Blackbeard was so fierce that he has inspired books, movies, and songs such as The Devil's Son by The Jolly Rogers . Recently, Blackbeard was brought back into public conscience with Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in which Actor Ian McShane brings the loathsome pirate to life.
There are so many stories about Blackbeard that I will be posting focused articles about him in the future. Here is a sketch of his life...
Edward Teach was born in Bristol, England in 1680. He sailed with Captain Benjamin Hornigold until he was given command of his own ship. Blackbeard named his ship The Queen Anne's Revenge. He set up his pirating business off of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. According to a National Geographics article, Blackbeard grounded The Queen Anne's Revenge in a sandbar near Beaufort, North Carolina. Blackbeard and his crew escaped leaving the ship to sink. Archeologists are now recovering artifacts of The Queen Anne's Revenge, which will bring more stories about Blackbeard to light.
Blackbeard continued to raid along the Atlantic coast of America, which made the colonial governors either furious or rich depending on their relations with the pirate. The governor of Virginia was opposed to Blackbeard's raids and hired Lt. Robert Maynard to end Blackbeard's pirating. On December 2, 1718, Lt. Maynard's ship drew alongside Blackbeard's ship. Maynard's crew boarded the ship and Maynard and Blackbeard engaged in combat. During the fight, Blackbeard endured 5 bullet wounds and 20 severe sword cuts but kept fighting. Even with so many wounds, Blackbeard appeared to have the upper hand for he broke Maynard's sword with his cutlass, but a Scottish Highlander under the command of Lt. Maynard came up behind the fighting Blackbeard and slashed his throat.
I recently saw a miniseries entitled Blackbeard and was pleased to see how they managed to weave facts about Blackbeard and about the pirates way of life into a captivating story. They do tamper with history a bit, since they have Lt. Maynard spying for the British government, press ganged into working for Blackbeard, and falling in love with the governor's daughter. It is a violent movie, so parents of little pirates take heed.
