The Gentleman Pirate | Sundance Rejects

[Music] [Music] [Music] this can't be it where's that damn letter there has to be another way prisoner is it time have have you got any mail not today mr bonnet are you sure quite sure come on now you know there really should be a letter from the governor arriving soon move it get away from the prisoner wait get back stop don't do it on behalf of the crown for the high crime of piracy we sentence you steve bonnet to death by hanging of the neck may god have mercy on your soul no way [Music] 30 years prior on the island of barbados the year is 1688. meet baby steed bonnet son of wealthy sugar plantation owners mr and mrs bonnett young steed has a brilliant life playing with legos and [ __ ] but then in 1694 at age six steed's father died and young steed inherited the estate and all of the responsibilities that came with it his mother would make sure that he was brought up educated and given all of the advantages that minor nobility could offer he was even handed the role of major in the military and otherwise steve's path in life was relatively straightforward and set out for him until in 1709 when he would marry mary ellenby together they would have four children three sons named ellenby edward and steed and one daughter mary mary could you pass the syrup you can have syrup when you fix up this house i was talking to our daughter whatever steed uh yes mum not you your father i'm the man of the house ladies first give it here [Applause] [Music] you need to get yourself together steed look at this place it's in tatters [Music] well fine yes okay i'll take care of it so bonnet snuck out to the loan office another loan ah yes 200 please i can give you 100. what we can't keep doing this bonnet you're seventeen hundred dollars in debt you're a lost cause but i have a family and a sick chair boy i miss the part where that's my problem i've got a boy as well you know he's a little [ __ ] ah well i'll i'll take the hundred then bonnet solemnly returned back home money in hand so 100 pounds ought to do it where's that syrup that won't even be enough to pay the workers this season i know it's not good enough the farmstead needs repair a gust of wind and it could fall over at any moment the farmstead is fine look at it oh well at least it can't get any worse but two weeks later it did get much worse in fact a hurricane came along and destroyed pretty much everything ow i'll take care of it more and more stress was being piled onto steed's shoulders family problems compounded by money problems how come you're dressed like a pirate i cuz i be a pirate and you need a loan i not all bells and whistles is it to be sure cool come on instead let's get this over with okey dokey well well yes i know i know but look i'm in deep [ __ ] here please i'll be happy with anything you can give me hmm all right then come on here you go don't spend it all at once really that's about what you're worth bonnet now get out of here ah how can i help you today sir money or your life will you take my son instead what am i supposed to do now what kind of life is this just going deeper and deeper into debt [Music] hey someone stop that guy ah matey hi cheers matey [Music] why did you let him get away i missed the part where that was my problem wow what a guy i wish that were me [Music] what is this where am i can anyone hear me mama papa i don't understand this feeling so strange like a bird car car captain bonnet what did you say carl greatest pirate who ever lived captain bonnet bought it [Music] are you getting up [Music] [Applause] are you even listening to me you're always looking at this dad how the wedges come loose in 1715 steed's son ellenby died [Music] steed had finally reached his limit no more today is the day listen kids allenby was like a son to me and anyway it's time for me to go and just like that steed walked away from his family [Music] the world better be ready for captain captain bonnet hmm that could work [Music] it's beautiful yeah excuse me are you looking to have a ship built uh yes please well we could do that for you ah perfect then my pirating adventures can finally begin pirating you know you know most pirates just steal their ships well i'm not like the other pirates well clearly i also hold rank in the military alright come with me so steve rounded up any trinkets or heirlooms he could get from home and what little left of his inheritance and commissions to have a ship built a sloop outfitted with 10 cannons enough room for two score men and even a library i need something intimidating sounding something really scary [Music] i'm almost ready all i need now is a crew of course the salty spittoon he waltzed into the roughest toughest bar in town i'd like to hire 70 of your roughest toughest men please and uh one quarter master too please i'll be your quartermaster sir no i'll be your quartermaster eeny meeny miny moe thank you captain oh and you can be the boatswain stead would lean heavily on the quartermaster because he had no idea what the hell he was doing so anyway steve and his crew went to the revenge to begin their journey of the pirates it's spring 1717 and everything was ready steed was prepared to do his first pirating ever and start his life anew he paused am i am i making the right decision [Music] let's go men ah now the great steed bonnet set sail on his first journey to be the greatest pirate alive nay the greatest pirate to ever have been alive it is my destiny what's our first move captain ah okay so quartermaster what do we even do well sir there's a colony near chesapeake bay that has some fairly expensive ships roaming around right let's go there [Music] so they set sail for the east coast of the new world so quartermaster must be getting close now sir we've been sailing for less than an hour so like another 15 minutes or so actually it will take a few weeks captain oh oh well what the hell do you guys do to pass the time oh there's plenty to do sing shanties tie knots get scurvy uh i guess i could read some more feel free to borrow any books you want that's just don't get them wet ah captain most pirates can't read seriously you guys can't read well i guess i could read you if you want yeah awesome great no well come around lads this one's a doozy chapter one the very hungry caterpillar in the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf one sunday morning the warm sun came up and pop out of the egg [Music] chapter 108 the very hungry caterpillar is on trial for his war crime ship ahoy captain what do we do it's a merchant vessel your orders kept [Music] quick we need to forward mark on