Blackbeard, described by his contemporaries almost as a creature of hell, was an English pirate who lived in the early 18th century. In addition to his sharp mind and outstanding courage, the pirate mastered the art of creating the “right image” - his very appearance was so terrifying that it gave rise to terrible legends and made brave sailors tremble with fear at the mention of his name. It is known that before the attack, Blackbeard weaved wax wicks into his hair and set fire to them - and then appeared to the enemy in clouds of smoke and blazing flames, like the Devil himself from the underworld.

1. Blackbeard's real name is Edward Drummond

True, the famous pirate went down in history as Edward Teach (from English word teach - "teach"). Nothing is known for certain about the pirate's childhood and adolescence. Some historians say that he was born in one of the poorest quarters of London, others that Jamaica was his homeland, and his parents were wealthy people.

Benjamin Hornigold

In his youth, Edward joined the team of Captain Benjamin Hornigold and fought in the war between Britain and France on the side, of course, of Britain. The team had official permission from the British monarch to seize and plunder French ships. The earliest references to Blackbeard- these are the archives of the ship's log on this ship, where the young, brave, strong and enterprising Edward quickly rose to the rank of boatswain.

But the war is over. The guy never received any money, no fame, no career growth, because he was just a boatswain, and in those days the maritime laws were extremely simple: half of the booty went to the captain, a third of the rest went to the crown, and the rest was divided equally between all members of the team . But Captain Hornigold gave the future pirate a ship that had previously been taken from the French in the battle. Edward could have taken up trading, but instead recruited his own crew and became a pirate. He equipped the ship with 40 military cannons and set off to sea.

2. Blackbeard became a pirate because he couldn't do anything else.

Piracy appeared almost at the same time when the first ships were launched. However, it was legalized much later, in the period after crusades, because the Muslim rulers had a grudge against Europeans, and there was no other way to take revenge. The capture of ships and slaves among the "infidels" was strongly encouraged. The Europeans quickly adopted this "useful" experience from the enemies.

All that the enterprising sea dog needed was to obtain a robbery license from his state. Anne, Queen of Great Britain, issued such licenses to everyone. Part of the booty had to be given to the crown, but the team still got their own, since the true size of the “income” was easy to hide. The Blackbeard had experience in naval battles, but there was no experience of peaceful trade at all. Add to this a romantic halo - victory over enemies, rivers of blood and a daring sea brotherhood. So, when the war ended, Tich, who by that time had his own ship, did not want to stop. He was respected for his skill, leadership skills, courage and a sharp mind, so it was not difficult to recruit a team of sailors and part-time thugs. In addition, after the war, licenses for piracy were no longer issued, and then passion and risk appetite came into play - paradoxically, the sailors followed Tich with even greater willingness.

There may be psychological reasons that influenced the choice life path honest boatswain Edward Drummond, for example, the habit of impunity and the experience of bloody battles. In addition, Tich's appearance was suitable - tall, face weathered by sea winds, disheveled black hair and vernacular speech, replete with strong expressions.

3. Blackbeard's pirate ship was called Queen Anne's Revenge.

By the time the "Blackbeard" began to rage at sea, Queen Anne had already died. In addition, England, despite losses in the war and the naval peace alliance of France and Spain, remained an influential power and had many colonies, in particular, the country got rich lands in North America - Acadia (current Maine), the Hudson Valley and vast territories in Canada. So there was nothing for Queen Anne to take revenge, in general.

Some historians believe that Teach named his ship in honor of another Anna, a noblewoman from the Boleyn family, who was unjustly executed by her husband Henry VIII a century and a half before the birth of the Blackbeard. The version is interesting, but Teach was, apparently, a practical person, his actions pursued very specific goals, so an experienced pirate simply could not succumb to sentimentality.

The most interesting version seems to be the version of the writer and historian Alex Safir: Tich could thus pretend that he had no idea about the end of the war and still performs legal actions with the permission of his queen and for the good of his country. The fact is that news reached the North American colonies slowly - in order to tell the American settlers about the state of affairs in England, it was necessary to swim across Atlantic Ocean, resisting storms and corsair attacks along the way. Anna's successor on the throne was a man - George the First - but orders for several years after her death were still issued on behalf of "Her" and not "His Majesty". And the English colonists did not like the Spaniards and the French and called fighting"Queen Anne's War". By naming his ship that way and not otherwise, Teach received the appearance of the legality of robberies and the sympathy of the colonists (and, therefore, could count on cooperation).

By the way, when it was no longer possible not to “know” about the death of the queen, Teach did not raise the traditional Jolly Roger over his ship, but used his own flag - an hourglass and a skeleton were depicted on a black field, piercing a bright scarlet heart with a dart. Depressing, right?

4. "Blackbeard" was not at all such a villain as is commonly thought

Let's turn to the facts. From some documents it follows that Blackbeard, who terrified honest foreign merchants, was not a bloodthirsty maniac. For example, in 1717, at the very beginning of his career, he captured a ship sailing from Bermuda, took away the cargo from the sailors and sent the crew home with the ship. No one died in this skirmish.

Later, pirates led by Tich attacked several more merchant ships. They always took the cargo, but did not touch the team. In the end, Teach captured the Concorde frigate - this was his famous Queen Anne's Revenge, which was later re-equipped into a filibuster ship. The team landed on the island of Bequia in the Grenadines and left them boats and food.

According to documents and eyewitness accounts, Blackbeard, a scoundrel and a scoundrel, always tried to avoid bloodshed. If the ships surrendered without a fight, the pirates took away their cargo and part of the provisions (less often the ships) and let them go.

One day, Blackbeard captured a ship with high-ranking officials, took them prisoner, and sent a ransom demand to interested parties. He did not ask for gold, spices or silk, but only a chest of medicines. The demands were met, but the ransom boat capsized. When this became known, they immediately collected and sent the second one, but time was lost. However, the pirates did not kill the captives, but with understanding they waited for the ransom, albeit a few days later than expected, and then they released everyone.

But this is true only for those who did not resist. If the opponents risked taking the fight, they were killed and their ship was burned. And in his own team, Tich did not tremble with disobedience: those who tried to go against him or incited the sailors to rebellion went to feed the fish.

There is evidence that in a drunken stupor, Blackbeard was extremely eccentric. For example, once, due to a petty quarrel, he put a bullet in the knee of his friend and ally Hands, as a result of which he remained disabled for life. Another time, he decided to show the team that hell awaits them after death - he locked the sailors in the hold and set it on fire. Some were burned, others suffocated.

5. There was a £100 bounty on Blackbeard's head.

Blackbeard raged at sea for more than five years. It may seem that this is not so long, but the profession of a pirate is fraught with many risks - the persecution of the authorities, the strong temper of sailors, sea storms, finally. And Blackbeard was, firstly, practically invincible, and secondly, elusive. He caused significant harm to the economy, and the authorities of the state of South Carolina indulged him: there is evidence that an agreement was concluded with the governor: the pirate received a stable market for the loot, and the governor received considerable profits in his own pocket. Moreover, the pirate captain was able to acquire land in the state for personal property, got married and lived like a decent person. True, not for long - soon he again went to sea, captured huge booty and arranged for the team grand celebration at their own expense, on which more than two hundred pirates walked for almost a week. The authorities swallowed this too, and then Teach began to build his own fort.

I must say that by that time he had become somewhat lazy - he stopped going out into the open sea, and hunted mainly in the internal waters of the mainland, riverbeds and bays. The merchants, tired of tyranny and the governor turning a blind eye to everything, turned to their neighbor, Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, for help. He tried to intimidate Tich, but this did not lead to anything. Stopwood's intervention in the affairs of a neighboring state could not be considered lawful, and he could not give orders bypassing his immediate superiors, the governor of Virginia, George Hamilton.

One way or another, Stopwood somehow managed to negotiate with the lieutenant Royal Navy Maynard. On November 22, several ships under the leadership of Maynard went to sea, met with Tich and ... won the battle quite easily. After that, absolutely all the pirates from the Teach team were executed. The victory is even more surprising due to the fact that Maynard for some reason forgot to load cannons on his ships before going to sea, while the pirates had heavy long-range guns on board.

Before the battle, Maynard ordered most of the team to go down into the hold in order to avoid the consequences of the volley. Blackbeard realized that there were no guns, saw that only a dozen sailors remained on the deck, and ordered a boarding. And five dozen people suddenly came out of the hold. For some reason, the pirates were confused, and Maynard's soldiers dealt with them without much loss. Tich, according to the testimonies, took the fight alone and was shot from guns.

