Edward Teach aka Blackbeard

Nov
08

8 November 2007, @ 3:50 am

There isn’t much historical fact to state that Blackbeard’s real name was Edward Teach, however, it is a commonly held belief. He was definitely British, born sometime in the late 17th century.

Privateer

Early accounts suggest that, as a young seaman, he first served on a British Privateer somewhere around Jamaica. Privateers were, in effect, state sponsored pirates - a head of state would issue papers allowing piracy against their enemies.

In the case of Edward Teach, his ship was permitted, by Queen Anne, to attack French and Spanish vessels during the War of the Spanish Succession. By the end of this war Teach had become a very capable and experienced pirate.

Pirates in the Caribbean

He soon joined up with other pirates in the Caribbean before stealing a ship and becoming a captain. He made improvements to his vessel, making it heavily armed with cannon, swift and versatile and able to hold a crew of over 200 pirates.

Roaming around the Caribbean, Teach would spot a ship and then run up a flag to indicate they were from the same nation. Gaining the other vessel’s trust, his band of pirates would then move in close, shoot the helmsman and then attach grappling hooks as the ship fell out of control.

Contrary to popular films and books, most merchant ships did not carry gold or other treasure. A more likely booty would be food, rum, tools and ammunition. These were divided amongst the crew according to pre-determined shares that saw the offices profit much more greatly than the ordinary pirates. If they managed to capture a ship of quality then they would steal that too.

Murder

With piracy, kidnap and murder, Teach’s fame began to grow. In line with his reputation, he grew both his hair and his beard. Into his beard he tied black ribbons and under his hat he would often have burning pieces of rope in order to make himself look more imposing. At this time he began to refer to himself as Blackbeard.

Whilst piracy certainly wasn’t condoned at this time it was sometimes tolerated - Blackbeard was selling his stolen goods for far less than they could be imported for from Britain. For this reason, Colony officials would often look the other way when Blackbeard was in town.

Around Autum of 1718 Blackbeard settled in a hideaway he had near the island of Ocracoke. here he hosted a huge and wild gathering for many of the key pirates in the Caribbean at that time.

Upon learning of this the governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, decided to make a name for himself by putting a permanent end to Blackbeard.

Spotswood send two small and fast ships - sloops - to intercept and trap the pirates. Blackbeard saw them coming but new his own ship was trapped by sandbars. He also knew that when the tide rose the sloops were shallower and would come to before he could escape.

The battle

The following morning the sloops, commanded by Lieutenant Robert Maynard, set sail. Blackbeard just stood by the wheel for a while, causing his men to wonder what he was up to. At the last minute he set sail for the island, giving the impression he was going to beach his ship. Blackbeard had a plan though - he knew of a small passage which he took. Giving chase, the sloops crashed into a sandbar.

Maynard’s ship was stuck, the other destroyed. Maynard ordered his men to toss anything they could spare overboard to lighten the ship. As they freed themselves of the sandbar, Maynard and his men hid below deck with their swords and pistols ready. They drifted towards the pirate ship and Blackbeard and his crew duly boarded what looked like a deserted ship.

Maynard and his men took the pirates by surprise and a bloody battle ensued. Maynard faced Blackbeard and they fired shots at each other. Blackbeard’s shot missed but Maynard was more fortunate. Blackbeard still attempted to kill Maynard with his sword however. Fortunately a seaman slashed Blackbeard’s throat just in time.

As a warning to others, Blackbeard’s head was severed and carried on Maynard’s sloop. Maynard searched for Blackbeard’s treasure but found nothing of value. Since that time there have been many stories of where this treasure may still be hiding but that’s a story for another day…

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