Black beard the Pirate of the Caribbean, History of Blackbeard - Sea Shell Shop, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

History Of Blackbeard the Pirate
Edward Teach or sometimes Thatch (died 1718) was a storybook pirate with a wild deep black twisted beard and a cruel streak created the image of a murdering rogue. He was unusually tall for those days 6 foot 4 inches and towered over most people. He was an out and out pirate with a terrifying appearance always covered with weapons. He was known to cut off anyone's figures who hesitated to give up their booty. He turned to piracy after a career as a privateer during the War of the Spanish succession in 1791 to 1713. He made raids up and down the East coast terrifying small towns in his 40 gun ship Queens Anne's Revenge. He beat off British navy warships, captured four ships in Honduras and held the entire town of Charleston, SC, to ransom. In 1718 Governor of Virginia, Spotswood paid Lt. Maynard of the Royal Navy to hunt Black beard down. Boarding his ship he fought Black beard hand to hand. In a struggle, it took five pistol shots and 20 cutlass sword slashes to bring the fighting giant down, in Ocracoke Island, N.C. The pirates body was decapitated and his head was affixed to the end of the bow of his ship. Legend still has it that much of his treasures buried up and down the coast have never been found.

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One of the most ferocious pirates of all time, Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard had one of the most bloody careers as a pirate. In 1718 he was killed in the battle at the Okracoke Inlet, North Carolina. A Spanish treasure ship sits in the distance.