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Who is Blackbeard?
Niki Foster
Niki Foster
Blackbeard was the nickname of Edward Teach, a notorious pirate active in the Caribbean in the early 18th century. Though Blackbeard had a short career as a pirate, lasting about two years, he became the quintessential image of a fearsome pirate captain in the popular consciousness. Blackbeard was known for carrying multiple weapons and for having a huge black beard, from which he got his nickname, into which he would weave burning hemp and matches during battle.
Little is known about Blackbeard's early years. His birth date and birthplace are a matter of conjecture, and his surname is variously given as Teach, Thatch, or Drummond. He began his seafaring career as a British privateer, turning to piracy in 1716. Blackbeard commanded a ship he named Queen Anne's Revenge, formerly Le Concorde de Nantes, upon which he had served as a privateer. Blackbeard became the terror of the seas in the West Indies and along the Atlantic coast, as well as becoming the leader of the makeshift pirate settlement in Nassau, nicknamed the "Privateers Republic." The Queen Anne's Revenge had a standing rivalry with the British man-of-war HMS Scarborough.
Perhaps Blackbeard's most notorious feat as a pirate was his 1718 blockade of Charleston, South Carolina. Blackbeard commanded four vessels in blocking the trade route into the city, and the group plundered five ships and prevented many more from entering the port. They also held a number of prisoners hostage and demanded a ransom of a chest of medicines. Blackbeard shortly afterwards ran two of his ships aground in North Carolina, losing much of his crew, and retired to Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina with his treasure.
After this disaster, which some historians suspect was deliberate on the part of Blackbeard, the pirate captain commanded a smaller ship, called the Adventure, with a crew of 19. In November 1718, Lieutenant Robert Maynard was offered a reward by Governor Alexander Spotswood of Virginia to find and kill Blackbeard. Maynard set about the task with two small sloops, HMS Ranger and HMS Jane. On 21 November, Maynard encountered the Adventure and tricked Blackbeard into boarding the Ranger with ten members of his crew. The ensuing battle was long and intense, but Maynard and his crew eventually prevailed, and Blackbeard was killed on the morning of the 22nd.
Blackbeard went down in history as one of the most renowned pirates of the Caribbean, and legends about the famed pirate captain abound. Interestingly, there are no verifiable records of Blackbeard killing anyone, but his image has come to epitomize the ruthless, bloodthirsty pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy. A shipwreck found off the coast of Atlantic Beach, North Carolina in 1996 is suspected to be the Queen Anne's Revenge, but research is ongoing.
Niki Foster
In addition to her role as a PublicPeople editor, Niki enjoys educating herself about interesting and unusual topics in order to get ideas for her own articles. She is a graduate of UCLA, where she majored in Linguistics and Anthropology.
Learn more...
Niki Foster
In addition to her role as a PublicPeople editor, Niki enjoys educating herself about interesting and unusual topics in order to get ideas for her own articles. She is a graduate of UCLA, where she majored in Linguistics and Anthropology.
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Discussion Comments
A little more on the last war with Maynard: Blackbeard killed most of Maynard’s men with grenades and grapeshot. The rest of Maynard’s troops came up from their hiding spots and a fierce fight began. Maynard himself shot Blackbeard in the shoulder, and another officer slit his throat. Blackbeard was nearly decapitated with the second blow.
When Blackbeard’s body was inspected, there were more than 25 wounds, including 5 gunshot wounds. His severed head was placed on the bowsprit of Maynard’s ship and then sailed back to Williamsburg with the remains of the crew in custody. 13 of them were hung in 1719.
I wanted to add another commentary on how Blackbeard got his name. His name was derived from, of course, his long black beard, which covered his whole face. His face seemed to be rather terrifying to most that saw it. He would twist it with ribbon in small amounts and turn them about his ears.
In times of action, he would wear a sling over his shoulders with three brace of pistols. He would stick lit matches under his hat, which appeared on both sides of his eyes and face, making him naturally fierce and wild. He was known as terrifying and alarming.
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