6. Legends say that Blackbeard hid a huge treasure that no one has yet been able to find.

For a pirate who had robbed more than fifty merchant ships in his career, Blackbeard lived modestly. Neither his house, nor the land allotment, nor other property struck with special luxury - for example, the possessions of a landowner of an average hand. The stolen good could not disappear without a trace - however, it disappeared. There is a legend that the countless treasures of the pirate captain are hidden in some place, on a certain “Treasure Island” (it was about him that Stevenson wrote his novel). This theory, although romantic, is not supported by anything. Teach was a public figure, he was in full view all the time and he could hide money on the island so that none of the team or closest associates could see, he had no opportunity. So, most likely, the pirate, being a smart person, simply invested all his money “in the business” - perhaps he gave loans, sold something to resellers, hid something from trusted persons.

After the death of Blackbeard, his houses and islands, where he visited especially often, were explored by treasure hunters far and wide. Nobody found anything.

Edward Teach, nicknamed "Blackbeard" (Blackbeard) - the famous English pirate who operated in the Caribbean in 1716-1718. Born presumably in 1680 in Bristol or London. The real name remains unknown. According to one version, his name was John, according to another - Edward Drummond (Eng. Edward Drummond). Nothing is known about childhood and adolescence. There is a hypothesis that before piracy, he was an instructor in the English fleet, as evidenced by the pseudonym "Teach" (from the English teach - to teach). But in most primary sources, his pseudonym is indicated as "Thatch", which is not strange, given the characteristic appearance of "Blackbeard" (English thatch - thick hair).

Teach served as a prototype for the image of the pirate Flint in R. Stevenson's novel Treasure Island. It will be very interesting to say a few words about his beard and his scary face, which played a significant role in the fact that the captain was considered one of the most terrible villains in these places. Plutarch and other historians have long noticed that many of the great Romans got their nicknames from some particular feature on their faces. So, Mark Tullius received the name Cicero from the Latin word "cicer", an ugly wart that "decorated" the famous speaker's nose. Teach was nicknamed Blackbeard because of his lush beard, which almost completely covered his face. This beard was blue-black; the owner allowed her to grow where she liked; it covered his entire chest and rose on his face to the very eyes.

The captain had a habit of braiding his beard with ribbons and wrapping them around his ears. On battle days, he usually wore a kind of scarf that was draped over his shoulders with three pairs of pistols in belt-like cases. He tied two lighted wicks under his hat, which hung to the right and left of his face. All this, coupled with his eyes, which were naturally wild and cruel, made him so terrible that it was impossible to imagine that even more terrible furies lived in hell.

His disposition and habits were to match his barbaric appearance. Among the pirate society, one who committed largest number crimes, was regarded with some envy as an outstanding, extraordinary person; if, moreover, he stood out among the others by some skill and was full of courage, then, of course, he was a big man. Teach, according to all pirate laws, was suitable for the role of leader; he had, it is true, some whims, so extravagant that he sometimes seemed to be the whole devil. Once at sea, being a little drunk, he suggested: "Let's make our own hell here now and see who can last longer." After these wild words, he went down into the hold with two or three pirates, closed all the hatches and exits to the upper deck, and set fire to several barrels of sulfur and other flammable materials that stood there. He silently endured torment, endangering his life and the lives of other People, until the pirates unanimously began to shout to be released from this "hell", after which he was recognized as the most courageous.

Early in his pirating career, Teach undertook many sea raids with Jamaican corsairs during last war against the French. And although he always stood out for his fearlessness in battle, he never managed to get a command post until the end of 1716, when, having already become a pirate, he received command of a captured sloop from Captain Hornigold.

Early in 1717, Teach and Hornigold departed New Providence, heading for the American mainland. On the way they captured a barque under Captain Turbart of Bermuda, with one hundred and twenty casks of flour, and a ship's dinghy. The pirates took only wine from the barge and let them go. Then they managed to capture a ship loaded in Madera for South Carolina, from this ship they took rich booty. After putting their ships in order on the coast of Virginia, the pirates set off on their way back to the West Indies.

North of the 24-degree latitude, they appropriated a French ship that sailed from Guinea to Martinique. The booty from the ship turned out to be very rich, among other things, it turned out to have a fair amount of golden sand and precious stones. After the division of the booty, Teach became the captain of this ship with the consent of Hornigold, who returned to the island of New Providence, where, with the arrival of Governor Rogers, he submitted to the authorities and was not executed in accordance with the royal decree of pardon.

Edward Teach. (Old engraving)

Meanwhile, Teach armed his new ship with forty guns and named it "Queen Anne's Revenge" (Queen Anne's Revenge). Frankly, for historians, this name of the ship sounds very mysterious. In addition, Tich's contemporaries testify that he often called himself the "Avenger of the Spanish Seas." For whom did he avenge the British? For the executed Queen Anne, the king's second wife Henry VIII? And thereby hinted that he was the bearer of the old English surname Boleyn? The French historian Jean Merien suggested that his real name was Edward Dammond. Perhaps this is so, perhaps not, while this is another blank spot in history.

On the "Revenge" Teach went to cruise around the island of St. Vincent, where he captured a large English merchant ship under the command of Christoph Taylor. The pirates removed everything that they could need from this ship, and, having landed the crew on the island, set fire to the ship.

Defoe writes that a few days later Teach met the forty-gun ship Scarborough, with which he entered into battle. The battle lasted several hours and luck began to bow to Teach. Realizing in time that they would lose in an open battle, the captain of the Scarborough decided to take advantage of the speed of his ship. He stopped the fight and, raising all the sails, turned to Barbados, to the place of his anchorage. Significantly inferior to Scarborough in speed, Tich's ship stopped pursuing and headed towards Spanish America. Unfortunately, neither in the ship's log nor in Teach's letters about the collision with the Scarborough does anything, so the reliability of this information lies entirely on Defoe's conscience.

In December-January 1718, having replenished the crew (now there were about three hundred thugs on board the Revenge), Teach, plying the islands of St. Kitts and Crab, captured several British sloops. And at the end of January he arrived in Ocracoke Bay, to the city of Bath (North Carolina). The cunning captain understood that this town (at that time its population was a little over 8 thousand people) is an excellent refuge for ships sailing from the Atlantic to Pimlico Bay, and the fighting colonists were willing to pay Tich for pirate booty more than professional buyers in the Bahamas .

In March 1718, having sailed to the Gulf of Honduras, Teach stumbled upon the pirate sloop Revenge with ten guns under the command of Major Steed Bonnet. Teach overtook the sloop and, after some time being convinced of Bonnet's inexperience in maritime affairs, entrusted the command of the ship to a certain Richards. At the same time, he took the major on board his ship, telling him that he was “not meant for the difficulties and cares of such a trade and that it would be better to part with him and live at his pleasure on a ship like this, where the major can always follow habits, without burdening yourself with unnecessary worries.

Soon the pirates entered the waters of the Gulf of Honduras and anchored near the low-lying shores. While they were at anchor here, a barque appeared in the sea. Richards quickly cut the ropes on his sloop and gave chase. But the barque, noticing the black flag of Richards, lowered its flag and swam right under the stern of Captain Teach's ship. The barque was called "Adventure", belonged to the English pirate David Harriot and arrived in these waters from Jamaica. His entire crew was taken on board a large ship, and Israel Hands, a senior officer from the Tich ship, with several of his comrades, was appointed commander of a new trophy.

On April 9, the pirates left the Gulf of Honduras. Now they turned their sails towards one of the bays, where they found a ship and four sloops, three of which belonged to Jonathan Bernard of Jamaica, and the other to Captain James. The ship was from Boston, called the Protestant Caesar, and was under the command of Captain Viard. Teach raised his black flags and fired one volley from the cannon; in response to this, Captain Viard and his entire crew quickly left the ship and reached the shore in a skiff. Teach and his people set fire to the Protestant Caesar, after completely plundering it. They did so because the ship came from Boston, where many of their comrades had been hanged for piracy; meanwhile, the three sloops that belonged to Bernard were returned to him.

Thence the pirates set their course for Grand Cayman, a small island about thirty leagues west of Jamaica, where they captured a small barque; from here their path lay to the Bahamas, and then, finally, they set off for the Carolinas, capturing a brigantine and two sloops along the way.

