Shiver me timbers! This is the first in a two-part series about Boston’s role in the Golden Age of Piracy, from 1650 to 1726. A few pirates set sail from our city, some preyed on the shipping coming in and out of our port, and even more met their ends on the gallows in Boston. We’ll hear stories of daring raids and buried treasures, of mutiny, jailbreak, and double crossing.
Boston in the Golden Age of Piracy
- The first record of piracy in New England.
- More on the early pirate Dixie Bull.
- Thomas Pound and Thomas Hawkins steal a boat at Lovell’s Island.
- The record of Thomas Hawkins’ trial.
- More on the 1689 revolt in Boston that convinced Thomas Pound to turn pirate.
- The trial of William Coward for stealing the ketch Elinor
- Was Captain Kidd framed?
- Captain Kidd in New York City, via the Bowery Boys podcast.
- (At one point, Jake says Captain Kidd was hanged in Boston; he was hanged in London. Sorry.)
- Piracy charges against Joseph Bradish.
- Charges brought against the jailer who helped Joseph Bradish escape from Boston’s Stone Gaol.
- Quelch’s Gold: Piracy, Greed, and Betrayal in Colonial New England
This Week in Boston History
- John Quincy Adams resists the normalization of Andrew Jackson’s presidency, June 26, 1833.
- The first telegraph connects Boston with New York City, June 27, 1846.
- The origins of civilian control of the military in Cambridge and Watertown on June 28, 1775.
- Irish President Eamon De Valera speaks at Fenway Park, June 29, 1919.
- The first, small wooden structure of King’s Chapel is dedicated (it will later be moved to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and burn in 2001), June 30, 1689.
- Privateers from Boston sack the town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, July 1, 1782.
- George Washington arrives in Cambridge, July 2, 1775.
