Barry Clifford (born May 30, 1945) is an American underwater archaeological explorer, best known for discovering the remains of

Samuel Bellamy Captain Samuel Bellamy ( c. 23 February, 1689 – 26 April 1717), later known as "Black Sam" Bellamy, was an English sailor, turned pirate, who operated in the early 18th century. He is best known as the wealthiest pirate in recorded history, an ...

's wrecked pirate ship ''Whydah'' ronounced ''wih-duh'' the only fully verified and authenticated pirate shipwreck of the

Golden Age of Piracy The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Indian Ocean, North America, and West Africa ...

ever discovered in the world – as such, artifacts from the wreck provide historians with unique insights into the material, political and social culture of early 18th-century piracy. Citing federal admiralty law in 1988, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that 100% of the ''Whydah'' rightfully belonged to Clifford, and he has kept The Whydah Collection intact without selling a single piece of the more than 200,000 recovered artifacts, which includes tens of thousands of coins, more than 60 cannon, and the "everyday" objects used by the crew. Clifford also has exclusive dive rights to the site, which is patrolled by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

and

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

. Clifford maintains a large private facility in which the majority of the ''Whydah'' artifacts are kept for conservation and examination; however, Clifford exhibits a variety of the ship's artifacts, as well as from many other shipwreck discoveries, for the public to enjoy at his Whydah Pirate Museum in

West Yarmouth, Massachusetts West Yarmouth is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Yarmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,012 at the 2010 census. Geography West Yarmouth is located in the southwest quarter of the town of ...

, with a smaller selection of artifacts on an international touring exhibition through a

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

Premier Exhibitions Premier Exhibitions Inc is an Atlanta, Georgia-based company that organizes travelling exhibitions. , the company owned 5,500 ''Titanic'' relics with approximately 1,300 on display in various countries. Its two most prominent exhibits are artif ...

joint venture, called Real Pirates. The Whydah Project has been called "a model of underwater archaeology" by the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources.

Biography

Early life

Born in 1945 on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

, Barry Clifford has been involved in underwater exploration for most of his adult life. He graduated from

Maine Central Institute Maine Central Institute (MCI) is an independent high school in Pittsfield, Maine, United States that was established in 1866. The school enrolls approximately 430 students and is a nonsectarian institution. The school has both boarding and da ...

Pittsfield, Maine Pittsfield is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,908 at the 2020 census. Pittsfield is home to the Maine Central Institute, a semi-private boarding school, and the annual Central Maine Egg Festival. History ...

before earning a bachelor's degree in History and Sociology from

Western Colorado University Western Colorado University (Western) is a public university in Gunnison, Colorado. It enrolls approximately 2,600 undergraduate and 400 graduate students, with 25 percent coming from out of state. Western offers more than 100 undergraduate areas ...

in Gunnison, Colorado, and received graduate training at Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Career

In 1999 and 2000, Clifford and his project team completed three expeditions to

Île Sainte-Marie Nosy Boraha , previously known as Sainte-Marie, main town Ambodifotatra, is an island off the east coast of Madagascar. The island forms an administrative district within Analanjirofo Region, and covers an area of 222 km2. It has a popula ...

off the coast of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, as a Discovery Channel Expedition Adventure initiative and tentatively identified the pirate ship ''

Adventure Galley ''Adventure Galley'', also known as ''Adventure'', was an English merchant ship captained by Scottish sea captain William Kidd. She was a type of hybrid ship that combined square rigged sails with oars to give her manoeuvrability in both windy ...

'' (flagship of

William Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...

) and another pirate ship which could be the ''Fiery Dragon'' (commanded by the pirate

Christopher Condent Christopher Condent (floruit, fl. 1710s), born in Plymouth in Devon, was an England, English pirate who led the return to the Eastern Seas. Career Christopher Condent's real name is uncertain. He has been known under the surnames Condent, Congdon ...

