draws 2 and gives 1 energy, so it is strongest on a turn where one extra card decides the fight.

Other captains: Blackbeard · Vane · Bonny & Read · Rackham. New to the game? See How to Play and the glossary.

More from the wiki

• Characters & Historical Figures – Pirate captains, Crown officials and the people of Nassau’s waterfront.
• Places & Sea Lanes – Nassau and New Providence, the Bahamas, and the wider Caribbean.
• Factions & Politics – The balance of power, Nassau’s pressures, and the history of 1716–18.
• Ships, Stores & Crew – Vessels, cargo, provisions and shipboard roles.
• Nassau City Ledger – Buildings, civic projects, resources and threats.
• World Threads – Historical pressures, expeditions and trade ventures.
• The Windward Passage – A naval briefing on the passage between Cuba and Hispaniola.
• Period Glossary – Over thirty period words for ships, ship work, officers, money, shot and pirate life.
• Charts – The New Providence harbour chart and the Bahamas & Florida Straits chart.
• Benjamin Hornigold – The founding captain of the Nassau pirate haven who became its hunter.
• Edward Teach (Blackbeard) – The most notorious captain of the age, from Hornigold’s sloop to Ocracoke.
• Charles Vane – The hard-liner who refused the pardon and fired his way out of Nassau.
• Calico Jack, Anne Bonny & Mary Read – Rackham’s short command and the two women tried for piracy in Jamaica in 1720.
• Woodes Rogers – Circumnavigator, privateer and the governor sent to end the pirate republic.
• The King’s Pardon of 1717 – The proclamation that split Nassau’s captains between a clean slate and the gallows.
• The 1715 Treasure Fleet – The hurricane that wrecked Spain’s silver fleet and filled Nassau with pirates.
• Ship Types of the Pirate Era – Periaguas, sloops, brigantines, snows and frigates: what pirates sailed and why.
• Pirate Articles & Life at Sea – Elected captains, written articles, shares of plunder and daily life aboard.
• Nassau’s Trade & Economy – How plunder became provisions: fences, smugglers, salt, wrecking and coin.
• Golden Age Timeline – Key dates from 1713 to 1726, from the treasure-fleet wreck to the last great hangings.
• Playing Blackbeard – Terror and boarding: thin the enemy crew, then take the ship.
• Playing Charles Vane – Aggressive gunnery: the hardest-hitting and most fragile captain.
• Playing Anne Bonny & Mary Read – Hand-to-hand and duels: win the fight on the enemy deck.
• Playing Calico Jack Rackham – Speed and evasion: pick your fights and outsail the rest.

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