John Julian

For the clergyman and editor of A Dictionary of Hymnology, see John D. Julian.

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

Julian was a half-blood Miskito Indian who joined Samuel Bellamy early in his brief career. He eventually piloted the Whydah, which was the leading ship of Bellamy's fleet, when he was only 16 years old. Julian was one of 30 to 50 people of African descent in the pirate crew — all were treated as equals.

Newspaper item about execution of "Julian the Indian" (Weekly Rehearsal, Boston, March 1733)

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

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.
• National Geographic - Black Pirates