Treasure

The rewards of piracy could be fantastic and some pirates acquired enormous wealth. The great rewards of the Spanish Main are what attracted many pirates to the area. It has been calculated that when the Spanish treasure fleet made its annual visit to Portobello to load up the treasure from Peru, there was likely to be 25 million pesos in silver bars and coins in the town (this was twice the annual revenue of the King of England).

32K jpeg Images of a chest of gold and silver, precious stones and pieces of eight spring to mind at the mention of pirate treasure but often pirates had to content themselves with other booty such as fine linen, the cargo of a merchant ship or everyday items like food, anchors, rope and medical supplies. When Bellamy captured the Whydah, it was carrying a cargo of sugar, indigo, Jesuit Bark (Quinine), silver and gold.

Some treasure was easier to divide than others, silver pieces of eight could be cut up to make smaller change but jewels were less easy to divide. Some of the objects in the exhibition, from the Whydah, bear the knife marks where the pirates tried to divide their loot.

Part of the pirates code was that any plunder be shared out equally, but even with large crews each pirate could make his fortune (Henry Averys haul from the Gang-I-Sawai on the Indian Ocean in 1695 was said to be worth £325, 000 and each crew member received nearly £2, 000.)

The buried treasure often associated with pirates is mainly a romantic myth. One pirate who is known to have buried his treasure is Captain Kidd.