The Truth behind the Legend.

Truth vs Legend

Part 1

Truth vs Legend

Part 2

Sorry for the length of this page. The rest of the site be 1-3 minute reads. Videos 2, 3, and 4 comin' soon.

Arrr! Blackbeard had a reputation of being a rampaging maniac, a bloodthirsty rogue, with fierce eyes, a violent temper, and a long unkempt black beard. Me did have a black beard, but the rest be the image I created for meself. This be what modern day pirates call 'creatin' a narrative'. The goal was to scare the daylights out of me intended victims, minimizin' their resistance and makin' it easier for me to plunder whatever cargo they be carryin' as well as takin' over the ship. If they knew the reputation, and I threatened to hack 'em to bits and feed 'em to the fish, more often than not, they would surrender the ship and her cargo without a fight. This be the art of fightin' without fightin'. This February 2025 clue activity requires skill to be done effectively.

Goin' into a potential battle I dressed meself all in black, with several pistols and me sword strapped on, lit burnin' cannon fuses in me beard, causin' a frightful, smokey image, like a demon comin' straight out of hades. However the truth about Blackbeard has not been told for centuries. The truth of the matter be that I was simply chasin' me dreams of health, wealth and happiness, but be led astray by what appeared to be shortcuts, which led to me untimely demise.

So, now let Blackbeard begin to set the record straight. The legend which I created and fostered while alive, continued to grow long after me death. In fact the legend overwhelmed the historical truth hundreds of years ago. I challenge ye to go back and check the historical records!

I didn't want to damage the ships I plundered, and I preferred to avoid bloodshed. After all, only a fool would destroy a ship that he himself wanted to take over for his own fleet. Many of those sailors also became a part of Blackbeard's crew in exchange for sparin' their lives. It be hard to find good help, ye know.

I was born to a well-to-do family in the West Country of Britain, in the Bristol vicinity close to a port. The family moved around when I be a wee lad, so me don't remember the exact location, but it be close to the water. Educated to be able to read and write, and taught to use complex nautical instruments of the day, such as a sextant, which be an instrument for determining the angle between the horizon and a celestial body such as the Sun, the Moon, or a star, used in celestial navigation to determine latitude and longitude. Me father be a ship captain and taught me the ways of the sea as I be growin'. He taught me that I could become whatever I wanted to be. It be during this time that I decided that me dream was to be captain of me own ship. To have the freedom to go where me pleased, to do as me pleased, and not be shackled to a master or a trade that kept me chained down.

I also be taught the social graces, of how to dine with the high society folks, which me family were apart of, and not appear to be out of place. I also be taught how to be a gentleman and treat the women folk like ladies. Can't truly say that I be a ladies man, but the women folk seemed to enjoy me company, (and me wealth).

Around the age of fifteen or sixteen I be a volunteer to join the British Royal Navy, along with young John Benbow, under the command of his father, rear-admiral John Benbow. In a few years I made Jamaica me home, along with the family.

Around 1706 when me father passed away, by law, as the oldest son, I inherited his substantial estate, which I promptly turned over to his second wife, me stepmother Lucretia, to provide for her needs and the needs of me half brother and sister. What, ye ask? This don't be soundin' like a dirty rotten, greedy scallywag!

For a time we be livin' in Spanish Town, Jamaica, just across the bay from Port Royal, where me later became somewhat of a benefactor to the less fortunate folks of the island. Me took great pleasure in helpin' other folks. For a while me worked as a Buccaneer, that hunted the wild animals to sell meat to the ships that harbored nearby. I liked this type of self employment better than bein' employed by another, since the more productive I be, the more coin I made. I also had the freedom to come and go as me pleased.

Soon enough, I hopped aboard a merchant ship out of Barbados headed to the mainland. Off England's Isle of Wight, near Portsmouth, I signed on to became a part of the crew. If ye are goin' to be sailin' ye might as well be gettin' paid.

I later served aboard the good ship HMS Windsor, a 60 gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Windsor be a 146 foot, full-rigged ship, launched at Deptford in October of 1695. Deptford Dockyards be on the River Thames. It be founded by Henry VIII in 1513, and operated by the Royal Navy. Some navy crews preferred ships built at The Kings Yard, Woolwich, also on the Thames, but I preferred Deptford, havin' many mates servin' there. Also, it be the Victualling Board's main depot. Victuals be very important to hungry crew.

Aboard the Navy ships I learned all the intricacies of positionin' and firin' cannon, storin' food, water, and military supplies, sword fightin, and other skills that were needed in that day. I learned every position on board from basic crew member swabbin' decks and loadin' cannon, gunner mate, boatswain, quartermaster, first mate, second mate, and captain. I never liked bein' under the control of another man for the most of every day, but learnin' discipline would serve me well when I became captain of me own ship.

During the next decade I visited various Caribbean islands, inhabited by indigenous peoples, European colonists, and African slaves brought in to work on the sugar plantations. Some of the European colonialists offered me lots of coin of the realm to sail to Africa to bring back men and women to become their slaves. This bein' a family friendly website, I won't tell ye the exact words me used to tell 'em to jump off the ship with a cannonball attached to their leg. Whenever I captured a slave ship I released the slaves on a nearby island, unless they chose to join me own crew.

Hispaniola, modern day Haiti and the Dominican Republic, was inhabited by the Taino people before Chris Columbus arrived and the European colonization began. Spain and France controlled most of these islands.

