Did pirates bury their treasure?

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In this video we'll be taking a look at the myth of pirates burying their treasure. Did they ever do it? Did they have maps with an X to mark the spot? A skeleton pointing the way? If they didn't bury their treasure, what did they do with it? Where does the myth originate from?
Sources
The Truth Behind Pirate Myths - Benerson Little
Black Flags, Blue Waters - Eric J. Dolin
Sailing East - Baylus C. Brooks
Period sources:
A relation of the great sufferings - Henry Pittman
The Memoirs of Pere Labat - Jean-Baptiste Labat
Timestamps
0:00 Did poirates berry dey treasur?
6:26 Levasseur's Treasure
9:26 Treasure Hunters? (Indiana Jenkins...)
10:47 Dulaien's Treasure
13:10 William Kidd's Treasure
15:19 The Myth Spreads
17:05 Outro

[@ravenb3048]

Ah yes, something that Sea of Thieves' playerbase gets right: no player in their right minds would ever bury their treasure to hide it, save for a rare and specific occasion.

[@GladstnJones]

For thr longest time I wanted to raid a bunch of gold hoarder vaults, and bury all the treasure on an island, then post the map. Treasure Island in Sea of Thieves

[@cameronpekelder4055]

@@GladstnJones You totally should do it.

[@chrisketterman8752]

I was getting ready to correct you before I saw "except for a rare specific occasion." I like to bury the big chests from fofs and hide the map so if a ship is trailing me to the outpost they won't get the good stuff

[@ravenb3048]

@@chrisketterman8752 As I said, a rare and specific occasion, as in real life. Hope you're having a great time on the seas BTW.

[@Southern_Crusader]

@@GladstnJonesI did that once. Raided a few forts and buried the better chests in the small cave at Lone Cove. No one went to find it.

[@unknowntrooper_2791]

Maybe the real treasure was the tropical diseases the pirates gathered along the way! Great video once more. BTW, not a pirate one but it found out that a real buried treasure was found just a few hundred meter (or a few hundred Yards) from where I used to live as a kid. These were Swedish silver and (mostly) copper coins from the first half of 1700s, buried the perhaps in early 1740s near a lake shore during a war, but they were never recovered until someone was playing with a metal detector and told archaeologist. I later encountered these very coins when working on a museum job. A true story. I never knew there would have been a real buried treasure near my home as a kid when, obviously, I used to play pirate among other things. Anyway, just a random tale how burying treasure was a real thing in the past. Cheers! 🏴‍☠

[@lonelystrategos]

I once read about a number of coins being found during the excavation of a roman villa in Germany (if I recall correctly). The theory was that they were hidden when germanic tribesmen attacked the villa and the owner was killed or never returned to collect them.

[@Sniper_XPEHOB]

I love how even Treasure Island had a logical explanation behind the treasure being buried

[@PoDaBo]

What was the reason

[@LadyTylerBioRodriguez]

I would also add that Edger Allen Poes short story The Gold Bug did a lot to inspire writers and readers that pirate treasure was real. Stevenson admits that the Gold Bug played a role in shaping Treasure Island, and lets not forget that a certain Joseph Smith made money off of William Kidds buried legend long before he founded Mormonism. Also the whole Money Pit saga on Oak Island that started in the 19th century and sadly will not just die. That Kidd legend has proven quite durable.

[@Trebelsi]

The oak island money pit was a ship repair portage. Henry Sinclair and the knights templar/freemasons openly brag about coming here after getting the maps from the Orkneys. You can read all about it on the British Columbia scottish rite freemasonry page, they openly brag. Ever wonder why they wear freemason hats at the roundtable on the oak island show? * or why freemasons meet there annually? We are a joke.

[@piraticvs]

My very first memory of pirates goes way back to second grade, when I read a story about some pirates who were so obsessed with dividing the loot before burying it. So they go to an island and dispute on how they should divide the plunder, after finally settling the dispute, they go back to the ship, but they see it drifting away on the horizon… because they literally forgot to drop the ship’s anchor!

[@unclesham5507]

A ship would have never been left with noone aboard. There's always watch duty. You don't leave the ship.