A joint booze of the Teach and Wayne teams. (Old engraving)

In May 1718, Teach, with his already overgrown flotilla, blockaded Charleston, a city in South Carolina, where he remained for several days at the exit from the strait, seizing immediately upon arrival a ship under the command of Robert Clark, carrying 1,500 pounds in coins and other cargo to London, as well as several wealthy passengers. The next day the pirates captured another ship leaving Charleston, as well as two long boats that wanted to enter the channel, and a brigantine with fourteen blacks on board. All these conquest operations, taking place in full view of the city, caught up with such fear in civilians and plunged them into even greater despair, considering that shortly before the events described, another famous pirate Vane had already paid them a similar visit. Eight ships stood in the port, ready to set sail, but no one dared to go out to meet the pirates for fear of falling into their hands. Merchant ships were in the same position, fearing for their cargo; we can say that trade in these places was completely stopped. An additional misfortune was brought to the inhabitants of the city by the fact that they were forced to endure a war against the natives, from which they were all exhausted, and now, when that war had just been ended with difficulty, new enemies appeared - robbers who came to ravage their seas.

From the governor of Charleston, Teach demanded that he be given a first-aid kit and some medicines, totaling less than 400 pounds. When the boat with Tich's envoys capsized, delaying the fulfillment of the conditions for five days, the captives fell into despair. In the end, they did return home. Teach released the ship and the captives without causing them any harm. The Charlestonians wondered why Teach was satisfied with such a small ransom. It is also not clear why he demanded medicine, which he could well have obtained in Bath. Some historians claim that the sailors of Tich needed mercury to treat syphilis.

From Charleston, Teach headed to North Carolina. While passing through Topsail (now Beaufort), both the Queen Anne's Revenge and the Adventure ran aground. It seems that Teach deliberately destroyed the ships so as not to share the booty. Several dozen sailors rebelled, and they were thrown aground. Teach himself, on his nameless sloop, sailed away with forty sailors and almost all the loot.

In June 1718, Teach undertook a new sea expedition, sending his sails to Bermuda. On the way, he met two or three English ships, from which he took only provisions and some other things he needed. But when he was near Bermuda, he met two French ships sailing for Martinique, one of which was loaded with sugar and cocoa, and the other empty. Teach ordered the crew of the first to surrender and board the second, after which he brought the ship with the cargo to North Carolina.

In Bata, Tich was greeted kindly. As soon as they arrived at the place, Teach and four robbers from his detachment went to visit the governor; they all swore that they found this ship in the sea, on which there was not a single person; in response to these statements, a decision was made to "consider this ship a good prey." The governor received his share of sixty cases of sugar, and a certain Mr. Knight, who was his secretary and tax-collector in the province, received twenty cases; the rest was divided among the pirates. Governor Eden "forgave" his piracy. The Vice Admiralty assigned a ship to him. Teach bought a house obliquely from the governor's house and put his ship at the southern tip of Ocracoke Island. He married the sixteen-year-old daughter of a planter, was generously treated to the local nobility, and he arranged receptions for them in gratitude.

According to the English custom, marriages are held in the presence of priests, but in these parts the function of the church is taken over by the magistrate: therefore the marriage ceremony of the pirate and his chosen one was performed by the governor. It is known for certain that this was the fourteenth wife of Tich and that in total he had twenty-six wives.

It should be said that, according to contemporaries, Tich was, as they say now, a sexual pervert. The life he led with his wives was the highest degree extraordinary. He stayed with his wife all night, and the next morning he had the habit of inviting five or six of his companions to his place and in his presence forced the poor girl to satisfy them all in turn. In addition to its own wives, this animal often used the "services" of the wives of its captives and friendly planters (judging by the descriptions, the latter differed little from the captives, except that they were not connected).

Teach in front of his ship.
Teach feared, not without reason, that the deceit would sooner or later be revealed; the ship could be recognized by someone who moored to this shore. Therefore, he turned to the governor, telling him that this large ship had holes in several places and that it could sink at any time, and there was a danger that, having sunk, it would block the exit from the bay. Under this fictitious pretext, Teach received permission from the governor to take the ship to the river and burn it there, which was immediately done. The upper part of the ship blazed above the water like a bright flower, and meanwhile the keel sank into the water: thus the pirates got rid of the fear of being put on trial for deceit.

Captain Teach, spent three or four in Bath: sometimes he anchored in the bays, sometimes he went to sea to cruise from one island to another and trade with oncoming sloops, to which he gave part of the booty from his ship in exchange for food , (of course, if he was in a good mood, it often happened that he took everything that came his way without asking permission, quite sure that no one would dare to ask him for a fee). Several times he went inland, where day and night he had fun with the owners of the plantations. Teach was fairly well received among them; there were days when he was very kind to them, giving them rum and sugar in exchange for what he could get from their plantation; but as to the monstrous "liberties" which he and his friends took with respect to their wives and daughters, I cannot be sure that the pirates paid the real price for it.

The owners of the sloops that sailed back and forth on the river were so often victims of robberies and violence from Blackbeard that they began to look for ways to stop this lawlessness. They were convinced that the governor of North Carolina, who they thought was supposed to restore order in the area, would not pay any attention to their complaints and that until they found help elsewhere, Blackbeard would continue his robberies with impunity. Then the truth-seekers secretly turned to the governor of Virginia with persistent requests to send a significant military force to capture or destroy the pirates. The governor negotiated with the captains of the two warships "Pearl" and "Lima", which for ten months were in the port, but, for an unclear reason, did not agree.

It was then decided that the Governor would hire two small sloops to man the crews of the warships, and give command of them to Robert Maynard, the Pearl's first officer. The sloops were supplied in large quantities with all kinds of ammunition and small weapons, but they did not have cannon weapons.

The governor also called a council, at which it was decided to publish a proclamation, which provided for the payment of a reward to whoever could capture or kill a pirate within a year. Below I give its verbatim content:
« On behalf of Her Majesty's Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony and Province of Virginia. A proclamation promising rewards for those who capture or kill pirates.

By this Act of the Council at Williamsburg, November 11, in the fifth year of Her Majesty's reign, called the Pirates' Destruction Act, among other provisions, it is stipulated that any person who, between November 14, 1718, and November 14, 1719, between the 33rd and 39 degrees north latitude and in an area extending one hundred leagues from the continental border of Virginia, including the provinces of Virginia, including North Carolina, seize or, in case of resistance, kill a pirate at sea or on land in such a way that for the governor and the Council it will be obvious that the pirate is really killed, will receive the following awards from the public treasury and from the hands of the treasurer of this colony: for Edward Teach, popularly nicknamed Captain Teach or Blackbeard - 100 pounds sterling; for each pirate in command of a large warship or sloop, 40 pounds; for each lieutenant, senior officer, senior non-commissioned officer, foreman or carpenter - 20 pounds; for each junior officer - 15 pounds; for each sailor taken on board a similar large warship or sloop - 10 pounds.

The same rewards will be issued for each pirate who is captured by any large warship or sloop belonging to this colony or North Carolina, according to the qualifications and position of this pirate.

Wherefore, in order to encourage those who are glad to serve Her Majesty and this colony, to take part in such a just and honorable cause as the extermination of that part of the people, which can justly be called the enemy of the human race, I found correct among other documents with the permission and consent of the Council publish this proclamation: I declare by this paper that the above awards will be paid out on time in money circulating in the territory of Virginia, in accordance with the amounts established by the above Act.

And I command, moreover, that this proclamation be published by all sheriffs and their representatives, and also by all priests and preachers of churches and chapels.

Done in the Council Chamber at Williamsburg, November 24, 1718, in the fifth year of Her Majesty's reign.
A. Spotswood.

pirate flag

A few days earlier, on November 17, 1718, Lieutenant Robert Maynard set sail, and on November 21 in the evening arrived at the small island of Ocracoke, where he found the pirates. This expedition was kept in the strictest secrecy and was carried out by a military officer with all the care necessary for this; he arrested all the ships that he met on his way in order to prevent Teach from receiving a warning from them and at the same time getting information about the location of the hiding pirate himself. But, despite all the precautions, Blackbeard was informed by the governor of the province himself of the plans plotted against him.

Blackbeard had often heard such threats, but had never seen them carried out, so this time too he paid no heed to the governor's warnings until he himself saw the sloops approaching his island with a determined look. As soon as he realized the reality of the danger hanging over him, he put his ship on alert, and although his crew numbered only twenty-five people, he spread the word everywhere that he had on board forty inveterate robbers. Having given all the necessary instructions for the battle, he spent the night drinking wine with the owner of the merchant sloop.

During this feast, since everyone knew that tomorrow they would be attacked by enemy sloops, someone asked the captain if his wife knew where his money was hidden, because anything could happen during the battle. The captain replied "Only me and the devil know this place and the last one left alive will take everything for himself." Later, the pirates from his squad, who were captured as a result of the battle, told an absolutely incredible story: when they went to sea in order to engage in sea robbery, they noticed an unusual person among the crew, who for several days either walked along the deck, then descended into the hold, and no one knew where he came from; then the stranger disappeared shortly before the ship was wrecked. The pirates believed that it was the Devil himself.

