By Jovan Stipić

When we speak of love stories or stories in general, people often think of exaggerated fiction found in bookstores today. Yet seldom do we look to real history for such tales of bravery, adventure, and romance.

In the book "Bellamy's Bride," the author Kathleen Brunelle did precisely that when she wrote her eponymous novel. The book itself is set in a very prominent part of history, yet one that people rarely give any particular attention to. And that would be the Golden Age of Piracy.

The period spanned over 80 years, from the 1650s to the 1730s, marked by constant skirmishes between the British and the Spanish naval fleets. However, her book's time span is relatively short, starting in 1714 and ending in 1717. It tells the legendary love story between The Prince of Pirates Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy and his love, The Witch Mary "Goody" Hallet.

In the wake of the War of Spanish Successions, many privateers and sailors found themselves unemployed. Back then, no idea sounded better for a jobless sailor than going to the Americas. One such man was Samuel Bellamy. The charismatic Cornishman arrived in New England, East Ham Harbor, in the late summer of 1715. As the story goes, one hungover morning, he woke late for work in the local port. Knowing that he was late already, he decided to take a long way, taking a road that would change his life forever.

Whilst he pranced his way, he heard a beautiful voice singing in the distance. It was a siren song, one that all the sailors knew well, yet never had he heard it sung as if by a siren herself. Jumping over a fence, he hoped to see who the singer was. As if drawn by destiny, it was here where he locked eyes with Maria Hallet.

Mary, the alluring blonde-haired girl, was 15 at the time. And the soon-to-be infamous, dashing, raven-haired pirate was 25. From then on, the star-crossed lovers would meet in secret, spending every spare minute with one another. Of course, as with any true love story, problems soon arose as Maria was from a well-off puritanical Christian family that wanted her as far away from Bellamy as she could get.

To them, he looked like any other flamboyant sailor, trying to take advantage of their young daughter. Her father even spoke to Sam in person, telling him that a poor, run-down sailor such as him would never marry his daughter.

Bellamy, having promised himself to her after only a few weeks, made another promise to the young lady. He vowed to join the fleet again and return a wealthy man, deserving of her hand. Mary wanted to hear none of it and didn't care for his standing, yet the tradition of the day dictated that Bellamy would have to bring himself up to her standing if they were to be wed.

Yet work was tough to find, and soon, as did most other down-on-their-luck sailors, he joined a pirate crew. But just as with everything in his life, he didn't become a member of just any pirate crew. He joined the famous pirate Captain Benjamin Hornigold and none other than Edward Thatch, better known as Captain Blackbeard. Not only that, but after a year of serving under them, he ousted both of them after a mutiny and took their ship for himself, becoming a captain at only 27. He began plundering ships of both the British and the Spanish, successfully taking over 50 ships in that one year. Shortly after, even his legend began spreading as both the Spanish and the British spoke of a young pirate that would spare the lives of their crew, even going so far as to give them ships so they would sail to safety.

The title of the "Pirate Prince" and later "The Robin Hood of Pirates" was soon given to him, and even back in Cape Cod, where Mary lived, people heard of his famous exploits.

Unbeknownst to him, Mary had become pregnant from one of their last forbidden rendezvous. Stubbornly, Mary refused to name the child's father, which only fueled the anger of the highly devout Christian community towards her. After only a few short months, they started calling her a witch, saying that she had laid with the Devil.

One other reason, besides her pregnancy, as to why she was called a witch, was that she was very well versed in herbs. Not only that, but she was seen at night, bathing in the surrounding lakes beneath the moonlight, and no self-respected God-fearing woman of the time would do such a thing, nor would she be allowed to leave her house after dark. At least, not without an escort.

Her family, not wanting anything to do with her anymore, threw her in jail, where she lost her child. A few days later, her father did her a "favor" and had her cast out of town. This prevented her from being hanged. Her knowledge of herbs and the fact local Native Americans of Wampanoag took her in as one of their own saved her life in the weeks that followed her banishment.

After a few short months, the witch became famous for her herb remedies and cured many townsfolk. They even gave her the well-known nickname "Goody."

Despite garnering some goodwill with the townsfolk, Mary had all but lost her will to live after the death of her child. All she had left in the world was the hope that her long-lost love would return, just as he had vowed. The condemned teenager kept a constant vigil. According to the Wampanoag, she could be found at the bluffs above the beach both day and night. She was hoping to see Bellamy's ship in the distance.

During that time, Bellamy had acquired his most prized ship, the Gally Whydah, becoming the wealthiest pirate in history. On Whydah alone, he had around 9000kg of solid gold and silver. 

Yet, even after all this time, his heartstrings inexorably pulled him back to Cape Cod and Mary. On his way back, on the 26th of April 1717, his flagship Whydah was caught in a terrible seven-day storm. The ship sunk only several miles off the coast of Cape Cod, where Mary Hallet waited for him.

It was said that the ship's sinking was so loud that, even through the storm, both the Christian and the Native American communities could hear the wood breaking. As a result, only two of the one-hundred-forty-four men on board managed to live to tell the tale. The two were hung soon afterward as pirates.

Unfortunately, and much to the heartbreak of Mary, Samuel Bellamy was not one of them. In the days that followed, Mary would wait upon the shore, waiting for Sam to come home but only finding the splintered parts of the wreckage. According to the Wampanoag people, as she came to accept that he had died, she walked into the sea, never to come out again.

The most tragic part of the tale is that a few months later, King George I of Great Britain promised a royal pardon (today known as the Acts of Grace) to any pirates who wished to accept it. It even promised work and good pay for the sailors and allowed some of the booty to be kept by the captains. Had they both lived to see it, Bellamy would have been a free man and a lawless pirate no more. Thus, the two would be able to marry.

In the centuries to come, the American community would speak of a banshee and a wild wind, screaming in the night, longing for a second chance for their love. At the same time, the Natives spoke of lines in sand formed as the lines of their palms. To them, it meant the young lovers had found one another in the afterlife.

This is one example that some stories don't need to be written down to be remembered or echo through time. Though their tale has inspired many books and documentaries, knowing that two people honestly loved one another was enough for this tale to survive and have a place in the hearts of any who wished to hear it centuries later.