the port with the riggings and and the cannons so do a 360 ollie around their back um the back of the boat not their backs the boat the back of the boat captain you'd better get changed quickly into your combat uniform we're going to need your bravery to lead the charge yes of i'll be right back okay men bring the ship around the starboard side we're opening fire on mark prepare the boards the part of the cannons three paper only the remaining all chain shot we give warning but get ready for a chase yeah stand by sir impeccable timing we're waiting on your account uh count down from three and say five oh uh three two two fire they opened fire on the merchant ship and it quickly surrendered over the next few months they sailed all around delaware sometimes having a little success and sometimes falling off their face they had captured and plundered four ships near virginia and two more near new york when another fled to barbados to spread the word of their piracy they chased it down and burned it to ashes now a quick lesson on pirating what happens on a typical pirate ship is that you plunder someone else's vessel and split the booty a muffled the crew however steed would do things differently dibs no split instead his crew would receive wages successful plunder or not too good to be true hey lads that way they could rely on a regular income not a bad idea in principle passing through the carolinas they took two more ships using one of them to repair the revenge herself despite his inexperience steed was already gaining a name for himself being a literate man a man of status turned criminal and known for never harming the crews of the boats he plundered eventually he earned himself the title of the gentleman pirate let's step things up a notch lads set sail for the bahamas nassau we're going to the pirate city our captain mano wore off the starboard side it's heading right for us oh mateys that's our next victim or her a bit dangerous don't you think captain no quartermaster it'd be tiny she'll be fine sir you may find that it gets larger as we approach the great pirate steed fears no fleet nor a puny vessel that gareth approach me man ye stations quartermaster very well captain oh my that is a big boy bonnet and his crew attack the enormous warship this is generally regarded as a bad move oh god oh the revenge was absolutely dominated with a full half of steed's crew either injured or dead by the end of the fight bonnet himself was also badly wounded retreat but the revenge manages to scramble away and head for the pirate city of nassau pulling into nassau bonnet replenishes his crew repairs his ship and picks up some more supplies limping up the docks bonnet happened to bump into a couple of pirates you may have heard of benjamin hornigold and edward teach although you may know edward by his other name blackbeard that's quite a limp you got there captain uh what can us pirates say tis but an injury of war i was dodging cannonballs and stubbed me i took out like 80 guys with um just one pistol yeah you should have seen it sounds like quite the battle yes although i need to put up for a while recover from my injuries restock regroup you know the evening carried on and the drinks flowed can i uh yeah i got something to tell you i'm i'm in a lot of pain over here and i i think i'm a little in over my head but i can't let the men see me weak they rely on me for their booty the seas take a toll on a man you know when i had a ship i had a similar problem really i you know how i fixed it i had a temporary shadow captain oh it was the best he took care of everything and even taught me a thing or two while i could sit back and read a book yeah interesting and everyone thought i was still leading everything and we made tons of cash and when i was better he simply handed back the keys i was wonderful i think i might do it again soon but i'm sure it's not your thing no wait that sounds perfect well where can i find someone like that that be tough you need someone strong and experienced someone who inspires confidence with a black beard preferably blackbeard i have an incredible idea oh go on would you be my temporary shadow captain wow i am shocked this truly came out of nowhere i'll have to give it some thought oh please you simply must all right fine you twisted me arm excellent i'll make the preparation i've already started loading my stuff on board oh i'd like you all to meet our new vice president of nautical coordination the infamous black beard wow oh my god wow a captain uh captain are you sure this is a good idea you suck of course it is and i'm tired of you second guessing the captain thank you pal with blackbeard and his crew of tough boys on our side we'll be unstoppable very well sir how embarrassing right in front of our new guests too you're not gonna let him off the hook are you captain ah no in fact you know what quartermaster i've had enough of the backchat i'm demoting you to one eighth master ignatius pal will be my new quartermaster aye aye as you wish sir well then it's settled let us set sail and make our way to the place where all the greatest treasures are kept well first delaware and now a new adventure the most exciting place in the whole world so they set off again to delaware but this time blackbeard could see firsthand what bonnet was really like as a captain time to help out my crew [ __ ] [Music] you don't want to trip [Music] i'll hang that up for you ah that'll get it nice and clean who's got the tiny whities just kidding them yep they're mine [Music] ever seen this one boys i call it the uh the human cannonball [Music] please i'm scared look at me guys i am man girl icarus can eat my ass captain bonnet yes black beard could you join me for a moment what's up eb you're looking a bit pale captain maybe you should rest up for a little while longer but i feel pretty good actually captain i insist exciting exciting stuff out there oh sir yes top secret i'm afraid can't tell you but uh so much treasure is going to be happening soon congratulations sir yes if i may can i just tell you a brief anecdote uh go on well the last ship i worked on was called the quintessential it was a beautiful vessel and it was helmed by a wonderful captain but he constantly had bad luck eventually the captain brought on board a deputy or shadow captain if you will where is this going well sir the deputy was very effective he was experienced and cunning and soon they had a lot of success 150 barrels of nutmeg silver from china it was a time of plenty and everyone was happy about it so happy sir and all the crew wanted it to continue indefinitely they