, also known as William Condon). At the time two other shipwrecks were believed to be in the same area. After discovering and decoding cryptic rock carvings, he then used ground-penetrating radar to locate and chart an apparent tunnel-complex, similar to the Oak Island Money Pit, which may have been constructed by late-17th-century pirates. In an ongoing project, Clifford is working to identify suspected in-situ remains of the '' Santa María'' — flagship of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

in his first travel to the Indies, wrecked near modern

Cap-Haïtien Cap-Haïtien (; ht, Kap Ayisyen; "Haitian Cape"), typically spelled Cape Haitien in English and often locally referred to as or , is a commune of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previousl ...

on Christmas Day in 1492. His work as a Discovery "Quest" Scholar to locate this site was the subject of a May 2004 Discovery Channel documentary 'Quest for Columbus'. Also ongoing off the Haitian coast is an archaeological survey project that has tentatively identified four shipwrecks associated with Henry Morgan, including Morgan's flagship ''The Oxford''. In 2010 Clifford returned to lead an expedition to identify the other shipwrecks at Île Sainte-Marie. The expedition is featured in the History Channel documentary 'Pirate Island'. On 13 May 2014, it was reported by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' that a team led by Clifford believed they had found the wreck of the ''Santa Maria'', flagship of Christopher Columbus. Proof of its authenticity was a 15th-century cannon on the wreck site, which is directly out from the beach upon which archaeologists had discovered the site of Columbus' fort, precisely as Columbus wrote in his diary. His discovery is peer-supported. In the following October

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's expert team published their final report, concluding that the wreck could not be Columbus's vessel, claiming fastenings used in the hull, and possible copper sheathing dated it to the 17th or even 18th century. The report was heavily challenged by Clifford saying "It was highly political" and "They conducted a prejudiced and nonscientific investigation of the site." In May 2015, Clifford found a silver ingot in a wreck off the coast of Île Sainte-Marie in Madagascar that he believes was part of Captain Kidd's treasure. This was subsequently found to be composed primarily of lead, and the claim of it being connected to Captain Kidd were dismissed by

: "However, what had been identified as the Adventure Galley of the pirate Captain Kidd has been found by the experts... to be a broken part of the Sainte-Marie port constructions."; Clifford himself has vehemently challenged UNESCO charges as being false and biased. He is also a Fellow of

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

Works

Clifford has authored articles and books on his explorations; including The Pirate Prince, (Prentice Hall/Simon & Schuster, New York, 1993), Expedition Whydah (HarperCollins, New York, 1999), The Lost Fleet (HarperCollins, New York, 2000), Return to Treasure Island (HarperCollins, New York, 2003), They Lived to Tell The Tale (The Explorers’ Club 2007) Real Pirates: The Untold Story...(The National Geographic Society, 2007), and a 2007 National Geographic children's book of the same name. His work has been the subject of television documentaries and features as well; including Black Bellamy's Treasure (PBS), Search for Pirate Gold (Nova), Sea-Raiders (Turner Broadcasting), The Hunt for Amazing Treasures (NBC) concerning his discovery of a treasure-filled cannon from the ''Whydah'', Lost Treasure of King Charles I (Discovery Channel), Sea Tales (A&E), Pirates of The Whydah (National Geographic), The Lost Fleet (Discovery Channel/BBC-One), Quest for Captain Kidd (Discovery Channel), Quest for Columbus (Discovery Channel), and The Pirate Code (National Geographic). In 2008 the National Geographic Channel aired a two-hour documentary about the ongoing excavation of the wreck of the Whydah Gally, featuring in-depth interviews with Clifford. It was subsequently released on DVD. A 2002–03 action-adventure television series entitled "Adventure Inc." produced by

Gale Anne Hurd Gale Anne Hurd (born October 25, 1955) is an American film and television producer, the founder of Valhalla Entertainment (formerly Pacific Western Productions), and a former recording secretary for the Producers Guild of America. Early life Hu ...

was ''"inspired by the real life exploits of explorer Barry Clifford."'' Clifford is also credited as a consultant for that show. He is a Fellow of the Explorers Club, a 2005 recipient of the

Lowell Thomas Award Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, actor, broadcaster, and traveler, best remembered for publicising T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). He was also involved in promoting the Cinerama widescree ...

for underwater archaeology, and an Honorary Member of the

Boston Marine Society The Boston Marine Society (established 1742) is a charitable organization in Boston, Massachusetts, formed "to 'make navigation more safe' and to relieve members and their families in poverty or other 'adverse accidents in life.'" Membership general ...

. In 2006, he was named "Explorer-in-Residence" by the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

in New York.

References

External links