It’s just another day plundering and drinking
on the high seas. You have just finished your third bottle of
rum as the midday sun reflects off of the open ocean. Your captain comes out of his quarters and
looks around menacingly at the crew. “Drink up lads, for today we plunder our
largest booty yet!” he shouts. His jet black beard and crazed eyes strike
awe and respect into the crew. The infamous scoundrel who captains your ship
is Blackbeard and he is one of the most feared pirates of all time. The childhood of Blackbeard was unknown up
until the last ten years. It was only in this time that scholars uncovered
documents and genetic information that identified Blackbeard as Edward Teach or Thache depending
on the document. The two surnames were often used interchangeably
in the sixteen and seventeen hundreds. Evidence suggests that Edward Teach was born
around 1680 in either Bristol, England or Jamaica. It was clear from an early age that Edward
Teach would spend his life on the open Ocean. A 1706 document provided information that
Edward Teach had been willed his father’s estate. But instead of keeping the estate Teach turned
over the properties to his stepmother and siblings. He did this so that he could join the Royal
Navy and begin his career as a sailor. The documents suggest that Edward Teach left
his family and joined the Navy to seek wealth from the island of Jamaica, which had vast
amounts of white gold, more commonly known as sugar. Also the key ingredient in rum. Drink up me hearties yo ho! Although the estate Edward Teach inherited
was vast, he left it all behind for a crewmember spot on a merchant ship. This was his first step towards gaining the
nautical experience he desired. Edward Teach was a well educated man, who
was literate and capable of using complex equipment for navigation. The legends and myths surrounding Blackbeard
are fascinating, but the actual man was complex. Who was Blackbeard and what made him such
a successful pirate? Imagine you are a pirate that has been recruited
to join the ranks of Blackbeard’s crew. You’ve heard rumors of your new captain,
some seem too unbelievable to be true. Your crewmates tell you Blackbeard has “fierce
and wild eyes” that strike fear into his victims. Others tell you he always has three pistols
locked and loaded across his chest, just waiting for a chance to use them. And everyone claims that before a battle the
captain would light his beard on fire. He is compared to a comet that instills fear
in all who see him. And no one forgets to mention his jet black
beard. But what really brought you to seek out and
join the crew of Blackbeard were the rumors of the vast amounts of treasure he had amassed. It was claimed that there were treasure chests
with obscene amounts of gold buried somewhere. And that only Blackbeard knew the location
of his treasure. He had caught and plundered over thirty ships. You realize that even if only half of the
legends about Blackbeard are true, it would be worth your while to join his crew. But as you get to know your captain a little
better you find that the man is not only cunning and fierce, but inquisitive and refined as
well. You sit down to eat with your crewmates and
notice that the food is some of the best you’ve ever had. It is full of spices and the quality is better
than any fancy restaurant on land. You come to find that Blackbeard has a fondness
for good food. He hired a chef from France to prepare the
meals aboard his ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge. You also find that your captain is an avid
reader. On the ship he has a collection of books,
which includes A Voyage to the South Sea and Round the World, Perform’d in the Years
1708, 1709, 1710 and 1711 by Captain Edward Cooke. Although you discover there is a softer side
to Blackbeard you make no mistake as to his dedication to piracy. He is still the bane of merchant ships all
along the coast of North America. Stories of how Blackbeard transitioned from
naval officer to pirate are told between your pirate friends. You find out that Edward Teach was hired as
a privateer by the British during the War of the Spanish Succession. It was when a fleet of Spanish ships departing
from Havana, Cuba, and filled with treasure were wrecked on Florida’s coast, that Edward
Teach adopted the persona of Blackbeard the pirate. The treasure was too plentiful and beautiful
to share with the British Monarchy. He decided to keep the treasure for himself
thus solidifying his name as Blackbeard in pirate history. You can’t help but notice the impressive
nature of the ship you’re sailing on. You wonder how Blackbeard's flagship, Queen
Anne’s Revenge, came to be in his possession. It was rumored that he gave the ship its name
after the last monarch of England from the house of Stuart. Queen Anne had been forced off the throne
by George the First, which seemed to not sit well with Blackbeard. The ship was originally a French merchant
vessel, but Blackbeard turned it into a warmachine by adding forty cannons. Queen Anne’s Revenge carried approximately
three hundred pirates and was as dangerous as her captain. Blackbeard even had his own flag designed
for Queen Anne’s Revenge. The flag depicted a heart dripping crimson
blood and a skeleton holding an hourglass and spear. It was designed to intimidate and instill
chaos aboard other ships. Queen Anne’s Revenge and the rest of Blackbeard's
fleet docked in a North Carolina inlet when they weren’t patrolling the waters of the
Atlantic Ocean. This is where the base of operations for Blackbeard
and his pirates was located. It was from here that Blackbeard forced ships
docking and trading in North Carolina to pay tolls or be destroyed. He bribed colonial governors to ignore his
pirate activities and was able to plunder ships coming into the North Carolina inlets
unimpeded for years. Sometimes Blackbeard let you and the other
members of the crew take breaks between plundering, pillaging, and life on the seas. You are allowed to go into port and drink
to your heart’s content, or frequent a house of women of ill repute. As long as you were back on the ship and ready
for more pirating, you could pretty much do whatever you wanted. But today is not one of those days. There is no time for relaxation. Today Blackbeard has a plan to capture and
steal from a British merchant ship. Your captain’s victim is sailing towards
one of the North Carolina channels. Their ship is full of gold, goods, and booze. You are most excited for the booze because