attributed their success to the new deputy and of course it ended with the deputy becoming the captain okay i think i see where this is going i sir so after they cut off the head of the old captain and threw it into the ocean and then abandoned the rest of us on nassau wait what don't listen to him captain blackbeard would never try to take your crew or your ship the eighth master is just trying to undermine your better judgment no not at all blackbeard already has a crew a small crew well as quartermaster i side with the captain enough my men love me and i love them like a father loves his cheer see you later kids bad example but that's not going to happen i trust blackbeard and that's enough squabbling between you two huh yes sir [Music] how's the toe this morning good still uh still a long road ahead though i'm glad to hear it captains captain just one yes anyway vessel ahead what followed next was a series of successful raids and takeovers blackbeard would intimidate the cruise and was a lot less polite than steed about taking what he wanted he was known for putting the fear of death and torture into his targets although records show he never actually killed anyone attack [Music] oh my god blackbeard is a heart right now you it wasn't long before they were one of the most feared and successful crews on all the seas blackbeard had made them rich made them confident it was everything steed had wanted to achieve to the captain you are thank you thank you you're too kind really oh yeah is that all you had in you lads let's get those cheers going all right almost there excuse me friendo sunday though right pal anyway big thanks with blackbeard at the helm the men went on to plunder 11 ships near delaware bay their bad luck had turned around black black beard but steve could feel that with each passing day he had less and less control over the situation hey lads uh want me to read tonight still got a few chapters left feeling pretty tired tonight captain another time maybe oh okay no problem still recovering from his injury he would hobble around the deck book in hand with nothing to do but mentally wrestle with the situation bonnet and blackbeard sailed back to the caribbean where they made one last booty plunder together it was a 200-ton ship named the concorde and not only did they take the cargo but they took the vessel as well and blackbeard went this one's much nicer this will be my main ship now blackbeard sailed on to the grenadines where he renamed his ship the queen anne's revenge and then blackbeard and bonnet simply parted ways he actually gave back the ship how's the tow oh much better ready to go again here you go here's your ship and your crew back thanks no worries and everything went back to normal bonnet sailed onto the west caribbean with his crew and blackbeard went to nassau sea eighth master everything went great i have my ship and my crew back told you i'm pleased for you captain and for us as well right now let's do one more job but this time without the training wheels on a lads i let my great pirate legacy continue but the eighth master could read the men better than steed could he knew that they were fickle they now had a measuring stick for what successful pirating looked like and if steed couldn't live up to the kind of leadership that blackbeard could offer they would very quickly reassess their options ah it's march 1718. i'll do the exposition for a bit we sailed around honduras for the last couple of months not doing a whole lot really but getting ready and burning through supplies and now we're about to plunder our first vessel since blackbeard left and we're just so excited it's going to go very well but it didn't go very well at all they targeted a 400 ton merchant ship the protestant season and it proved to be far too slippery for them after a brief fight it escaped and all that steed was able to acquire were a few injuries for his crew his men had had enough um just gonna uh um pop to the little boys room back in a bit fellas oh this isn't good they're going to revolt we should return to port immediately um well uh okay okay okay no um sir oh i've had a word with the men sir there seems to be a general consensus of discontent no [ __ ] are they gonna do a mutiny sir i think the situation is nearly that dire but if you do plan to return to shore i would caution against it yeah you would sir if you dock the crew will abandon you entirely it's hardly a better situation than a mutiny and once docked you'll be defenseless to stop anyone from seizing the revenge so what do i do calm reassurance and a small victory sir double down gamble on one more plunder yeah captain he's saying that because he knows if they mutiny the men would put him in charge that's not the reason although that's not the worst outcome either the men trust me i can ensure that you're unharmed and we can take you back to the port from there it would be no worse than the predicament we are all you made me your quartermaster for a reason and demoted this guy for undermining you at every step either we go to port or i'm done sir there is only one option here to maintain your ship and crew let's go back to nassau very well sir i will ready them in for port so they returned to nassau where blackbeard was also stationed the moment they hit the dock just as the eighth master predicted the men abandoned steed easy lads that's okay hey now whoa and seeing blackbeard was in town they headed straight for him black black beard take us back we need you black black black beard let's talk that's about what happened anyway do you think you can help convince them to stay with me and not mutiny drinks gentlemen oh yes please can i have a glass listen here bonnet you are the most incompetent pirate i have ever seen in my entire life you think i like being a pirate we weren't all born with rich parents who could send us to school to learn to read and write oh i can reach up for me it was this or unloading cargo in bristol like my father before me until me back gives in and i'm lying in the gutter shut up this isn't a game and i haven't got any time for some boy who wants to play pirate i'm putting my second in command richards in charge of the revenge your crew is mine consider yourself a hostage i'll see to it that you're not harmed but one step out of line i could leave you here with nothing stranded no ship no crew how long do you think you'll last with your face plastered on wanted posters all over the caribbean you're lucky i'm giving you the option so which is it aye aye captain waitress yes sir rum of course sir [Music] drink it is [Music] is and so steed was