“B” is for Blackbeard (d. 1718). Pirate. Most commonly known today as Edward Teach, Blackbeard surfaced in Jamaica in mid-1717. In eighteen months he carved an extraordinarily successful career as a pirate, creating an indelible image of “the fiercest pirate of them all” and making him a global icon. In May 1718, with a four ship flotilla, Blackbeard blockaded Charleston. He seized and plundered ships leaving the port and took Carolinians hostage. He demanded a ransom of a valuable chest of medicine—or he would kill the South Carolina hostages. South Carolina met the ransom. Leaving Charleston in June 1718, Blackbeard was pardoned by the governor of North Carolina and established a camp on Ocracoke Island. Uneasy with having a “reformed” pirate nearby, Virginia authorities hunted down and killed Blackbeard in his lair on Ocracoke in November 1718.
“B” is for Blackbeard (d. 1718)