Meanwhile, the morning of November 22, 1718 came. Lieutenant Maynard anchored, as there were many shoals in this place and he could not come closer to Tich at night; but the next day he weighed anchor, and, having launched a skiff in front of the sloops to measure depth, he finally arrived at the distance of a cannon shot, which was not long in coming. In response to this, Maynard raised the royal flag and ordered all sails to be raised and oars to rush forward to the island. Blackbeard, in turn, cut the ropes and did his best to avoid boarding, firing from the cannons for a long time. Maynard, who had no cannons on board, fired his musket incessantly, while most of his men leaned on the oars with all their might.

Tich's sloop soon ran aground, but since Maynard's ship had a greater draft than the pirate ship, the lieutenant could not approach him. Therefore, he had no choice but to drop anchor at a distance less than the distance of a shot from an enemy cannon, with the intention of lightening his ship in order to be able to board. To this end, he ordered to throw all the ballast into the sea and pump out all the water that could be poured into the hold, after which he rushed at full sail to the pirate ship.

Tich, seeing that the enemy was already on the way, decided to embark on a trick. He asked Maynard who he was and where he came from. To which the lieutenant replied: "You can see from our flags that we are not pirates." Blackbeard, trying to play on the nobility of Maynard, asked him to transfer to the skiff and swim up to him so that he could take a closer look with whom he was dealing. Maynard replied that he could not rely on the yawl, but would arrive himself aboard his sloop as quickly as possible. To which Blackbeard, having taken a glass of liquor, shouted in response that let the devil take him to himself if he spares the enemy or asks for mercy himself. Maynard replied, "I don't expect mercy from you, and you won't expect it from me either." The ploy failed.

While these "friendly" negotiations were going on, a strong wave and the beginning of the tide removed the sloop of Blackbeard from the shallows and he again rushed to the open sea, trying to get away from Maynard. The royal ship struggled to catch up with the pirates. When he got close, the pirate ship fired buckshot at him from all its guns, which led to heavy losses among the lieutenant's crew. Maynard had twenty men killed and wounded on board, and nine men on the other sloop. And since the sea was calm, he was forced to use only oars to prevent the pirate ship from hiding.

The lieutenant forced all his men to descend into the hold for fear that another such volley would end the entire expedition and completely destroy his ship. He was left alone on the upper deck, except for the helmsman, who tried to hide as much as possible. Those who were in the hold were ordered to keep their rifles and sabers ready and go up on deck at the first command. Stairs were prepared at the deck hatches. As soon as the lieutenant's sloop boarded the sloop of captain Tich, the pirates threw several homemade grenades onto its deck: bottles filled with gunpowder, pieces of iron, lead and other components that caused incredible destruction on the ship, plunging the crew into extreme confusion; fortunately, the grenades did not cause much harm to people. The main part of the lieutenant's team was, as was said, in the hold, so Blackbeard, not seeing anyone on the deck, shrouded in smoke, turned to his people: “All our enemies have died, with the possible exception of three or four. Let us cut them to pieces and throw their corpses into the sea."

Immediately after such a short speech, under the cover of thick smoke from one of the bottles, he and fourteen of his robbers jumped onto the deck of Lieutenant Maynard's sloop, who noticed the intruders only when the smoke cleared a little. However, he managed to give a signal to those who were in the hold, and they jumped out on deck at once and attacked the pirates with all the courage that could be expected from them in such a situation. Blackbeard and the lieutenant fired pistols at each other, and the pirate was wounded. Then they began to fight with sabers; unfortunately, Maynard's saber broke, he retreated a little to reload his pistol, and at that time he would certainly have been pierced by Tich's huge broadsword if one of the lieutenant's men had not had time to discharge his pistol into the pirate's neck; this saved Maynard, who escaped with only a slight scratch on his hand.

Maynard's fight with Tich.
The fight was hot, the sea reddened with blood around the grappling ships. Maynard, who had only twelve men around him, fought like a lion against Teach, surrounded by fourteen pirates. Blackbeard took another bullet from the lieutenant's pistol. However, he continued to fight with mad fury, despite his twenty-five wounds (so the eyewitnesses claimed), five of which were from firearms, until he fell dead while reloading his pistol. Most of the pirates were also killed; the survivors, almost all of the wounded, begged for mercy, which only extended their lives for a short time. The second royal sloop at the same time attacked the pirates who remained on board Teach's ship, and they also asked for mercy.

So Captain Teach died. There was a legend according to which the headless corpse of Tich, thrown into the water, circled around Maynard's ship for a long time and did not sink ...

One might say that Maynard and his men would have suffered less casualties if they had been aboard a warship equipped with guns. Unfortunately, they were forced to use sloops with modest weapons, since it was impossible to approach in large or heavy ships to the place where the pirates were hiding.

The lieutenant ordered that Blackbeard's head be cut off and placed on the end of his sloop's bowsprit, whereupon he proceeded to Bath, where he wished to heal his wounded. Letters and other papers were found on Blackbeard's sloop, which revealed to everyone the agreement concluded between the pirate, Governor Eden, his secretary and some merchants from New York. It can be safely assumed that Captain Teach, in the event of losing all hope of salvation, would have burned all these papers so that they would not fall into the hands of his enemies.

Tich's head on the bowsprit of Maynard's sloop. (Old engraving)

As soon as Lieutenant Maynard arrived at Bath, he took sixty crates of sugar from the Governor's stores and twenty crates from Knight's stores, which were part of the booty from the French ship captured by pirates. There was a loud scandal, the documents were submitted to the court as evidence of a dastardly collusion. After such a shameful exposure, Knight did not live long, because the fear of being judged and answering according to the law for his act threw him into bed with a terrible fever, from which he died some time later.

When all wounds were healed, Lieutenant Maynard set sail to the wind to rejoin the warships stationed on the St. Jacques River in Virginia; Blackbeard's head still protruded from the bowsprit of his sloop, and fifteen prisoners were on board, thirteen of whom were later hanged.

According to some documents, one of the captives, named Samuel Odell, was captured on board a trading sloop the night before the battle. This unfortunate man paid too dearly for his new place of residence, since during the described fierce battle he received about seventy wounds (it is hard to believe in such a number of wounds, but this is how the documents are interpreted). The second prisoner who escaped the gallows was Israel Hands, already known to us, a senior officer from the ship Tich and at one time the captain of a captured barque, until the large ship Queen Anne's Revenge was wrecked near the small island of Topsel.

Hands took no part in the battle, but was captured at Bath. Shortly before that, he was badly crippled by Tich. It happened as follows: at night, when Blackbeard was drinking in the company of Hands, the pilot and another pirate, he quietly pulled two pistols from his pocket, loaded them and put them beside him. The pirate noticed these actions of the captain and considered it best to leave the "fun" company; he went up to the upper deck, leaving Hands and the pilot with the captain. At that moment, Blackbeard, having extinguished the candle, fired two pistols, although no one gave him the slightest reason for such an act. Hands was shot in the knee and crippled for life; the pilot escaped with a fright. When Blackbeard was asked what was the reason for this act of his, he replied: "If I do not kill one of my people from time to time, they will forget who I really am."

So Hands was also captured and sentenced to the gallows; but at the time when the execution was to be carried out, a ship arrived with a royal decree, which guaranteed pardon to those pirates who obey the orders of the authorities and stop robbery. Hands received a pardon.

Recently, American underwater archaeologists found Edward Teach's ship at the bottom of a small bay at the mouth of the James River in North Carolina. If this is true, then this is the ship called Queen Anne's Revenge, sunk by Captain Maynard.

So, almost 270 years later, Tich's ship was found under a meter layer of silt. The expedition was led by Wilde Remsing. For more than six months, he managed to hide his find from the press, rightly fearing that amateur scuba divers and treasure hunters, as well as just lovers of "pirate souvenirs" would instantly steal not only the contents of the holds, but the ship itself. Finally, when the press and television reported on the discovery of Remsing at the bottom of the bay in North Carolina, crowds of tourists in cars and boats clung to the entire coast. Their interest in Teach can be understood: according to the latest archival data, his navigator Billy Bones was a real person, whom Stevenson so vividly described in his novel, and most importantly, he was the author of the famous pirate song "Dead Man's Chest" about fifteen pirates landed without water and provisions on a tiny island.

According to Remsing, Tich's ship was badly damaged by time, but it is quite subject to restoration if it is carefully raised to the surface and subjected to careful conservation. This will require large expenses, but, as they say, "the game is worth the candle" due to the fact that people of our time are by no means indifferent to history.

