Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. It was here, off the island of Martinique, that Blackbeard and his fellow pirates captured the French slaveship La Concorde -- a vessel he would keep as his flagship and rename Queen Anne's Revenge. N.C.-based Maritime archaeologist and historian David Moore spent considerable time tracing the history of Blackbeard.
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Visit the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort's popular exhibit featuring a huge selection of artifacts from the Queen Anne's Revenge. After crossing the Atlantic during its third journey, and only 100 miles from Martinique, the French ship encountered Blackbeard and his company. The earliest primary source document Moore located that mentions the pirate by name dates to the summer of 1717. Once delivered, the captives were released, and the pirates continued their journey up the coast. He and other pirates plagued shipping lanes off North America and throughout the Caribbean in the early-eighteenth century: an era commonly referred to as the "Golden Age of Piracy.". Here Are 7 Of The Most Beautiful Georgia Covered Bridges To Explore This Fall, Johnboy’s Home Cooking In Georgia Is An All-You-Can-Eat Southern Buffet, Enjoy Peanuts Boiled Fresh Daily At Toombs County Farmers Market In Georgia, Find Yourself Immersed In An Alice In Wonderland-Themed Garden In Georgia, The Hidden Island In Georgia That You Absolutely Must Visit, The Breathtaking National Park In Georgia Where You Can Watch Wild Horses Roam, The One Urban Legend In Georgia That May Just Be The Scariest Story In History, This Beautiful Park Tucked Away In Georgia Has An Intriguing History, https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nominate/, Flickr U.S. With the French crew already reduced by sixteen fatalities and another thirty-six seriously ill from scurvy and dysentery, the French were powerless to resist. Which of these British possessions was originally a penal colony? While the pirates searched La Concorde, the French cabin boy, Louis Arot, informed them of the gold dust that was aboard.
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Enter your e-mail address for things to do, restaurants to try and much more! Blackbeard Island is also an important site in Georgia’s maritime history. According to David Moore's research, from the Grenadines, Blackbeard sailed north along the Lesser Antilles plundering ships near St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Nevis, and Antigua, and by early December he had arrived off the eastern end of Puerto Rico. Get more stories delivered right to your email. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. After the pirates fired two volleys at La Concorde, Captain Dosset surrendered the ship. In a desperate battle aboard Maynard's sloop, Blackbeard and a number of his fellow pirates were killed. The wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, however, was discovered off the coast of North Carolina by divers in the mid-1990s. During that attempt, Queen Anne's Revenge and the sloop Adventure grounded on the ocean bar and were abandoned. Blackbeard Island has been in continuous Federal ownership since 1800 when the 5,618-acre island was acquired by the Navy Department as a source of live oak timber for ship building. Herriot further states that Adventure "run a-ground likewise about Gun-shot from the said Thatch". We’d love to hear from you! The earliest primary source document Moore located that mentions the pirate by name dates to the summer of 1717.
Soon after leaving Charleston, Blackbeard's fleet attempted to enter Old Topsail Inlet in North Carolina, now known as Beaufort Inlet. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Blackbeard and his crew decided to keep La Concorde and left the French the smaller of the two pirate sloops. At the request of Carolina planters, the lieutenant governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, dispatched a British naval force under Lieutenant Robert Maynard, who, after a hard fight, succeeded in killing Blackbeard. Blackbeard, byname of Edward Teach, Teach also spelled Thatch or Thack, (born c. 1680, Bristol?, England—died November 22, 1718, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina [U.S.]), one of history’s most famous pirates, who became an imposing figure in American folklore. This article was most recently revised and updated by, Explorers Pirates and Privateers - Biography of Blackbeard, Elizabethan Era - Biography of Blackbeard, National Parks Service - Biography of Blackbeard, NCpedia - Biography of Blackbeard the Pirate, Blackbeard - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Otherwise if Georgia history is what you love, then check out The Oldest General Store In Georgia Has A Fascinating History. Research by David Moore, and others, has uncovered two eyewitness accounts that shed light on where the two pirate vessels were lost. In 1718 Blackbeard established his base in a North Carolina inlet, forcibly collected tolls from shipping in Pamlico Sound, and made a prize-sharing agreement with Charles Eden, governor of the North Carolina colony. Blackbeard's piratical career ended six months later at Ocracoke Inlet on the North Carolina coast. In May 1718, the pirates arrived off Charleston, South Carolina, with Queen Anne's Revenge and three smaller sloops. Blackbeard: History of the Dreaded Pirate, "Teach detained all the Ships and Prisoners, and, being in want of medicines, resolves to demand a Chest from the Government of the Province... threatning [sic], that if they did not send immediately the Chest of Medicines, and let the Pyrate-Ambassadors return... they would murder all their Prisoners...", "In Search of Blackbeard: Historical and Archeological Research at Shipwreck Site 003BUI".
He has been widely identified as Edward Teach (or several variations thereof, including Thatch and Thack), though pirate custom at the time was to use a pseudonym when engaging in acts of piracy, and his true name will probably never be known. According to a deposition given by David Herriot, the former captain of Adventure, "the said Thatch's ship Queen Anne's Revenge run a-ground off of the Bar of Topsail-Inlet." Because of this work, Blackbeard's actions now can be placed in an appropriate historical context. Thought to have been active as a privateer for the British during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–13), Blackbeard was first heard of as a pirate late in 1716. For more information, visit NCpedia. Brooks was able to assembly the immediate lineage of Edward Thache, a respected resident of Spanish Town, Jamaica. Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project. Intentional or not, that is what happened as Blackbeard marooned some pirates and left Beaufort with a hand picked crew and most of the valuable plunder.
Learn about the La Concorde's journeys prior to its capture by Blackbeard. As ransom for the hostages, Blackbeard demanded a chest of medicine.