Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch
Known variously by different sources as Thatch, Teach, Theach, Tache, Titche, Teatch, Tack, and more, it is fairly certain that Edward Thatch was born in or around Bristol and took to the sea at an early age, most likely in his teens. It is also speculated that he arrived in the West Indies soon after leaving England.
If this was indeed the case, Ed Thatch would have seen his fair share of the War of the Spanish Succession, a protracted conflict between most of the empires of Europe that pitted Habsburg Austria and its British ally against Bourbon France and Spain. During these early years, from 1700 to 1713, Thatch served as a privateer, or at the very least a merchant seaman, doing his part for the Crown under Queen Anne.
But with the Treaty of Utrecht bringing peace to a troubled Europe in 1713, Thatch and his fellow sailors found themselves far from home and out of work. Thus, they turned to piracy as a means of sustaining themselves. In the ensuing years, Thatch befriended a captain named Benjamin Hornigold and soon joined his crew as quartermaster, sometime between late 1714 and early 1716.
Settling in Nassau, Thatch, Hornigold, and the rest of the "Flying Gang," as these pirates called themselves, began devising schemes far grander than most pirates of the era dared dream. Wanting nothing less than a country of their own, they worked to turn Nassau into a haven of liberty and freedom for all who sought an escape from the bonds of imperial rule.
As Thatch's reputation as a formidable seaman grew, so too did his ideas about piracy. At some point during the latter half of 1717, having grown a long and fearsome beard, he took to calling himself "Blackbeard" and worked tirelessly to bolster his legend as the most feared pirate in the West Indies. Thatch reveled in the power of a good legend and cultivated his fearsome image by frequently tucking lit slow matches beneath his hat to create a terrifying cloud of smoke, or by challenging his crews to endure long stretches below deck as burning sulphur filled the hold.
After helping Hornigold take command of a number of vessels, Edward Thatch finally acquired a ship of his own in September 1717: a vessel called Adventure, captained by the most unlikely pirate of them all, one Stede Bonnet. For two months, Thatch commanded the Adventure, with Stede content to tag along as a passenger. But in November, Thatch's fortunes improved further when he captured a massive French slave ship called La Concorde. Renaming her Queen Anne's Revenge in honour of his former Stuart queen (and perhaps as a symbolic justification for his continued piracy), Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch became one of the most feared and formidable pirates in the West Indies.
For the next year, he terrorized the West Indies and its surrounding waters before sailing north to Britain's North American colonies. There, he terrified the inhabitants of an entire city when he blockaded the port of Charleston, South Carolina, in an attempt to acquire medicine for his ailing crew.
But shortly after this audacious gambit, Blackbeard decided he had had enough of the pirate's life. He was nearing forty and, despite his ferocious reputation, had lost his love for the pirate's game. In the early summer of 1718, he reluctantly accepted a pardon from his friend Charles Eden, Governor of North Carolina. By late August of that same year, however, he had fallen back into his old habits, restricting his activities to the southeastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Unbeknownst to him, the Governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, was well aware of his continued piracy and was busy organizing a campaign to "extirpate this nest of vipers."
In November 1718, Spotswood offered money to the British naval officer Lieutenant Robert Maynard to see the job done. Taking command of several fast vessels well suited to the shallow inlets where Blackbeard was known to hide, Maynard set off in search of his quarry. He learned from passing ships that Blackbeard was likely anchored on the inland side of Ocracoke Island, an ideal refuge for a pirate. As dusk fell on 21 November, Maynard and his crew spotted Blackbeard's ragtag flotilla but decided to postpone their attack until the tide rose. In the early hours of the following day, Maynard's men slipped into the bay and approached Blackbeard's ship. They were greeted by a sudden volley of pistol shots and cannon fire. This forced Maynard to withdraw, giving Blackbeard and his crew time to navigate the shallow waters and escape.
However, weary of his relentless pursuer, Blackbeard eventually sought out Maynard and engaged him in fierce hand-to-hand combat aboard Maynard's vessel. Despite assistance from his consort, Edward Kenway, Blackbeard was ultimately overwhelmed. Gravely wounded by multiple sword cuts and pistol shots, he was finally slain by Maynard, who struck the fatal blow from behind.