your rum stock is running dry. Blackbeard yells, “Hoist the flag!” You grab onto the rope hanging from the main
mast and pull. The skull and crossbones ascends to the top
of the ship. Almost immediately the merchant vessel begins
to turn away. They have no desire to fight with the feared
Queen Anne’s Revenge and her vicious captain. Unfortunately for the merchant ship, Queen
Anne’s Revenge is lighter, and therefore, faster than they are. You quickly gain on your query. Blackbear orders the crew to fire chain shot
from the cannons to break the masts and render the merchant ship immpobile. Queen Anne’s Revenge The cannons fire and
the chain shot shatters the merchant ship’s masts, sending wooden splinters flying everywhere. Blackbeard steers Queen Anne’s Revenge up
along side of the stranded vessel and shouts orders to the crew. “Prepare to board lads! Take everything and don’t let anyone stand
in your way!” he yells. Blackbeard lights his beard on fire, pulls
one of his pistols out of its holster, and unsheathes his sword. He swings on a rope across to the merchant
ship and takes no prisoners. This is how most of your pirate days go. After several successful pillaging and plundering
missions Blackbeard chooses some of his most trusted men to accompany him to stash his
treasure. You have been loyal and fought hard, so this
time Blackbeard asks you to join his special band of merry pirates. This group is responsible for going with the
captain to bury his treasure in an undisclosed location. It is an honor only a few crew members have,
and if Blackbeard ever feels you are unloyal, he makes it known by putting a musket ball
in your chest. A rowboat is loaded up with treasure chests
and shovels. You and Blackbeard are lowered into the waters
and you begin to row. With one foot on the bow, Blackbeard uses
his spyglass to watch the horizon and give you course corrections. You row for what seems like the better part
of the morning before Blackbear shouts, “land ho!” You have reached his secret hiding spot. The location of his treasure is so well hidden,
that it is rumored only Blackbeard can find it. You think to yourself, now I know where all
of Blackbeard’s riches are kept! The pirate thing to do would be to kill Blackbeard
and take his treasure. But you are loyal to your captain and you
will take the secret to your grave. Maybe pirates aren’t such bad people after
all. During your time aboard the Queen Anne’s
Revenge you have stolen more loot than you could have imagined, fought in bloody battles,
and drank lots of rum. Being a pirate can be a pretty good gig if
your captain is as feared and skilled as Blackbeard. But it was all about to come to an end. On November 22, 1718 Queen Anne’s Revenge
came across an ambush set up by Virginia’s colonial governor Alexander Spotswood. He had had enough of Blackbeard’s reign
over the waters of the North American coast. The battle begins and the powerful cannons
of the Queen Anne’s Revenge make quick work of the two ships sent to capture Blackbeard. The enemy ships run aground and are ripe for
boarding. Blackbeard notices that the lead ship, which
is named Jane, looks abandoned. He calls for the crew to prepare to board
the seemingly derelict ship. The Queen Anne’s Revenge sails along side
the Jane. You grab onto a rope ready to swing over to
the other ship while your crewmates set up gangplanks between the two vessels. Blackbeard’s beard smolders from the fire
he lit in it before the battle. He runs across a gangplank, sword raised in
the air. The rest of the crew follows. There are only a few men on deck, which means
the ship will be easy to plunder. Suddenly a flood of British soldiers ascends
the stairs from below deck in a surprise attack! You fight alongside your fearless captain,
but there are too many enemies and you become overwhelmed. You watch as Blackbeard ferociously fights
off wave after wave of soldiers. But then the unthinkable happens. Blackbeard is overrun by the enemy. He sustains twenty cuts from enemy swords
and is shot five times. His body falls to the deck, his beard is still
smoking, blood trickles from his wounds. After the battle, the crew of Queen Anne’s
Revenge are rounded up. You are forced to watch as Blackbeard is decapitated. His head is hung on the front of the enemy
British ship and his body is tossed overboard to Davy Jones's Locker. Upon returning to Virginia, Blackbeard’s
head is stuck on a pole on the shore of the town of Hampton. The severed head serves as a warning to other
pirates to stop their treacherous lifestyle. Blackbeard had ravaged the seas for two years. In this time he had amassed a fortune in plundered
treasure and goods, struck fear into the hearts of ships along the North American coast, and
became a legend. Soon after his death rumors started circulating
that when Blackbeard was decapitated his spirit remained in his body. One account stated that after his head was
tied to the bowsprit and body thrown in the ocean, Blackbeard’s body did several laps
around the Jane before finally sinking into the depths of the black ocean. Perhaps the spirit of Blackbeard still haunts
the North Carolina cost where he was killed. Legends of his massive treasure also spread
like wildfire. Pirates and treasure hunters looked for clues
and maps that would lead them to the buried treasure of Blackbeard. But no one has ever found it. Around three hundred years after his death
archaeologists located the sunken remains of the Queen Anne’s Revenge. More than 400,000 artifacts have been recovered,
which have shone light onto the man who was Blackbeard. The life of a pirate was full of adventure,
but fraught with difficulties. Archaeologists uncovered syringes with traces
of mercury, most likely used as a treatment for syphilis. Blackbeard and his crew might have amassed
a great fortune in treasure, but life on the high seas was anything but easy. Blackbeard has gone down in history as one
of the most feared pirates of all time. Legends of his buried treasure and flaming
beard are still immortalized in stories and movies to this day. The man who was Blackbeard was much more sophisticated
than most pirate stories make him out to be. He was not only a ferocious and feared pirate,
but also a reader, a lover of fine foods, and a leader to his pirate crew. Maybe someday a treasure map will lead you
to the lost buried treasure of Blackbeard. Or if nautical mysteries are more up your
ally check out The Ghost Ship That The Government Tried To Keep A Secret - The Ourang Medan. Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
