Bully Hayes

William Henry Hayes
"Bully" Hayes, George Arents Collection
Born1827 or 1829
Cleveland, Ohio
Died31 March 1877
In the Pacific Ocean off Kosrae, in the Caroline Islands (Federated States of Micronesia)
Other namesBully Hayes
Occupation(s)Ship's captain, trader and blackbirder

William Henry "Bully" Hayes (1827 or 1829 – 31 March 1877)[1] was a notorious American ship's captain who engaged in blackbirding in the 1860s and 1870s.[2][3]

Hayes operated across the breadth of the Pacific Ocean from the 1850s until his murder on 31 March 1877. He has been described as a South Sea pirate and "the last of the buccaneers".[4][5] However, in their account of his life, James A. Michener and A. Grove Day warn that it is almost impossible to separate fact from legend regarding Hayes; they described him as "a cheap swindler, a bully, a minor confidence man, a thief, a ready bigamist" and commented that there is no evidence that he ever took a ship by force in the tradition of a pirate or privateer.[2] Hayes was a large man who used intimidation against his crew, although he could reportedly be very charming if he chose to be.[6]

  1. ^ Hearn, T. J. "Hayes, William Henry". The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Te Ara. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b James A. Michener & A. Grove Day, Bully Hayes, South Sea Buccaneer, in Rascals in Paradise, London: Secker & Warburg 1957
  3. ^ Earnshaw, John. "William Henry (Bully) Hayes (C. 1829–1877)". Hayes, William Henry (Bully) (1829–1877). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 6 May 2017. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Julian Dana, Gods Who Die (1935)
  5. ^ Resture, Jane. "Alfred Restieaux: Stories of Bully Hayes and others". Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  6. ^ A. Grove Day (1967). Louis Becke. Melbourne: Hill of Content. p. 107.