Examination of the 18-meter vessel by underwater archaeologists showed that a lot of various items and utensils of great archaeological value were preserved in the holds, such as: dishes, a great many bottles of rum, curved sabers, pistols with expensive notches, a copper sectarian, many cannons and all the signs of a hot boarding battle ...

Remsing categorically denied the rumors about the innumerable treasures robbed by the insidious Tich, allegedly available on the ship, however, he noted that the exact location of the ship was kept secret.

“Historians are well aware,” Remsing said, “that Teach safely hid the stolen jewelry and money for desert island Amelia, and removed the witnesses, which was not a very difficult task for a pirate who possessed monstrous physical strength. Judging by the surviving old engravings, Teach always carried a good musket, a long dagger and many pistols in special leather pockets. All this set of weapons he wielded excellently.

The members of the Remsing expedition are sure that when Tich's ship is raised, restored and becomes a museum exhibit, it will attract many tourists, for the glory of Tich and his literary counterpart, Captain Flint, is great.

And I have something else to remind you on the topic, read it or you know who he is ? . And here's another Edward Teach
(c. 1680-1718).

Edward Teach(Edward Teach) - an English pirate who hunted in the waters North America and the West Indies in 1716-1718. Also known by the nickname Blackbeard. He was one of the most odious figures in the history of sea robbery. Became the hero of American folklore, numerous novels and films. Legends about the treasures he buried still excite the imagination of seekers of pirate treasures.

The date and place of birth of this robber have not yet been clarified. Most authors believe that he was born in Bristol around 1680, went to sea at an early age and during the War of Spanish inheritance(1701-1713) served on corsair ships. There is also a version that Teach was a native of North Carolina, and the Jamaican chronicler Charles Leslie wrote in 1740 that Blackbeard was born in Jamaica "to highly respected parents" and that his brother was a captain of an artillery convoy.

If Teach was a corsair during the War of the Spanish Succession, then after it ended, he could, like many other corsairs, be left without work. Johnson assures that Blackbeard did not engage in piracy until 1716, and one can agree with this. His name appears in the documents of the British Admiralty only from 1716. Having settled on the island of New Providence, the main pirate base in the Atlantic, Teach joined the leader of the Bahamian pirates, Benjamin Hornigold, who in December 1716 transferred the sloop he had captured as a prize under his command. In March 1717, Captain Matthew Munson, visiting the Bahamas, learned about the presence of 5 pirate captains in New Providence, including Edward Teach; the latter commanded 6 cannon sloops and about 70 cutthroats.

"The Capture of the Pirate Blackbeard, 1718" by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris.

On New Providence, Teach and Hornigold met the aspiring pirate Steed Bonnet, whose sloop, the Revenge, Blackbeard took command of. In September, they sailed north from the Bahamas to Delaware Bay, where they captured 11 ships, including a ship from Havana with 120 barrels of flour and a sloop from Bermuda, skipper Thurbar, from which they took several gallons of wine. September 29, 1717 "Rivenge" robbed the sloop "Betty" with a cargo of Madeiran wine.

Later, the Spofford and Sea Nymphs ships from Philadelphia were seized by pirates, and on October 22, the Robert and Good Intent sloops were robbed, from which the robbers took food. In connection with the approach of cold weather, Teach finally turned south and set off from the coast of North America to the Caribbean Sea.

On November 17, the 14-gun French slave ship Concorde (200 tons) from Nantes was attacked 100 miles south of Martinique by two pirate ships. The captain of the Concorde was Pierre Doss. According to the French, one pirate sailboat had 12 guns and 120 crew members, while the second, a 40-ton Bermuda sloop, had 8 guns and 30 crew members. After a heated battle, the Concorde was captured by Tich's people, who took it to the island of Bequia, renamed it Queen Ann's Rivenge (Queen Anne's Revenge) and brought the number of guns on board to 40. Captain Doss was given a Bermuda sloop and almost all Negro slaves, with whom he arrived safely in Martinique.

On December 5, south of Puerto Rico, Captain Teach boarded the English sloop Margaret, heading from St. Christopher Island under the command of skipper Henry Bostock. Before he was released ashore, Bostock spent eight hours aboard the Queen Ann's Revenge and had the opportunity to closely examine the pirate leader. According to him, "Captain Tech [Teach] was a tall, thin man with a very black beard, which he wore very long."

Shortly before December 19, Teach and Bonnet broke up. The latter went towards the Gulf of Honduras, where, apparently, he piracy until the spring of 1718. Meanwhile, Teach, cruising in the area of ​​St. Vincent Island, captured the large English ship Great Allen. Having cleared its holds, the pirates landed all the prisoners on the shore of St. Vincent, and the prize itself was set on fire. Throughout the winter, pirates hunted in the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico, but the details of their cruising are unknown.

In March 1718, Blackbeard set out for the Bay of Honduras, and on the way he met again with Steed Bonnet's "Rivenge". Teach joined him, but a few days later, seeing that Bonnet knew nothing about maritime affairs, with the consent of his people, he appointed his assistant Richards as commander of the Rivenge. He took the major aboard his ship.

On one of the islands in the Turneff group, pirates replenished their supplies fresh water. At this time, the sails of an unknown sloop appeared in the sea. Captain Richards immediately weighed anchor and, hoisting a black flag on the mast, came out to meet him. The stranger surrendered without a fight. It turned out to be the 80 ton Adventure sloop from Jamaica, commanded by skipper David Harriot. The pirates took the prisoners aboard the Queen Ann's Revenge, and Israel Hands, the navigator from Tich's ship, was chosen as the captain of the prize.

On April 9, the pirates set sail and headed deep into the Gulf of Honduras, where they robbed several merchant ships. After that, the robbers went to Turkil Island, and then to Grand Cayman, where they captured a turtle catcher ship. From the Caribbean, the pirate flotilla entered the Gulf of Mexico, rounded the western tip of Cuba and moved north through the Florida Strait. Having captured 1 brigantine and 2 sloops along the way, the pirates set off for the coast of South Carolina, where they stood at the port of Charleston for five or six days.

Edward Teach, nicknamed Blackbeard, vintage engraving.

From Charleston, Blackbeard went to North Carolina and went into Topsail Bay (now Beaufort Bay), where the Queen Ann's River, and then the Adventure, ran aground. It is believed that Teach and Hands did this on purpose, as they wanted to get rid of unnecessary people and take over most of the booty.

Two crews from the wrecked ships were forced to transfer to a small 8-gun Spanish sloop, and he, overloaded, headed for a small sandy island, lying three miles from the mainland. Here, after a quarrel, Blackbeard landed 17 sailors, and he himself, with about 40 white people and 60 Africans, went to the port of Bath Town, where he contacted Governor Eden. The latter convened a vice-admiralty court, which recognized the pirate sloop as a legally taken Spanish prize.

In June 1718, Teach again went to sea and headed for Bermuda. On the way, the pirates met 2 or 3 English ships, but they took away only provisions and the supplies they needed. His men were later seen in Philadelphia, and in August of that year the governor of Pennsylvania issued an order for his arrest.

Teach returned to Bath Town with a party of 80 or 90 slaves captured from the French. This living commodity was immediately purchased by the planters. After refitting the ship, Blackbeard announced that he was going on a "trading voyage" to St. Thomas; trade, however, did not come to fruition. Near Bermuda, the pirates came across 2 French ships, one of which was loaded with sugar and cocoa, and the other was empty. The ship, on which there was no cargo, was released by Tich, transferring all the sailors from the loaded ship to it; the latter he brought to North Carolina.

Meanwhile, the skippers of the sloops, often attacked by Blackbeard, held a meeting with merchants and some of the planters and decided to do away with the pirates. Since the governor of North Carolina was in league with Teach, they sent a delegation to neighboring Virginia. The local governor, Alexander Spotswood, agreed that it was time to take more effective measures to eliminate piracy.

The appointed hour came in November 1718, when informants reported that Blackbeard was in Ocracoke Bay and was preparing to strengthen the neighboring coast with the aim of turning it into a "second Madagascar". Spotswood invited Captains Brand and Gordon, who commanded the warships Pearl (Pearl) and Lime (the latter stood on the James River), to a meeting. It was agreed that for actions in shallow water areas the governor would hire 2 small sloops, the crews of which would be manned by sailors from warships and equipped with hand weapons and ammunition. Their command was entrusted to Robert Maynard, the first lieutenant of the Pearl.

On November 17, 1718, Lieutenant Maynard sailed from Kikkwetan, on the river. James was in Virginia, and on the evening of the 21st came to the mouth of Ocracoke Bay, where he saw a pirate sloop.

Seeing Maynard's sloops, Blackbeard prepared his ship for battle. He had 25 people on board, although he told the skippers of all the ships he met that he had 40 people in his crew.

