In April 1717 the Whydah, flagship of a small flotilla of pirate vessels under the command of Captain 'Black Sam' Bellamy, sank off Cape Cod, Massachusetts during a raging storm. She was reputedly loaded with booty when she went down. The wreck was lost for nearly three hundred years until it was located in the mid-1980s as result of the single-minded efforts of treasure hunter turned underwater archaeologist Barry Clifford. Subsequently systematic excavations have been carried out and some thousands of objects salvaged from the site.
The exhibition tells the tale of the loss of the Whydah and its subsequent location and salvage. It also exhibits many of the items recovered and includes background material on piracy around 1700. It is quite a substantial exhibition, occupying some four floors of the City Art Centre.
The recommended route is to start at the top and work down. The first three floors can be covered quite quickly; frankly there are not many artifacts on display. Most of the space is given over to reconstructions, display boards and monitors showing videos. This sort of 'exhibition' seems to be increasingly common, and I'm afraid that I can't see the point. Unless actual artifacts are on show there doesn't seem a lot of point in going; you might as well stay at home and read a book or watch a video. Perhaps it is a sign of the times that it is assumed that the public's attention can only be held by images flickering across a television screen. One of the most enjoyable museums I've been to in recent years is the town museum in Whitby. It was stuffed full of exhibits, appeared not to have been touched for many years and was all the better for it, but I digress. I also thought that I could detect the dead hand of a certain lumpen political correctness behind the text of some of the display boards, which made pirates sound less like the bloodthirsty cuthroats of legend and more like a bunch of Liberal Democrats on a jamboree. These gripes notwithstanding, there were some highlights on the first three floors. For example, an interesting reproduction of the articles of association of a pirate crew, a very impressive model of the Whydah and two cannon and (particularly) the ship's bell, still immersed in seawater to prevent further decay.
However, the highlight of the exhibition is in the basement, where an extensive collection of items salvaged from the wreck are on display. These range from the domestic (crockery and cutlery) through coins (including the traditional Spanish 'pieces of eight') to firearms (muskets, pistols and various types of shot). These exhibits are all very well worth poring over.
The exhibition was busy on the day I went, and, given the subject matter, it is perhaps not surprising that it should prove popular with children. The booklet accompanying the exhibition is not as detailed as it might be, but at £2 at least it is cheap. I would happily have paid more for a more detailed text, but then I don't suppose the average visitor has an alter ego who is a gunnery officer on a privateer in the 1660s.
In summary, the exhibition is good in parts. The artifacts on display in the basement are very interesting and well worth a visit. Much of the material on the other three floors can be passed over quite quickly. Nonetheless I'd recommend the exhibition as very useful background material for Pete Lindsay's Pyrates campaign.
At the City Art Centre, Market Street, Edinburgh (conveniently close to Waverley station) Monday-Saturday 10.00am-6.00pm, until 11th May 1996.