effectively a hostage on his own ship well uh i'm all done mateys are you i think you missed a spot where [Music] right there richards richards richards ironing and from now on we're going to be doing things the right way you're [Music] are steed oh captain can i can i help you as a matter of fact you can bonnet you're needed at the home really ah it hasn't been mopped yet [Music] oh what have i done what do i do maybe i um don't give up steedy believe in yourself but papa what do i do believe in yourselves give me guidance papa i must go now remember to never stop not giving up something so you just got here i'm i'm going through a tunnel i've got to go steedy may 1718 vessel our pet captain looks like we've got ourselves a new ship grab the captain and take the vessel oh [ __ ] in it algae oh that hurts from now on you captain your ship under my flag or you walked the plank understood how close is land in it not close all right i'll join you welcome to the fleet throw them in bonnet's quarters first time having your ship taken over no then i'm in good company steed bonnet avid area in it nice to meet you harriet blackbeard continued pirating around the caribbean but his recent successes had come at a high cost and many of his men were badly injured they needed medicine and they were wanted by authorities pretty much everywhere with few options left blackbeard made a very bold move he sailed into charleston dropped anchor and blockaded the entire port oh my god [Music] i hate pirates blackbeard attacked any merchant ships attempting to flee and he took some of them hostage as well for bargaining this is widely considered one of the boldest moves any pirate has ever made now the governor of charleston robert johnson was feeling the pressure of the pirates on his doorstep he gave in to blackbeard's demands i'm colonel rhett i have your medicine yay madison well well the gentleman pirate is here as well oh um hi look men his eyes are red he looks like he's been crying hahaha let us all laugh a captain working under blackbeard huh doesn't seem voluntary to me lance we shall laugh twice all right captain play time's over let the grown-ups talk steed that's enough go inside yeah go inside bonnet i hate being a pirate not fat hand the medicine over very well and what about the hostages [Music] dangerous game you're playing bb my men will be seeing you soon true to his word with the medicine blackbeard freed the hostages and broke the blockade over in england king george has decided to take action right this is dumb but blackbeard isn't we're not going to catch him i think it's time we negotiated with this guy he passed the act of grace which granted clemency to pirates who renounced their piratey ways and even offered them work as pious on behalf of the crown to pirate against the spanish news of the act spread quickly but it was hard for pirates to know if it was actually true what if it was all a ruse what would stop prosecutors from simply reneging on the deal june 1718 blackbeard's fleet sailed for top sail island to rest and refit their vessels when they arrive at shore bonnet and blackbeard were informed about the royal pardon an act of grace wow nice richards a moment oh my god blackbeard and richards are so hot right now so barnett yes we've got a fair amount of stuff and i'm ready to retire we're gonna take the deal what about you count me in sounds sounds great hey um yes captain you know how like we're really good buddies we've been through a lot now i've got a bit of the uh um scurvy i think are me too oh oh no yahar exactly so i was thinking would you be able to go and accept our pardons on our behalf i yeah i could do that so he was given his own small sailing vessel and set out to acquire a couple of get out of jail free cards bath north carolina god i hope this is real and it was real bonnet received a full pardon from governor charles eden and requested a clearance to take the revenge to the denmark caribbean colony of saint thomas where he planned to begin privateering against the spanish navy he also collected blackberry's pardon things were turning around he had become a somewhat successful pirate and he had just been given a job brilliant so bonnet returned eagerly to topsail island to retrieve the revenge however upon finding his vessel he realized that he had been betrayed blackbeard had stripped the revenge of all of its valuables bonnet's crew had been left marooned on a sandbar nearby well this sucks so are we going to starve to death here we'll probably die of thirst or exposure before that well that's what we get for trusting blackbeard amen we need to put our trust in steed once again he will be the one who comes back for us i know he will i couldn't catch any fish what do we do calm down harriet you calm down mutton chops in it barnacle boy we wait we wait and we pray that steed will get to us in time what is that captain captain captain [Music] hang on before you all make peace let's get something straight sure maybe steve isn't the bravest maybe he's not the brightest either or very tough and he's kind of skittish sometimes but he has the heart of a captain he could have left us on that sandbar to die and yet here we are what were we before steed gamblers drunks second-rate pirates without a vessel without leadership bonnet we own our lives to this man now let's hear it captain bonnet we'll follow you to the end captain captain bonnet no don't cheer for me yet man oh you can do that later but for now no more mr nice pirate blackbeard robbed me of my dignity he robbed me of my ship and now i don't even have the means to become a privateer bonnet was done being walked over he set out to hunt down blackbeard quartermaster it's time to get serious i admit it i've been a [ __ ] captain until now but i've hit rock bottom i'll do anything to make this work teach me we'll make a captain out of you yet sir ready set montage [Music] [Applause] [Music] well then crew we've got a party to go to and blackbeard's invited captain uh hang on a minute apes master let's take inventory oh sir all of our possessions were stripped remember oh right emergency meeting uh what's the plan man we need to do just a couple more plundering jobs as pirates but if i do that i'll nullify my pardon what if we adopt an earliest name for the ship and continue pirating in secret we can gather enough resources and hunt down blackbeard why are you still here harry it's a buddy of mine yes he wants to help he's a no-nonsense guy with the heart of a captain and he has a great sense of humor anyway how's it going buddy pretty good but i'll be having seaweed dreams