[@piraticvs]

@@unclesham5507 tell that to whoever wrote that children’s story 20 years ago

[@wolliveryoutube]

@@unclesham5507they also probably would have those small boats they could use to catching up with the ship

[@laylaruan]

@@unclesham5507If only you’d been there to set that author straight you feckin Wally

[@Slippindisc]

2:10 “some crafty people” that would be a fun history lesson! Do a history on the crafty people behind coin clipping!

[@celticperspective5183]

Tunnel dwellers

[@merafirewing6591]

"You want my treasure? You can have it. I left everything I gathered in one place. Now you have to find it." -Gol D. Roger "The One Piece is real!" -Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate I couldn't help myself.

[@_p3t3r_34]

I remember reading a comic once in my childhood (it was from Donald Duck comic series), where the main characters finally find their buried chests of (presumably) treasure, but it turned out to be 300 year old spices, presently in a form of dust. moral of the story: Treasure hunters are schizos

[@miketaboo7579]

Donald duck is your source? Really now who is the schizo?

[@jakemocci3953]

Ah those damn “crafty people” and their coin clipping

[@spirospagiatis4731]

Can you make a video about lesser known pirates like Philip Lyne, John Auger, Captain Napin and Thomas Nickols?

[@3Storms]

Many bought land. I remember multiple Blackbeard documentaries asking where Blackbeard's treasure was, and NONE of them factored in that he bought that plantation house with large chunk of land with something. Also "coin-shaving" dates all the way back to ancient Greek times, and was punishable by death if caught. Sir Isaac Newton came up with the idea of ridges on the sides of coins to combat it where England then declared coins with no or damaged ridges to be illegal currency that's not spendable.

[@yannickreichow4275]

The Stranglethorn Vale Music is the perfect fit for your videos! Booty Bay seems to be a good alternative to the name Tortuga. Keep up the good work, I'm really enjoying it.

[@defiantvoyage]

I was waiting for a Gol D. Roger reference 😔 awesome video tho!

[@brandtproductions]

Can you do a video on ways that they recovered treasure from sunken ships during the Golden Age? I’ve always wondered how. I see the illustration of a diving bell etc but how sophisticated were their methods? Was that the extent of it? What other ways did they recover it as well? This has always fascinated me actually. You hear the stories in the archives etc but you they never touch on how they recovered goods from sunken vessels.

[@user-ek5ci2uk7l]

I grew up very close to Mulberry island (it’s now a military base) and that legend of buried treasure persists to this day among locals.

[@PandoraKyss]

I live in Philadelphia and I naturally love reading about the history of the city. Some years back, when I first played 'Assassin's Creed Black Flag' and realized that pirates were more interesting than I thought, I had found an article that talked about buried pirate treasure, linked to Blackbeard himself, located somewhere along Philadelphia's port. Benjamin Franklin wrote about folks digging around the riverfront. What really got me wasn't so much the treasure, but that Blackbeard made it this far north. Of course, I associated pirates with the whole tropical island cliché, and because I was late to the 'hey, real pirates are fascinating' party, I guess I just never realized the logic of it. Of course pirates were this far north. The early Colonial American cities were linked to the same trade routes that the pirates preyed upon. Philadelphia itself would and become one of the most important trading cities in the mid-to-late 18th century. Early taverns and brothels along the waterfront catered to sailors with names like the Blue Anchor Inn. It all makes for damned interesting reading.

[@TheRiverPirate13]

Enjoyed the video! Stories of pirate buried treasure are just fun to read mate! I do believe Captain Kidd did hide some treasure in caves on the Isla de Mona that he hoped to recover later. There have been coins recovered there in caves and no explanation on how they got there. You don't want to be caught red handed with all the treasure from the Quedagh Merchant! Here in St Augustine FL there is the story of 3 silver bells from the Catholic church that were buried to prevent being taken by General Orglethorpe when he lay sieged the city in 1740. Metal detectors are forbidden to be used in city limits of St Augustine as a LOT of valuable items were buried by the inhabitants but never recovered after the city was destroyed a few times. Lol! Only speaking for myself as a Pirate I have treasure coins washed up on the beach...unfortunately they only amounted to about 2 cents! 🤣

[@Kreege]

the stranglethorn vale music was a great touch

[@dixieboy5689]

Oak Island Canada !! The facts dont lie. Treasures yet to be discovered. I look forward to more updates from there.

[@AliceSokolova]

Thanks for another great video! They're both fun and informative.

