2:00 pm, April 19, Blackstone Valley Historical Society, 1873 Old Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI. Free Event
From Rhode Island farm fields to the woods of South County and the shores of Narragansett Bay, lost history awaits discovery. On Sunday, April 19 at 2 p.m., Jim Bailey will return to the BVHS to offer a new presentation, “From Pilgrims to Pirates to Patriots: Digging for History in Southeastern New England.” An avid metal detectorist for over 40 years, Bailey will discuss his most noteworthy discoveries dating from the mid-17th century to the Revolutionary War, including many museum-quality artifacts.
Going far beyond a look at the finds themselves, his talk will reveal the intriguing stories behind each artifact and the research that is needed to unearth their long-forgotten history. Bailey will also offer an insider’s look at metal detecting as a hobby or, as Bailey descibes it, an obsession.
The presentation will also provide an update on the continuing recovery of 17th-century Arabian silver coins by detectorists in New England, including one coin found by Bailey in Middletown, RI. His research into the coins connected their distant travels to pirate Captain Henry Every’s robbery of a rich Mughal ship off the west coast of India in 1695—a contender for the biggest heist in the history of piracy.
After the heist, the notorious pirate became the subject of history’s first worldwide manhunt. Publication of Bailey’s work in a research journal revealed Every’s long-unknown voyage to Newport, RI, while on the run in the guise of a slave trader.
“Pirate King” Henry Every’s unknown voyage to Rhode Island made worldwide headlines as the opening of the world’s oldest cold case in April 2021, and was covered by the Associated Press. It has since been the subject of further academic studies and television programs, including “The UnXplained“ on the History Channel.