for a while [Laughter] okay serious faces boys what are we doing now you put on disguise and change your name and then we change the ship's name that way we can go pirating again like with someone else in it um sounds risky look steed we don't have many options here and what would happen to us if we got caught pirating again well there's a 100 chance that they'll hang up if we get caught there's got to be another option yeah there's a there's another option i'm sure mary will welcome you back at the farmstead well i don't want to take the risk unless everybody's on board figuratively speaking [Music] okay i have an idea so steve changed the ship's name to the royal james and adopted the name captain thomas brilliant no one will figure it out and they set sail again as pirates in late june 1718 bonnet learned that blackbeard was moored at okra coke inlet on his way there he engaged ships under the false pretense of trade and then plundered them for their valuables this time he was much more ruthless your money are your life bonnet was starting to become a true pirate on his journey north to delaware bay bonnet pillaged 13 vessels taking the last two sloops as part of his own fleet the francis and fortune he was starting to become more violent now attacking and killing those in his way [Music] oh good riddance listen up guys on this ship no more diddle daddling or that's a paddling some diddling a foot no drunk on the job this isn't some fiddling is it no recite the abc's backwards i can't read bondage would even threaten to sink his own ships for lagging behind hurry up he scallywags are i'll burn you alive bonnet now divvies up the loot like a regular pirate he is no longer offering wages he was truly a changed man around 12 days later bonnet decides to rest and repair the royal james in the estuary of cape fear river it's here that bonnet decides to wait out the rest of the hurricane season as steed continued to pirate he was becoming a more wanted man the disguise as captain thomas did nothing for him at all oh my god bonnet is so hot right now local governments had had enough by late august authorities knew that steele was moored at cape fear and they were going to meet him ah bonnet i will have you uh you're the bane of my existence but you lack respect for the law you have a lack of dignity [Music] honor yes men come in i was just wiping my face i want this disgusting pirate bonnet hunted down and dealt with immediately any questions good luck man the naval expedition was led by colonel william rhett two of his ships sailed for cape fear the flagship henry and a sloop the sea nymph 26th of september 1718. the british fleet reached the mouth of cape fear however they weren't ready to fight yet the henry accidentally ran itself to ground and the cents had to wait around until it could get free with the rising tide ah captain there's a ship approaching from a distance ah merchant ships most definitely ready for the plundering send three canoes out and capture them aye aye captain three canoes left the ship to scout out the two vessels but as the canoes got close it became apparent that these were not merchant ships but in fact heavily armed military vessels the men quickly turned their canoes around and returned to the royal james captain captain captain islands those are not merchant ships they are military vessels oh bonnet was faced with a choice either flee up the river navigating the narrow channels in the dark or turn and fight their way out of the river's mouth hop aboard mateys we have preparations to make uh prepare the ringing and fall back sir no quartermaster we fight quartermaster captain but i don't want to break this moment but i'm gonna need you to trust me i've had your back since day one and we've been on a lot of adventures together now and i know you don't listen to my advice too often but to be fair steed oh my god you get everything wrong how did you how can you do this every time you just [ __ ] [ __ ] up you're dumb you're done boy let's retreat mr bonnet we still have blackbeard's fleet to chase down we can all climb aboard our smallest ship and navigate our way through the winding river all right for once in my life i might actually agree with you captain what company colonel colonel rhett playtime's over captain we wait for the cover of night let the battle begin as the sun began to set and the tide began to rise the maroon ship the henry was lifted off the river bottom and could join the cenium once more slightly up the stream in the dark of night bonnet abandoned two of his vessels and brought all 46 of his men aboard the royal james there would be a fight come daybreak there's no turning back now henry and the royal james drift closer to one another the air still in tensions rising [Music] fire fire both ships lose a volley of cannon fire tearing each other apart rip tries to bracket the royal james between his two ships bonnet would have to act fast to avoid being torn apart by cannons from both sides in an evasive maneuver he pulls hard towards the west bank however this was a big mistake the royal james ran aground so did the henry and the scene from up on the shore both sides would continue to fire upon each other bonnet jumped on deck and threatened any of his crew that showed cowardice if you don't kill them it's another paddling for the lot of you uh captain oh my god no medic captain i fear that i am gravely wounded no no no you're gonna be all right medic medic just just hold on i'll i'll i'll push it all back in hold still oh oh god it keeps falling out again it's so slippery [Music] i think this goes here oh you don't even need this oh oh i'm not a doctor but i think you'll live hold on maybe if i tip you upside down it will slide out it has been a pleasure serving you mr [Music] captain oh nice shot thanks been practicing no hostages no survivors amazingly bonnet's crew was dominating the english fleet the henry's cannons were angled away from steve's ship with shots whizzing past while bonnet's ship was the perfect incline to reach the henry only 12 of steed's 46 men had been killed or injured and the henry looked far worse for wear bonnet stood on deck ready to fight to the bitter end and after this battle bonnet could continue pursuing blackbeard and have his revenge or at least that was the plan except the battle continued for the next five to six hours and as time was passing their luck was quickly running out so the military vessels are downstream and that means that as the tide rises they're the first to get free they repair their rigging and start heading towards steed's ship all bonnet and his