The head of Edward Teach, nicknamed Blackbeard, at the end of the bowsprit.

The battle that flared up in Ocracoke Bay was stubborn and bloody. “Blackbeard and the lieutenant fired pistols at each other, causing the pirate to be wounded,” wrote Charles Johnson, “and then fought with sabers until the lieutenant’s saber, unfortunately, broke, so that he was forced to retreat in order to cock the hammer, but at that moment, when Blackbeard struck him with a cutlass, one of Maynard's men inflicted a terrible wound on his neck and throat ...

Now they were close to each other and fought for life and death - the lieutenant with twelve sailors against Blackbeard with fourteen - until the sea around the ship was stained with blood; Blackbeard was wounded in the corps by Lieutenant Maynard's pistol and yet did not retreat and fought with great fury until he received twenty-five wounds, five of them gunshot wounds. Finally, having already fired several pistols and cocking another, he fell dead; by that time, eight more out of fourteen had fallen, and all the rest, very wounded, jumped overboard and asked for mercy ... "

Having defeated the pirates, Lieutenant Maynard ordered Tich's head to be cut off and hung on the end of the bowsprit, after which he sailed to Bath Town to help his wounded sailors.

After the wounded had recovered sufficiently, Maynard sailed back to Virginia, with Blackbeard's head still hanging at the end of the bowsprit, and with 15 prisoners, of whom 13 were hanged. On the pirate sloops and in a tent that stood on the shores of Ocracoke Bay, Maynard's men found 25 barrels of sugar, 11 barrels and 145 sacks of cocoa, a barrel of indigo and a bale of cotton. Together with what was taken from Governor Eden and his secretary, and what was obtained from the sale of the sloop, this amounted to 2,500 pounds sterling. In addition, the members of the expedition received bonuses announced by the governor of Virginia in his proclamation. All the money was paid within three months and divided between the teams "Lima" and "Pearl".

According to legend, Tich's head was taken to the capital of Virginia and put on a pillory. Carrion-eating birds dealt with it in a few days, after which the skull of the famous pirate turned into a hornet's nest.

From the book: V.K. Gubarev "100 Great Pirates".
Viktor Gubarev - victor-gubarev.livejournal.com

In the history of piracy, fiction and truth are intertwined and often inseparable. What is the mere description of the appearance of Tich, which has become a textbook in numerous biographies of this robber, as if he embodied all the evil of the pirate world. “The physiognomy of Captain Tich ... was completely covered with dense vegetation, which immediately attracted the eye. This beard terrified America ... It was black in color, and the owner brought it to such monstrous proportions that it seemed as if the hair was growing right out of the eyes. Teach used to braid it into small pigtails intertwined with ribbons ... and throw them over her ears. During the battle, he hung a wide sling with three pairs of pistols in holsters on each shoulder and stuck fuses under his hat so that they hung down, almost touching his cheeks. His eyes were naturally fierce and wild. It is impossible to imagine a figure more terrible than this demon-possessed man, comparable only to a fury from hell ... "This vivid description belongs to the pen of one of the first historians of piracy, a mysterious writer, under the pseudonym Captain Charles Johnson, who created the book" A General History of Robbery and murders committed by the most famous pirates, as well as their manners, orders and government from their very beginning and appearance on the island of Providence in 1717 until this 1724 year ”(“ A General History of Piracy ”).

Blackbeard's ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" from the movie
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides".

Artifacts from a pirate ship will reveal the secrets of Blackbeard.

In 2011, archaeologists began an operation to raise the remains of the Queen Anne's Revenge ship from the bottom of the Atlantic, on which the legendary pirate Edward Teach, nicknamed Blackbeard, plowed the seas.

From a ship that sank 300 years ago off the coast of North Carolina, they raised a 900 kg cannon, as well as small dishes, jewelry and even shackles. The raised artifacts were first put on public display and then sent to the laboratory for analysis.

Also, a one and a half ton anchor was removed from the bottom. Now scientists have to work hard to restore the find. After that, the anchor will be exhibited at the local museum; it will replenish the collection of exhibits, one way or another connected with the legend of "Blackbeard". The wreckage of the ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" was discovered back in 1996, but the anchor was raised to the surface only on May 27, 2011.

Scientists hope that the items found at the bottom will help to find out the truth about the British pirate. All archaeological work on the vessel is planned to be completed by 2013.

Pirate Edward Teach hunted in the Caribbean in early XVIII century. The heyday of his "activities" fell on the years 1716 - 1718.

According to historians, Queen Anne's Revenge originally belonged to French slave owners. Now archaeologists hope that they will be able to raise two more anchors, which are tightly glued to the ship.

The ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" was undoubtedly used for naval combat during the captain's bloody business. Previously, archaeologists managed to lift over 220 thousand lead bullets and buckshot, as well as 25 cannons, many of which were loaded, from the ship.

Anchor of the Queen Anne's Revenge.

- The Queen Anne's Revenge sank in 1718. What is left of him now?

Wild-Ramsing: Of course, over the years, the condition of the ship has deteriorated greatly. The place where the ship sank looks like a field of ruins. There are very few wooden things left, mostly solid, rigid objects made of iron, ceramics and stone. But because the iron has spent a lot of time in the salt water, a crust has formed that we call "splicing". Objects lying next to the metal grew to it. In this way we found parts of sails, ropes, copper tools, pewter, small pieces of gold and animal bones (pigs, cows that were eaten by pirates).

- What other pirate things did you get from the bottom of the ocean?

Wild-Ramsing: The anchor was the main find, for the sake of which we started the expedition. Before that, it was possible to get some small items: lead bullets for firearms, cannonballs. We met sticky lumps of lead shot, nails and sand. We believe that this mixture was placed in cannons in canvas bags and these were homemade shells. We managed to find metal items of the officers' toilet, medical instruments, the wooden part of the ship's stern, boards, frames, gold powder, wine bottles and crystal glasses, and many other small things.

- Have you already determined what next artifact you will get from the bottom?

Wild-Ramsing: We don't know... and that's the most exciting part of our job. We will explore the front of the ship where the pirate crew lived and worked, and of course the galley. Who knows what we might find there.

- Where are all found artifacts stored?

Wild Ramsing: An exhibition of all the exhibits and descriptions of our research just opened at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in North Carolina Bay.

- The owner of the ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" was the famous pirate Blackbeard. What new did you find out about this hero?

Wild-Ramsing: Our preliminary reports are largely consistent with the historical facts. Blackbeard was the captain on the ship "Queen Anne's Revenge", before the ship sank, he took most of his personal belongings in a hurry, but something still remained (the most valuable of the surviving things of Blackbeard, researchers call the hilt of his sword). There are also some discrepancies with history. For example, according to our version, the anchor was used to prevent the ship from running aground. But on official version, the captain himself brought the ship aground. Of course, we will not be able to find out the whole truth, but new assumptions and clues to the correct answers will appear.

- Is it possible to reconstruct the history of piracy in the Caribbean region on the basis of these finds?

Wild-Ramsing: We're just getting a sense of what life was like as a pirate in the 18th century, we're starting to learn more about the life of pirates: what they ate, what games with alcohol were popular among the robbers, what dishonest tricks they used, when you wanted to cheat. But perhaps the jewels of the collection are weapons and ammunition, such as the Swedish pistol, made in 1712, which was loaded with bullets and bolts, which speaks of the ingenuity of the pirates. During collisions with other ships, they sought to frighten the crew and disarm them. They tried to take the sailors by surprise, and not sink the ship, as happened in traditional naval battles. In addition, no one supplied them with ammunition, so they had to make do with handy tools, such as bolts.

- For most people, your research is especially interesting because of the popularity of the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean". Has the film influenced your work and the interest of investors in the project?

Wild-Ramsing: After the release of the film, many people are literally fascinated by pirates. Therefore, when we make another discovery, great interest is shown from all over the world. And now even from Russia! After the release of the last series, attention became more intense, because the character Blackbeard and the ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" appeared in the picture. And we are pleased to think that our search inspired Hollywood producers to include them in the film. Of course, we appreciate the promotion that we received due to the fact that so many people watched "Pirates". This helped fund the project. In the 18th century, pirates were a people who played an important role in the development of the New World.

Edward Teach (real name Edward Drummond), nicknamed Blackbeard, was a thunderstorm in the Caribbean. In the fourth decade of his life, he "became famous" for successful attacks and robbery of merchant ships encountered on his way. In 1716, he joined Benjamin Ornigold's pirate crew in New Providence Bay. Soon Blackbeard himself became a captain, having at his disposal the "Queen Anne's Revenge".

