Edward "Blackbeard" Teach (~1680 - 1718)

Written by Captain Jack Sparrow

Blackbeard was noted as one of the most ruthless and craziest, but amazing pirates in history. i dont think any other pirate would be my favorite but him though. he knew how to keep his crew in line lol. ok well hears a little bit o history for ya mates! (trust me its interesting)

Blackbeard, also known as Edward Teach, was one of the most famous pirates. his ferocious appearance, his hell_raising antics and his violent death have been acted out in countless melodramas, pantomimes, books and films. he was (probably, no one knows totally) born in Bristol around 1680. he origionally served as a seaman on privateers sailing out of Jamaica, but later turned to piracy.

His flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, was a merchant ship of 40 guns which he had "commandeered" from the French. Blackbeard made himself into an awesome captain who kept his crew cowing in obedience and to terrify the crews of ships he attacked into instant surrender. In addition to his enormous black beard which he plaited and tied with ribbons, he would go into battle with three pairs of pistols strapped across his chest and slow burning fuses tucked under his hat. the fuses were short lengths of the hemp cord dipped in saltpetre which were lit and belched forth clouds of black smoke. He did not waste time with captured prisoners. if a victim did not voluntarily offer up a diamond ring, blackbeard would chop off the finger with the ring which would usually cause the other victims to surrender their jewellery instantly.

His treatment to his crew was equally savage. one fine rainy day on his ship, he was drinking in his cabin with Israel Hands, his first mate. without warning Blackbeard fired his pistols under the table at point-blank range. Hands was wounded in the knee so badly that he was lamed for life. blackbeard's explanation was that, "if he did not now and then kill one of them they would forget who he was." surprisingly, his reign of terror lasted only two years. in 1717 he repulsed and attack from a 30 gun english ship HMS Scarborough and forced four vessels in the Bay of Honduras to surrender without a fight. in May 1718 he sailed to Charleston, Sout Carolina, in company with three other pirate ships. 

He blockaded the harbour, took hostages, and demanded a ransom which included a chest of medicines. the townspeople gave in, and blackbeard sailed away after plundering other ships in the vicinity. In 1718 Alexander Spotswood, Governor of Virginia, announced a reward of 100 pounds for the capture of blackbeard dead or alive, and Lieutenant Robert Maynard of HMS Pearl went to hunt him down. When he found blackbeard, he attempted to board the ship, while blackbeard shouted "damnation seize my soul if i give you quarter or take any from you" A confused and bloody action followed in which the heroic Maynard engaged blackbeard in hand to hand fight on the deck of the pirate ship. blackbeard received twenty cutlass wounds and five pistol shots before he died in a pool of blood. Maynard cut off the head of blackbeard, hung it from the bowsprit of his vessel and sailed back to the James River to claim his reward. The pirates who survived the battle were tried in williamsburg and thirteen were duly hanged.