crew can do is wait and hope that the tide is rising enough for them to get free as well but it doesn't henry was soon in the position to fire its port guns upon the deck of the royal james bonnet's crew were outnumbered three to one and had little hope of surviving aboarding no uh what do we do light the powder kegs scuttle the [ __ ] but captain you'll do us all that's an order the crew starts preparing the ship to be scuttled get a move on man captain are you sure about this of course pal and if the quartermaster was here i'm sure he'd agree i don't know about that captain i won't die a coward pal and my men will die with dignity permission to surrender captain pretty please see don't make us do it captain give it here that's a paddling for you later well it's been an adventure i finally lived the life of a great pirate and this is how it all ends they will tell tales of my courage no look away men it's okay it's okay bonnet's crew had reached their limit they surrendered after a few more moments of conflict the royal james was boarded by colonel rhett and his men and steed and all of his crew were arrested [Music] bonnet and all of his men were taken to charleston steed pal and harriet were separated from the crew and kept locked up in the house of the town marshall nathaniel partridge the three sat forlorn and hopeless in their cell they would surely be found guilty and sentenced to hang time passed and anxiety about the gallows began to grow [Music] oi just so you scum know first to rat gets a plea deal you think too little of my crew good sir back up prisoner actually you know what wow my stomach hurts uh guard can i use the bathroom what's wrong with that one no no no i need to use the toilet oh all right of course no come on then no no i've got that for you sir i i hope pell's tummy's okay it's only a matter of time before one of your men takes a plea deal governor i told you to knock when it's my private time yes governor but it's important we have a prisoner from bonnet's crew here he wants the deal hmm bring him in hmm well well well so what do you want to tell us okay okay so it was all steed he's like super evil man he made us kill people after the plunderings the paddlings oh sweet jesus the paddlings he he kicked a seagull in the face my god he's a monster ah excellent and that's not all he regularly just throws his trash in the ocean and and one time he didn't even flush very good that's enough and this one time he made two of the deckhands kiss and that's fine no thank you no no wait i have more i have more wow a four-hour [ __ ] that's impressive hey wait kid give us a hand would you we're in a spot of trouble no thanks bonnet i'm hoping they give you the gallows excuse me you don't know me but i know you yeah yeah cool can you help us out you let that pirate rub my dad's bank and then the bank went out of business and then he lost his job and now he spends all day drinking angry juices how did you get here whatever bonnet it's a mostly true story we just conflated a few of the details to keep the audience engaged you would have done the same shut up huh i'm usually great with kids oh it's still sad in it enough of this i don't want to die we've got one option we're breaking out the guards are stationed here here and here we've got bed sheets and we've got it [Music] all right so the details here are a bit sketchy but it appears that they escaped on the 24th of october 1718 with the help of a local merchant richard tuckerman [Music] we're out well really felt like the story should have wrapped up here hell you're not coming sorry steed i'm out well then i guess you're my new right-hand man now harriet i'm a lefty sir innit enough chit chat let's blow this popsicle stand in the dead of night they ran through the tall grass and bush of the charleston docks where they would meet with a former slave and a native american they grabbed a small boat and set sail out of the harbour your boy steed was off again to adventure his story would be full of many more riveting the wind is changing direction the gods were not on steel side that evening she's blowing us in the direction of sullivan's island gods will be swarming everywhere they crashed into the shoreline scrambled into the bushes and hunkered down for the evening hoping to evade the law [Music] by this point governor johnson had heard about bonnet's disappearance and was absolutely fed up this dude is absolutely cancelled but sir no no no no i don't want to hear it i'm putting a bounty on this [ __ ] guy 700 pounds to whoever can tell me where he is we found him sir there's a rogue boat docked on sullivan's island with the name the revenge 2 painted on it that might be a clue bring me colonel rat we're catching this handsome bastard once and for all [Music] you're out there somewhere upon it and i will find you if it's the last thing i do the officers scramble out to sullivan's island they seized the boat and with men stationed all across the shoreline steed and his crew were effectively trapped on the island colonel rhett was leading the search as they closed in for days they scoured the area with a hunting party finding tracks and signs of their movement all along the way and just two weeks after they had escaped on the 6th of november 1718 the hunting party stumbled upon the foreman no you're under arrest oh [ __ ] run fire the hunting party opened fire harriet braun no i've been short in it killing harriet immediately and wounding the slave in the native american the only man unharmed was bonnet jesus that's some thick plot armor there's no escape steed come with us now i'll be fired upon steed who is this steed my name is the steve you know like the regular name colonel rich shoved steve down and tied his hands behind his back [Music] no wait you've got the wrong guy you didn't you didn't even read me my rights i want your badge number hey hey he's not giving me his badge number you all saw so colonel rhett had captured bonnet again and they threw bonnet in a more secure cell to await his judgment on november 10 1718 bonus was brought forward to the court unfortunately the judge presiding over the case was sir nicholas trott who just two days prior had sentenced 29 of speed's men to death mr bonnet who will be representing you in court today i will be representing myself your liege your honor is fine mr bonnet you stand accused of acts of piracy against the british empire they made me do it i don't even like pirates i was tricked they told me i was going on a luxury cruise enough bring in the rat gasp but when did he have the time mr pell you're here to testify against steve