In 1717, the authorities of the Bahamas announced a merciless fight against piracy, and the governor of Virginia announced a reward for capturing or killing Teach and his crew. The English lieutenant Robert Maynard took up the hunt for Blackbeard. By 1718, Tich's "squadron" consisted of several sloops and 300 "gentlemen of fortune". In November 1718, Captain Blackbeard, so named for his thick beard, died during a boarding battle with Maynard's soldiers, who personally cut off Teach's head and ordered it to be hung on the ship's yardarm. Subsequently, Edward Teach, not without the help of historians and romanticized legends, became one of the most famous pirates. So the images of Blackbeard are seen in many works about pirates, for example, the character of the same name in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and in the famous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson "Treasure Island".

May 28, 2011
Sources: rg.ru, vsekommentarii.com, utro.ru

Edward Teach, nicknamed Blackbeard.
Photo from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides".

Medical instruments were found on Blackbeard's ship.

In the course of work on the study of the ship "Queen Anne's Revenge", which belonged to the famous pirate Edward Teach, known as Blackbeard, medical instruments were found. This was told by archaeologist Linda Carnes-McNaughton (Linda Carnes-McNaughton) in a report at the Society for Historical Archeology.

The Blackbeard ship, which ran aground off the coast of North Carolina and was abandoned by the crew, was discovered in 1996. Since then, underwater archaeologists have been working on its study. In addition to cannons, weapons and other items, they found a lot of medical instruments. Among the finds are scissors and silver needles, a pestle and a mortar for preparing medicines, vessels, two enemas, and a device for bloodletting. The clamps fitted with screws may have been part of an amputation device. A metal syringe was also found, which was used in the only treatment for syphilis of that time, pumping a mercury compound into the urethra.

It is known from written sources that Edward Teach, having captured the French slave ship Concorde and turned it into his flagship Queen Anne's Revenge, released the entire crew, but left three ship surgeons who were to treat the wounds and illnesses of Teach's team.

Linda Carnes-McNaughton discovered the lists of the Concorde's crew and determined that the names of these doctors were Jean Dubois, Marc Bourneuf La Rochelle and Claude Deshaiers. Shortly thereafter, "Queen Anne's Revenge" and three more pirate ship blocked the port of Charleston in South Carolina. Edward Teach took hostages from nine passing ships and informed the governor that if he did not receive a ransom, he would burn the captured ships, execute the hostages and send their heads to the governor. The ransom that Teach eventually received included not only money, but also a large amount of medicine. So the famous pirate managed not only to get professional doctors for the crew, but also to supply them with the necessary medicines.

“Fifteen men for a dead man's chest. Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!” - these lines from a pirate song are known to everyone who has read Treasure Island or seen at least one of the film adaptations of the novel Robert Louis Stevenson.

But not everyone knows that the pirates of the Caribbean really sang this song and it is dedicated to the story that supposedly happened on a very real ship.

On the pirate ship Queen Anne's Revenge, a mutiny broke out against the captain, who, however, was put down. Fifteen instigators of the rebellion were landed on a desert island called the "Dead Man's Chest". Each of the rebels landing on the island was given a bottle of rum, apparently in order to have fun - all the pirates knew that rum does not quench, but increases thirst. After that, the captain took the ship away, leaving the rebels to perish.

Pirate ship captain Edward Teach, better known as "Blackbeard" - perhaps the most legendary figure among the "gentlemen of fortune".

Jung from Bristol

Very little is known about the real life of Edward Teach, especially about his youth - the pirate himself did not like to indulge in memories and did not leave memoirs.

According to the most common version, he was born in England, in the vicinity of Bristol, in 1680. He came from a poor family of commoners, it is possible that he was orphaned early and at the age of 12 he entered the navy as a cabin boy.

A similar path in life then chose many young poor people from Bristol. Service in the Navy was difficult, the officers subjected the sailors to severe punishments for the slightest offense, the lower ranks were practically powerless. But it was still better than death from hunger and poverty on the streets of his native city.

Undoubtedly, during the years of service in the navy, Edward Teach perfectly mastered the sea craft, which was very useful to him during the years of his pirate career.

However, over time, the freedom-loving sailor got tired of military discipline and began to seek service with freer orders.

Pirate's Apprentice

In 1716, Teach joined the team of an English pirate. Benjamin Hornigold who plundered Spanish and French frigates off the Caribbean islands. Hornigold was a privateer, or privateer - that is, an official pirate who had a patent from English king to attacks on merchant ships of states hostile to Britain.

The recruit of the pirate crew was very quickly singled out by Hornigold among others. Teach knew maritime science well, was physically hardy, bold and tireless in boarding battles.

At the end of 1716, Hornigold gave Tich personal command of a sloop captured from the French during one of the raids.

And already next year in America they started talking about a new scary pirate nicknamed "Blackbeard", distinguished by desperate courage and extreme cruelty.

Soon the war between England and France ended, and Hornigold's patent for piracy was cancelled. Then Hornigold and his student continued to rob merchant ships at their own peril and risk.

Their activities were more than successful, which alarmed the British authorities. In 1717 the new governor of the Bahamas Woods Rogers announced the beginning of a ruthless fight against piracy. Those who surrendered voluntarily were promised amnesty.

The more experienced Hornigold, having weighed everything, decided to surrender with the team. Edward Teach, however, was not going to give up and raised a black flag on his ship - a sign of disobedience to any authorities, including the British.

Captain Teach special effects

The career of "Blackbeard" from that moment until his death lasted less than two years, but this was enough for Edward Teach to go down in history forever.

The most famous ship of the Blackbeard was the sloop Queen Anne's Revenge. So Teach renamed the French ship Concorde, captured from slave traders in November 1717.

A ship captured near the island of St. Vincent was brought to the island of Bequia, where the French and African slaves were landed on the shore. Interestingly, the Blackbeard did not abandon the French to the mercy of fate - they were given one of the Tich ships, which was inferior to the Concorde in size. In addition, part of the French team voluntarily joined the pirates.

The glory of "Blackbeard" brought dashing boarding attacks, which were accompanied by special effects designed to frighten the victims and paralyze their will to resist.

Edward Teach was tall and powerful figure. His face was decorated with a long black beard, which, in fact, became the cause of the nickname. He masterfully owned a saber, in addition, he carried a musket and several pistols. During the battle, he weaved fuses into his beard and burst aboard the captured ship, literally in fire and smoke. At the sight of such a monster, many sailors immediately surrendered.

Not so merciless, not so bloodthirsty

By January 1718, under the command of Blackbeard, more than 300 sailors operated on several ships. The pirate even acquired a rear base, which was the town of Battown in North Carolina. The population of the town willingly bought captured goods from the pirates, and Blackbeard's crew felt almost at home here.

By the spring of 1718, Blackbeard's career had reached its peak. In May 1718, the Queen Anne's Revenge and three other pirate sloops approached the city of Charlestown in South Carolina. They anchored off the coast of Charlestown, setting up an ambush. In a few days, nine ships and a large number of wealthy hostages fell into the hands of Blackbeard at once. Having achieved the payment of the ransom, Blackbeard's ships went to the shores of North Carolina, where Captain Teach simply bought the benevolence of the local governor, who turned a blind eye to the actions of the pirates.

Already after the death of Blackbeard, this pirate was credited with exceptional bloodthirstiness. In fact, this was not entirely true. After the bloody boarding battles, Captain Teach really did not stand on ceremony with the vanquished. He was also ruthless to those of his sailors who dared to show discontent. However, if the crew of a merchant ship surrendered without a fight, Blackbeard not only left the crew alive, but often limited himself to simply seizing the goods, releasing the sailors in peace. Ruthlessness to those who surrendered was not beneficial to the pirate himself - after all, this would force the crews of merchant ships to fight to the end, while rumors of Blackbeard's mercy led the sailors to prefer to sacrifice goods, but save their lives.

This was also hinted at by the flag of Blackbeard, which was somewhat different from the now well-known "Jolly Roger". The flag of Captain Tich depicted a skeleton holding an hourglass in his hands (a symbol of the inevitability of death) and preparing to pierce a human heart with a spear. The flag was supposed to warn oncoming ships - resistance to pirates means inevitable death.

Flag of the Blackbeard Pirates. Photo: Public Domain

Lieutenant Maynard's Expedition

Captain Blackbeard extremely annoyed the British colonial authorities, especially after, having met an English military frigate, he did not hasten to retreat, but accepted the battle, forcing the ship of the Royal Navy to retreat.

In the fall of 1718, Governor of Virginia Alexander Spotswood announced a bounty on Blackbeard's head, as well as members of his team. The expedition against the pirates was led by a lieutenant of the English fleet Robert Maynard, under the command of which were two sloops "Ranger" and "Jane" and 60 volunteers.

