The Whydah and the Ring
The Teye Ba Ring is a small gold ring found in the wreck of the Whydah, a known pirate ship. What was this ring, and more importantly, what was the Whydah?
The Whydah was a slave ship, originally built in London, England. It was commissioned as the Whydah Galley in 1715, named after the slave trading port of Whydah in Africa. Typically pronounced Wee-dah, although in New England, where it eventually met its demise, it is pronounced wih-dah. Sir Humphrey Morice commissioned the ship, a well-known slave-trader in parliament. [1]
The ship set sail in early 1716, making its way to the port of Whydah, Africa and taking with it around 500 slaves. Also taken were possessions from these captured men and women, included a gold ring stamped “Teye-Ba”. Teye-Ba was a common Senegalese name for a male in the era, so it is assumed it was taken from a man. These items were put in a chest among other confiscated goods. Also taken from the port was ivory, gold and other trade items. [2]
The Whydah traveled to the Caribbean, where it sold off the slaves and traded for other precious cargo, like sugar, spices, and other materials useful in the era. The ship began to sail up the East Coast on the American Colonies, only to meet Samuel Bellamy, known as “Black Same Bellamy”. There are not too many records to the background of Bellamy, or his supposed “love”, Maria Hallet, has even less documentation, to the point where she may not exist beyond the stories handed down. [3]
Bellamy took the Whydah, making it his new flagship the Marianna by her side. The Sultana was gifted to the prior captain of the Whydah, Lawrence Prince, in reward for his surrender.[4]
The Whydah sailed on towards New England, finally reaching Wellfleet, Massachusetts on the night of April 26th, 1717. They were met with a Nor’easter, not uncommon along the Cape Cod coast, where many ships have met the same fate. Most died, with only 9 total survivors, in which 7 would be hung for Piracy. [5] Out of the 9 survivors, one man stands out, which is Hendrick Quintor. Quintor was a mulatto, originally from a Spanish brig before deciding to become a pirate. He may have survived the sinking of the Whydah, but he did not survive the gallows. [6]
While this is a brief overview of the history, skipping many important names, ships, and details, it is more about the ring. The Whydah was discovered in 1984 by Barry Clifford, and with its wreck was one of the few times there was a treasure chest full of coins, just like the iconic movies. It was most likely due to the sales of the slaves and trading of goods, not ships just traveling with coins. That ring is proof of the men stolen from their homes, that rode shortly on the Whydah, which was destined to become a pirate ship.
The photo in this exhibit page is from the West Yarmouth, MA, Whydah Pirate Museum, where the ring currently lives.
[1] Barry Clifford, “Whydah Pirate Museum,” Whydah Pirate Museum, May 2022, https://www.discoverpirates.com/.
[2] Barry Clifford, “Whydah Pirate Museum,”
[3] Rakashi Chand, “The Beehive. the Official Blog of the MHS.,” The End of Piracy: Pirates hanged in Boston 300 years ago | Beehive, November 15, 2017, https://www.masshist.org/beehiveblog/2017/11/the-end-of-piracy-pirates-hanged-in-boston-300-years-ago/.
[4] Barry Clifford, “Whydah Pirate Museum,”
[5] Microfilm edition of the Cotton Mather papers, a joint publication of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the American Antiquarian Society.
[6] C. R. Pennell and Kinktor Kenneth, Black Men under the Black Flag, in Bandits at Sea: A Pirates Reader (New York, NY: New York Univ. Press, 2001).