bonnet or as you used to call him captain well um hell how could you well i remember the ship scuttle scene from about 10 minutes ago and how you held me in your arms but yeah but actually your honor mr bonnet was never much of a captain if anything the quartermaster had more [Music] power well you already gave us your statement in writing so that doesn't mean anything but it i sentence you to death pal you're free to go oh no what have i done judge trot charged bonnet with two counts of piracy as well as attacking and commandeering the ships francis and fortune trot also chastised bonnet on his privileged upbringing and the stupidity at throwing it all away bonnet's fate was sealed he would never be able to enact his revenge on blackbeard however some justice was served as blackbeard would die while bonnet was awaiting the gallows on the 22nd of november 1718 blackbeard would be killed in battle in north carolina at the hands of british sailors he was beaten and shot five times and slashed with a sword another 20 times his head was cut off and attached to the front of a british ship and his headless body tossed into the pamulko sound rip so there was bonnet once more alone ashamed the sand was everywhere he reflected on his life choices [Music] there's still one option left steed had one advantage that no other pirate did he was a man of culture he was the gentleman pirate most importantly he was literate he would put quill to parchment and begin writing one of the most beautiful persuasive pleas for mercy that any man had ever made you're sincerely steed throw myself a tears proceeding from my life hey kid send this to the governor please wow the coward wrote a letter why don't you take your sentence like a man i'll go on deliver it i will because it's my job not because you told me to right thanks see you at the gallows and then steve got down on his knees and prayed for the first time in a long time [Music] speed mary yes you've come to rescue me oh praise the heavens i'm so great actually i've just come to gloat and deliver some exposition oh yes you see i wanted you to know that after you left you really made our life a misery i inherited your debts luckily i remarried david rycroft hello i'm speaking david rycroft has fixed everything i will live to the ripe old age of something between 55 and 65. the records aren't really clear anyway he has a stable job and your children hate you goodbye and i hope you're dead soon goodbye oh it was nice to meet you though while the authorities didn't have much petty for bonnet there was strong public sentiment in his favor i've got a letter for you mr governor sir he was seen as a bit of a rebel and people wanted to see him go free or maybe just punished a little bit you know but mostly led off you know he's a good boy a lot of idiots out there hmm that's steed thorn in my sign lovable rascal he is that's his problem actually that's who this letter is from i wouldn't read it though why bother oh really [Music] will the people love him and this certainly was a moving letter what else can i do i guess i have no choice fetch me some parchment i have a letter to write december 10th 1718 the day of bonnets hanging it's been quite the run but i guess it's all over now [Music] the authorities led bonnet through the town and to the public square where he would meet his fate [Music] [Applause] oh look it's ignacious smell i see life's treating you well now it's a little something called karma now's not the time kid wow you're a bigger disappointment than bonnet but i have to give you some praise for dobbing him in that's enough i'm glad steve's getting what he deserves you don't know anything kid oh really steed is a great man the the stories i could tell you that they blow your socks off wow maybe i was wrong yeah you were and i let him down i let myself down i let everyone down he sounds like a great person he is psych steve's an idiot and guess what i've got his pardon from the governor what and guess who's not delivering it give that here find me i don't have time for this oh come on let's go kill i'm not incar that's it you're coming with me put me down hold still stop moving stay put stay still stop moving move away from the prisoner i think it's this one get back no way goodbye pirate no don't do it on behalf of the crown for the high crime of piracy we sentence you steed bonnet to death by hanging of the neck may god have mercy on your soul i'm gonna launch you kid what no way it's from the governor all right give it here [Music] from the office of the governor for the territory of barbados acting as servant for the crown of king george the first dear steed bonnet it is with the mercy of the crown and the power entrusted to me that i wish you good luck on your execution today love the governor uh thanks [Applause] and that's just what happened to him unfortunately non-fiction doesn't always have a satisfying ending but steed leaves behind a legacy more impressive than most and there's a reason that he's remembered over many other nameless pirates uh and he got to be a character in assassin's creed steed steve bonnie this is pretty good and he's highly googlable and oh all right we'll do the happy ending aha i took some anti-rope neck cream before you hung me and i have the greatest booty of them all from my time as a pirate an ar-15 steve wanna gun down everyone who had ever done him wrong [ __ ] oh that was close especially the governor ouch and especially mary consider yourself divorced he swept up his three remaining children who forgave him immediately and he jumped on a sexy speed boat and filled with gold and the quartermaster was there and they sailed over the horizon together and they all lived happily ever after the end [Music] no more diddle dabbling no more diddling or dabbling this isn't some didling is it is there some diddling a foot here are you know when i i'm doing jon snow again hold on he he kicked a seagull in the face oh my god i'm allergic to bullets like a father loves his chip [Music] would you kids shut the [ __ ] up bad example uh i am a bear oh [ __ ] run uh not harry what was his name again no wait you've got the wrong guy you're not even [ __ ] fell out of my mouth eat lead [ __ ] eat that [ __ ] especially you and now you're gonna die pew pew pew pew pew um don't say how does a pirate say thanks chum cheers thank you can that tell me cheers mate i realize now we probably should have had you as pell or have someone like because it would have made more sense if the narrator was powell as if pal's telling the story i think it would have worked it's okay yeah yeah days yes okay um