[@PandoraKyss]

I just found this channel and subscribed immediately. History? Pirates? Treasure theory? Where have you been in my algorithm?

[@TachibanaSumitomo]

I want to know what happened to the Le Victorieux (La Buse flagship)

[@theheavysleeper2845]

I feel like the myth came up from privateers more so than pirates. Cause privateers would have to give a portion to the government, meaning if they buried a portion that portion would be safe from taxes.

[@mageillus]

No. I would rather spend it all! 🏴‍☠️💪

[@BigCheech-wy9os]

I love that " Why would anyone do that?

[@thehillz726]

I'm remind of the Conan story where he finds a lost pirate treasure, in a posion filled cave, and the only thing he steals is some fancy close to get other pirates to help him haul it out

[@Arariel3]

Thank you for the video and stories!

[@visionplant]

I really like the discussion of how the myth spread in the end

[@MrFantocan]

You say pirates mostly don't do this... Cuse the people whom find the said treasure stay silent and die rich and old, or if they blab about it they just die and the killer dies rich and old... So no one hears about it.

[@Hoosier_Cuddy765]

I know this only has a little to do with pirates but im from Georgia and there are stories about buried Treasure up in the Mountains. I guess after thinking about it for awhile it really wouldn't be too far fetched to believe that Pirates, Privateers, Sailors, Soldiers, or Native Americans Tribes could have buried their Gold, Silver, Bronze, Copper, Diamonds and other Gems knowing it was far enough away from the Sea and Civilization that it wouldnt be found. Its 2023 and people still havent inhabited most of the Appalachian Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, , Caucasus Mountains, and the Cohutta Mountains.

[@balancespirit4706]

I’m from Jamaica 🇯🇲 and there are strong rumors of the Spanish coming back to Jamaica and buying beach front property to reclaim buried treasure. Two hotels in particular where the Spanish came and dug up something from the property before the hotel started construction. Bahia Principe in Runaway bay and Riu Hotel in Mammee bay, both on the north coast. Maybe the Spanish could have hidden their treasure along the north coast because the English kept invading. Anything is possible

[@scottmiller1297]

I would love to see a video on charles vane and one on edward low

[@jelkel25]

You still occasionally hear "Chiseling" (often followed by a word bringing someones parentage into doubt) as an insult in the UK, referring back to coin clipping. Basically a miser with dishonest or underhand intentions.

[@melvin2343]

thanks for all your well-informed videos! i was wondering if you could tell me how pirates would ensure that the forced crew members wouldn't just escape when they were in port somewhere?

[@GoldandGunpowder]

pirates who forced crewmen rarely if ever landed in port until they made enough money to break up the company(split up and retire), and if they did land it was usually in small shitholes like Nassau, St. Mary's, Bunce Island etc where there was basically no law but pirates and if you escaped you'd just get caught by other pirates. they got their supplies and recruits from capturing ships

[@melvin2343]

@@GoldandGunpowder Thanks, that makes sense!

[@j.c.ca.o.l7035]

One of the best stories was the Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe. It is in regards to Captain Kidds Treasure.

[@Captain_Cinnamon]

i like how you note "linnen bags" details matter.

[@GoldandGunpowder]

in the initial draft I noted how they were called "talegas" in Spanish, but...

[@M29WeaselDriver]

Did pirate make anyone “walk the plank”?

[@GoldandGunpowder]

nah

[@1320fastback]

Pirate ships did not have planks to walk like that. That is a hollywood creation. While they did have planks to board and disembark if they wanted you off the ship they'd just heave you overboard.

[@swayback7375]

Let’s see a video on pirate clothes! I just stubbed my pinky toe while watching this and I thought “I wonder if pirates suffered the same”. They’re often portrayed as being barefoot in rags or dressed to the 9s

[@slaterbrazeal3396]

Music sounds like the Barrens

[@ravenblackwing7888]

Maybe the real friend was the treasures we made along the way

[@bookofroger]

Le me pick some trusted crew mates and bury my share of the loot. They won’t betray me right?… right?

[@evankimori]

I recognize most of that background music but cannot remember where it's from. Anyone know?

