John Julian

John Julian (d. 1733) was the first recorded black pirate to operate in the New World, as the pilot of the pirate ship "Whydah".

Pirates threw the law of the land overboard. That was good news for John Julian, a half-blood Mosquito Indian who joined Samuel Bellamy early in his brief, brilliant career. While on land, Julian's skin made him nobody, on water, his skill made him important. He eventually piloted the "Whydah", which was the leading ship of Bellamy's fleet. Julian was one of 30 to 50 people of African descent in the pirate crew — all were treated as equals.

Julian's life took a nosedive after he survived the Whydah wreck in 1717. He was jailed in Boston but apparently never indicted. More likely, he was sold into slavery. He was probably the "Julian the Indian" bought by John Quincy—whose grandson, President John Quincy Adams, became a staunch abolitionist.

If so, he suffered. A purported "unruly slave," Julian the Indian was sold to another owner and tried often to escape. During one attempt he killed a bounty hunter who was trying to catch him. He was executed in 1733.

References

* W. Jeffrey Bolster - Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail.
* [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2004/02/blackpirates.html National Geographic - Black Pirates]