Channel: Internet Historian: Incognito Mode

Views: 2,673,954

Rating: 4.9682932 out of 5

Keywords: pirates, caribbean, stede, history, sundance rejects, internet historian

Id: vrGf4nJWVOU

Length: 76min 9sec (4569 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 06 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Frptwenty]

Stede Bonnet is the crappiest pirate in the 2004 version of Sid Meier's Pirates. Whenever you encounter Stede Bonnet it's basically "oh hey a free ship, thanks Stede".

[u/earhere]

Internet Historian is an Internet Treasure

[u/NerdyFrida]

I'm so glad this story had a happy ending too. He deserved it.

[u/WardenclyffeTower]

Late last year, HBO Max ordered a period comedy series from Taika Waititi starring Rhys Darby which will be loosely based on Stede Bonnet. It's titled "Our Flag Means Death".

https://deadline.com/2021/01/rhys-darby-star-taika-waititii-hbo-max-period-comedy-our-flag-means-death-1234664681/

[u/GGrazyIV]

STEEEEEEEEEDE!

[u/fatherjimbo]

Isn't this the dude from AC Black Flag?

[u/unpleasantraccoon]

Oh my god I finally saw an Internet Historian video in the wild. This one is a masterpiece.

[u/archangel09]

...Stede Bonnet, a man who had an early mid-life crisis and decided to go a-pirating

“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.”

― H.L. Mencken, Prejudices: First Series

[u/pokemonsavage247]

Cool to see ordinary things getting the attention he deserves