Things You Didn’t Know About New England pirate John Quelch

5 Things You Didn’t Know About New England PIRATE John Quelch!
Ahoy, mateys! Monkey Mind Escape Rooms is excited to have a new pirate themed adventure: The Legend of the Shoals. While we, the staff, walk around treating every day like it’s International Talk Like A Pirate Day and try to insert “swashbuckle”, “hornswaggle”, and “avast ye scallywags!” into casual conversation, we thought we’d share the fun by introducing you to the real life pirate arrrrr room is inspired by: Captain John Quelch.

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Whether you’ve heard of him or not, here are a few facts you may not know:

1. Mutiny! John Quelch was voted captain of the Charles (a New England ship) after he participated in a mutiny of previous Captain Daniel Plowman. Quelch was Plowman’s lieutenant. And that, friends, is why you always tip your waitstaff.
2. Permission to steal?! Back in the day (early 1700’s), it was a common practice for government officials to issue privateering “licenses”, AKA: permission to steal. This was the government’s way of saying, “Stealing is bad, unless you’re stealing for the government, on water!” Governor Joseph Dudley of Boston hired the crew of the Charles to plunder and pillage French and Spanish ships off the coast of Arcadia and Newfoundland to bring back riches for New England.
3. Treasure! Legend has it Quelch’s crew buried some of their stolen gold on Star Island off the coast of Portsmouth New Hampshire. In the early 1800s, some of the gold coins were found hidden in the stone walls. Maybe some are left?!  
4. Murder. Captain John Quelch has the historical distinction no one ever wanted: He was the first person in the United States to die by judicial murder. After a lucrative one (yes, ONE) year career of scallywagging and skullduggery, John Quelch was convicted of piracy in 1704, without a jury. Apparently New England’s government decided they weren’t getting enough of his plunder, so it was time for him to walk the…too soon?
5. Controversy. Legend has it, as John Quelch stood on the gallows, right before he was hung he made a speech to the crowd, telling them he had first been asked to steal for New England and now he was being hung for it. Then, he took off his hat and bowed.
We hope they applauded. 
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Thanks for learning more about Captain John Quelch! Come check out the legend in action at our newest escape room The Legend of the Shoals at Monkey Mind Escape Rooms, 10 Vaughan Mall, Suite 214, Portsmouth NH 03801. Book your adventure here.

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