[@Lavender_menace_]

You owe me reparations for making me remember the barrens with the opening song 😭

[@minhducnguyen9276]

Sometimes the influence of stereotypes is so subtle you don't realize it until somebody point out the obvious illogical details. I believed without question that pirates stored gold in huge wooden treasure chests a discovery channel show depicted a real pirate gold box. It's just an iron box the size of a lunch box. And when they pointed out the reason why pirate treasure chests are not huge wooden chests I was like:"Of course, that's so obvious if you think about it, why couldn't I realize it sooner." First, most of the goods pirate plundered weren't gold so obviously they can't get that much gold to fill a chest. And after dividing the loot between the crew there can't be much left to fill a chest. A single pirate, even a pirate captain, that can fill a lunchbox with gold is already a very successful one to get enough gold to fill chest would be within the realm of fantasy. And if they can stockpile enough gold to fill a chest, it would be physically impossible to do so with how dense gold is. Any wooden chest filled with gold would break at the bottom from all the weight of the gold. If a pirate captain gets more gold than a single iron box can carry he'd just get another one. Not only it's more feasible, dividing the treasure into many boxes and scatter them around is much safer than putting all the eggs in one basket.

[@Eduardo_Ventura]

No. Next video LOL

[@sapeurmaboul4046]

8 : 54 logic !

[@KingEdwardtheTurbulentNeill26]

I think that also some pirate's who were lucky to have there own castle or mansion would have decorated them with the stolen plunder like what Ruari the Turbulent did

[@ZecaPinto1]

Of course not! Had they done that, their "Treasure" would spoil

[@thecreweofthefancy]

Oh no....are you doing a Captain Kidd video this week? At least it's you doing it so I can expect the sarcasm and not taking him seriously as some magically intelligent pirate and don't have to hear Barry Clifford claim he was a Templar Knight....

[@GoldandGunpowder]

yeah, haven't heard about the Templar theory though and frankly I don't want to hear it either

[@thecreweofthefancy]

@@GoldandGunpowder I binge watched the series. My wife laughed at me for how angry it made me.

[@scottmiller1297]

I've heard it was kidd on the gallows with a cryptogram but another story said he gave coradanence to his wife ... But who knows ...I watched a TV show about that theroy with the coradanence being somewhere on deer island Massachusetts I think

[@reiserstreasurehuntingempo8993]

Kidd had a ‘documented’ buried treasure on Gardiners Island, but it was recovered while he was in jail in Boston. (Not to say there wasn’t ‘more’!)

[@reiserstreasurehuntingempo8993]

And then there’s the loot to think about that the mutineers took while in Madagascar and eventually brought back to the colonies. 🏴‍☠️

[@shackle_ton]

Nice WoW music.

[@asahearts1]

1:03 Fanny pack!

[@Dantick09]

The real way to score treasure was to own a tavern in this time period

[@ryanh4775]

The whole time listening to this I just can't help but think of that scene on The Simpsons where the pirate Captain says we're burying the treasure here and the guy tries to intervene and says Captain perhaps instead of burying the treasure why don't we use it to buy things. You know things that we like to which the captain precedes to pull out his gun and shoots the guy in the other guys start digging

[@robertmosher7418]

Pirates were like wealthy people today. Most middle class or low middle class people have more cash on hand or in their bank checking and savings account than most billionaires. Billionaires are wealthy because they learned from someone to make all their money work for them and must go through hoops in order to pull together cash if they were to need cash for something. Mostly they borrow money against their real property in order to finance whatever major purchase they make.

[@User20758]

Of course, where do you think i got my lunch money? Geeez

[@carami6442]

Turns out the real treasure was the slaves we made a long the way

[@rafaelrodrigopachecodasilv8150]

I watching while smoking a bucanero's cigar.

[@barefoofDr]

What do you know of the Oak Island Treasure?

[@GoldandGunpowder]

seems likely it inspired Treasure Island, was initially going to cover it in this video but I cut it out last minute

[@bladestar2322]

Most Pirates would spend their money on Prostitutes, Booze, and Gambling!

[@setituptoblowitup]

Imagine if a pirate electricity 🔌➖➕💡⚡⚡😶‍🌫️ 🧲🪙

[@BigBass63]

The one piece is real!!!!

[@miketaboo7579]

Wikipedia = propaganda. Wikiganda or propapedia? Each mention lowers your credibility.

[@miketaboo7579]

@@apudieboer3654 you dont think so?

[@shackle_ton]

Nice WoW music.