The infamous Blackbeard

Blackbeard is one of the most well known pirates to date. Like most pirates, he started as a sailor on a privateer ship, and then turned towards the life of piracy. One of his first known ship's that he had taken over himself was one he renamed as Queen Anne's Revenge. He then sailed off and committed numerous acts of piracy. With his new ship, he sailed off to Bequia where he took over a French ship and a few joined him willingly while others were forced to join his crew. His next adventure lead him to numerous places along the Lesser Antilles, but when he ended up in Charleston, SC things were a bit more interesting. He blockaded the port to Charleston for a week and ransacked any ships that tried to pass. One of which was the Crowley and those occupants were held prisoner for a ransom of medicine for Blackbeard's crew. Once the medicine was received the prisoners were released, while Blackbeard continued on his way to his next stop. His final stop was in North Carolina, 6 months after he grounded Queen Anne's Revenge and lessened his crew. He ran into an armed contingent lead by Maynard and lost the battle. The loss ended with his head on the blowsprit on Maynard's ship.


What was really interesting was that through all of my research, I never found anything to suggest that Blackbeard was a cruel man. Yes, he was feared and overthrew every ship that crossed his path. Yes, he was fearless and got what he wanted. However, there were no real stories about any gruesome acts of torture to any prisoners. He actually let a lot of the prisoners go once he received the ransom for them. This being said, it does not sound like he was a bad captain to work under. If I were apart of his crew, I think I would definitely have been the surgeon. He seemed to make sure he got what the surgeon would need to aid his crew and for that reason, I would have been thrilled to take on that job. I would want for nothing when it came to working for Blackbeard. When there was a need or a want for anything, he managed to get everything. He was not the most famous, or the most gruesome pirate, but his legend set a lot of what we see in movies in motion. He was one of the few pirates that are the inspiration for a lot of movies, games, and amusement rides today.  Turns out, the devil and himself were not the only ones who knew where to find his treasure. His ship was found and on that ship were some remaining gold's and jewels hidden amongst the cannon's. After Blackbeard had thought he took all of his plunder, it was found that some must have been hidden from him.