It must be said frankly that Lieutenant Maynard did not possess any outstanding qualities and he was very lucky that day. Blackbeard's extreme self-confidence played into his hands.

By this time, Captain Teach in North Carolina was practically legalized thanks to the bribery of the governor, built a house and intended to build a fort, with which he planned to control coastal shipping.

On November 22, Blackbeard did not plan any attacks. The day before, he, while on one of his ships, was drinking with the crew and two local merchants. Most of his people were on the shore, along with Captain Teach, less than 20 people remained, of which six were black servants.

Head like a trophy

The appearance of the "Ranger" and "Jane" Blackbeard perceived as a gift of fate, deciding that he would easily capture the ships. Indeed, the sloops that went hunting for pirates were poorly armed and seriously damaged as a result of the shelling from the guns, which was launched by the team of Captain Tich.

By order of Lieutenant Maynard, most of the soldiers were hidden in the hold, so Blackbeard decided that only a few wounded sailors remained on the ships and it was time to board. But when the pirates landed on Maynard's ship, soldiers poured out of the hold onto the deck.

Most of the pirates were so shocked that they surrendered without a fight. However, Captain Teach himself fought fiercely. A physically strong pirate showed amazing vitality. He continued to fight, even receiving five gunshot wounds and about two dozen saber wounds. Only a massive loss of blood could stop him.

The victorious Maynard cut off the pirate's head with his own hands, tied it to the bowsprit (the protruding part on the bow of the ship) and went home to report on the victory. The headless body of Captain Teach was thrown overboard.

As for his latest command, unlike their captain, she surrendered without a fight. But this did not help the pirates - they were all hanged.

Upon Maynard's return to Virginia, Blackbeard's head was tied to a prominent place at the mouth of the river to intimidate pirates.

Lieutenant Maynard became famous person, festivals in honor of his victory over Blackbeard in Virginia are still held today. Fans of the heroic officer, however, try not to remember that Maynard, having a threefold superiority in manpower over the enemy, who suffered from a severe hangover and did not differ in high morale, lost half of his detachment killed in that battle.

"Only me and the devil know where the treasure is"

Edward Teach was just one of many pirates operating in those years off the islands of the Caribbean. His career turned out to be bright, but very short - his other fellow craftsmen managed to successfully rob merchant ships for much longer. So why exactly did Blackbeard become a legend?

Firstly, this was facilitated by the colorful appearance of Tich and his love for frightening effects. Secondly, the legends about his adventures became widespread thanks to former subordinates - many members of the Blackbeard pirate team happily escaped the gallows and entertained the public with pirate stories and tales for many years to come. And thirdly, to this day, the secret of Blackbeard's treasure excites the minds.

Historians have calculated that Edward Teach managed to capture at least 45 merchant ships during his career. The cost of booty captured by pirates in the modern equivalent is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. Squander and spend all this Blackbeard, distinguished by stinginess, simply could not. Even the construction of his own house, feasts for hundreds of people, the project of building a fort could not deplete the "gold reserve" of Edward Teach. It is believed that Blackbeard buried his treasures in a secret place. Teach is credited with the following words: "Only I and the devil know the place where the treasures are, and the last one left alive will take everything for himself."

Blackbeard's treasure was chased by his contemporaries, and today's adventurers are also hunting for him. It was the legend of this treasure that prompted Robert Louis Stevenson the idea of ​​the novel Treasure Island. By the way, a number of characters in the novel are named after pirates who were actually part of the team of Edward Teach.

Not everyone, however, agrees that the Blackbeard hoard ever existed. Despite the origin of a commoner and a frightening appearance, Edward Teach was a very intelligent person. He acquired strong ties on the coast, had 24 official wives in different ports, that is, Captain Tich had the opportunity to divide his wealth into many parts and entrust the care of them reliable people. It is possible that Lieutenant Maynard, who defeated him, also got some of the treasures of Blackbeard - in any case, he subsequently led a very prosperous life, which did not match the modest salary of a naval officer.

But such a pragmatic option does not suit fans of pirate themes. They believe that Blackbeard could not have acted so mundane and boring and his treasure is still waiting for inquisitive seekers, hidden on a small island with a skeleton as a treasure keeper.

England is known not only for its great privateers, but also for its great pirates. One of them is Edward Teach, better known as Pirate Blackbeard. Teach was born in Bristol in 1680 and operated in the Caribbean from 1714 to 1718, just in the era. Edward's childhood, according to various assumptions, was not the most favorable. Already at the age of 12, the guy entered the service in the navy, where he gained valuable experience, which in the future, as you know, favorably affected his pirate career.

Historians do not exclude the possibility of Edward Teach's participation in the War of the Spanish Succession as a privateer. After signing the peace, Teach had no desire to give up his favorite pastime and went to the team of the pirate Benjamin Hornigold. Soon Edward Teach got his own ship, the now famous ship "Queen Anne's Revenge". Many are wondering why the pirate gave his flagship such an extravagant name, here is one suggestion that answers this question: the second name of the War of the Spanish Succession is Queen Anne's War. The relationship between the name of the ship and the name of the war is obvious.

Back in the Hornigold team, Edward Teach gained a reputation as a ruthless pirate, so he captured most of his prey without a single cannon volley, as soon as he raised his flag, the victim immediately surrendered. Blackbeard said that, perhaps, someday such a way of "earning money" would be considered legal at all. I think lawyers would agree with him, because in such a situation there is simply no corpus delicti.

In 1717, the governor of the Bahamas declared war on all pirates. A colleague in the craft of Edward Teach, Benjamin Hornigold, accepted the amnesty and retired. Edward act In a similar way was not intended, he single-handedly led the "Queen Anne's Revenge", raised a black flag over the ship and henceforth began to be called the pirate Blackbeard.

At first, the production was modest, the weather soon began to deteriorate, and the ship needed inspection. It was not possible to carry out repairs on a desert island, so the pirate Blackbeard took drastic measures. He asked for pardon from the governor of the city of Bath, repented of his atrocities and promised never to engage in robbery again. The governor was childishly naive, he not only pardoned Edward Teach and his team, but also allowed the pirates to leave all the loot. After the winter ended and the ship was put on full alert, the pirates went back to their old ways. After a short pause, their first prey was a ship, at that time still an unknown pirate. Teach, under the pretext of cooperation, circled Bonnet's finger and, at a convenient moment for himself, took away his ship, which, however, he soon returned, but without a single penny, of course.

Soon the squadron of Edward Teach grew to 4 ships and consisted of approximately 400 crew members. Everything seemed to be going well, but the outbreak of syphilis on Blackbeard's ships forced the pirates to blockade Charlestown, trying to get their own medicine in this way. Tich furiously demanded from the local townspeople all the necessary medicines, which, two days later, were nevertheless handed over to the pirate. The inhabitants cost little blood, because Edward Teach could simply plunder and burn the city. Why he acted in such a noble manner is unknown.

The more booty became, the less the pirate Blackbeard wanted to share it with a greatly expanded crew. He came up with a rather unusual way to reduce the size of the crew. He ran two of his ships, including the flagship, aground, while reloading all the loot on the small remaining ship. The main part of the team had to end up forcibly landed ashore. So Edward Teach kept all the loot and significantly reduced the number of his team, thereby increasing his share.

After Teach decides to visit his "old friend", Governor Eden in the city of Bath. Surprisingly, this time the governor meets Tich with open arms and even looks for a filibuster wife. For a while, the pirates settle down and indulge in all the delights of worldly life. On a visit to Tich in Bath visits a very famous pirate Charles Wayne. Two filibusters threw such a party that the poor residents, from standing exclamations, could not sleep for a week.

But the cheerful life did not last long, since not all governors pandered to the pirate. Alexander Sportswood - Governor of Virginia, receives news of the countless hidden treasures of Blackbeard from the old members of Edward Teach's team and equips Lieutenant Robert Maynard to capture him. The meeting, fatal for Tich, took place on November 22, 1718. A boarding battle took place between Maynard and Teach, during which the great pirate Blackbeard was killed. But before falling, Tich proudly endured 5 bullets put into it and about 20 stab wounds. Despite this, Maynard was disappointed, he could not find any treasures in the hold, the expedition did not even pay off.

On the basis of anger and unjustified financial hopes, Maynard ordered Tich's head to be cut off and hung on a bowsprit. The filibuster's body was thrown into the sea. Rumor has it that it went to the bottom only after it made a couple of circles around the ship.

Edward Teach received his nickname for his thick black beard, into which, according to rumors, before each battle he wove burning wicks, making him, in the midst of the battle, look like the devil himself from the underworld, from whom mercy and mercy could not be expected.

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