Cuba was also the Taino people, but by the 1700's it was a Spanish colony with a mix of people.

Jamaica was a British colony. The indigenous Arawak people, who had lived there for thousands of years, had largely been exterminated or died of disease brought in from the old world.

Puerto Rico was also a Spanish colony and those Taino people had also seen significant decline do to disease and being put into forced labor.

Trinidad and Tobaggo islands were inhabited by Arawak and Caribs until the British and French took over.

The Bahamas were Lucayan people that were also wiped out by the colonists.

Barbados was by then a British colony, known for its sugar plantations.

There were many more, such as modern day St. Lucia, the Caymans, the Virgin Islands, Antigua, Martinique and more. Blackbeard had a reputation for havin' a gal in every one of these ports. That be a lie, there were one or two ports where I didn't find anything to me likin'.

Some islands had populations that we could trade with, some had wildlife that could be hunted for food such as deer, wild boar, turkey and many other species. But I began to realize that the islands and both north and south America all had one thing in common. When the Europeans 'discovered' 'em, the Europeans did not recognize the indigenous people as bein' humans. They claimed the islands for their own countries as if no human being had set foot there before, and proceeded to either eradicate the existing population, or enslave them and force them to work as slave labor, the profits of which were exported back to the colonizing country. As I considered meself a decent human, this did not sit well with me.

Aye, so ye did not read history this way in the history books. That be because history be written by the victors. The indigenous people get exterminated and there be no one left to tell the whole story! Arrr!

At the end of Queen Anne's War, around 1713 I be workin' aboard a ship captained by Benjamin Hornigold. He be hired as a Privateer by the leaders of his country to do damage to the ships of other countries and in return, he be able to keep any booty that he found aboard as his reward. Privateers could do much better financially than a sailor working for a government. Hornigold had a Letter of Marque, which meant that he be given amnesty from piracy laws as long as the ships plundered were from an enemy nation. In modern parlance, he be a 'sponsored' pirate. This position suited me well, so I got close to Hornigold and eventually he put me in command of me own ship, which he had just captured, to be a part of his fleet. What a deal! I be a legitimate Captain, with lawful right to pillage and plunder and keep the booty, or share it with the poorer folks of the islands that had been overrun. Why not share the wealth, one man can only enjoy so many pleasurable pursuits. Ye also want the folks around yer home base to look kindly on ye, so that ye don't get yer throat slit after downin' a dozen tankards o' grog. It be during this time, working as a Privateer that I acquired most of me wealth. In 2024 US Dollars, me net worth would be about twelve to fifteen million.

Letters of Marque were not always honored by the government that issued them. If it become expedient for a royal or noble to distance himself from the actions of a privateer whom they had hired, they would turn and prosecute the privateer as a pirate. Captain Kidd himself had letters of marque, and his own country hanged him.

Remember, this position was perfectly legal, as we be working for the British crown. As long as we left the British fleet alone, the powers that be left us alone, and did not brand us as pirates, even though the other nations did. Every seafarin' nation had its own privateers attackin' other nations ships.

We be very successful until Hornigold lost his ship to a mutiny. He then accepted a pardon for the lootin' he had done, (at the behest of the Royals) and then became a pirate hunter. He be huntin' down the Privateer's of other nations that preyed on British ships. Arrr!

In late 1717 I captured a French vessel called La Concorde. Two hundred tons and armed with sixteen cannons. I renamed her, "Queen Anne's Revenge" and outfitted her with forty four more cannons. Aye, when another vessel got broadside of me and Queen Anne's sixty cannon it would be a bad day for that captain and her crew if they refused to surrender, which was very seldom. Me reputation usually preceeded meself.

Also during that time, while in the port of Charleston, South Carolina, I came to know the high society members of that colony, and also became good friends with Charles Eden, the Royal Governor of North Carolina. The good Governor pardoned meself and me friend Stede Bonnet, for pirate activities against his nation, and I lived at peace in Bath for a period of time in 1718. (That be Bath, North Carolina, American Colonies, not Bath in Great Britain.) The Royal pardon be offered by the Crown to try to reduce piracy in the area. It be known as The Proclamation for Suppressing of Pirates, more commonly known as the Act of Grace. It be a royal proclamation by George I of Great Britain in September of 1717.

That also be where I met me lovely bride, Miss Mary Ormond, at one of the Royal Governor's banquets. Miss Mary be the daughter of Mr. William Ormand, who owned a plantation in Bath. Aye, Miss Mary caught me eye when she entered the room, and I fell completely overboard. I never fell victim to another one of the 'ladies of the ports' again. Some say that I had as many as fourteen common law wives, because I stayed with each for a spell and helped support 'em. But I never formally married any of 'em.

The Governor himself presided over the wedding between Miss Mary and meself. By then I be a man of some means and lived as a peaceful gentleman on a nice piece of land on the waterfront. Me friend, and owner of the land next to meself, Tobias Knight, attended the wedding. Tobias be the Royal Secretary for North Carolina at the time. He also allowed me to store loot (sorry, merchandise) from time to time in his barns, when me own storage barns be full.

Also attending be Capt. John Heckenfield, who had arrived from England in 1701 and had become one of the leadin' citizens, and was instrumental in incorporatin' the town of Bath. The General Assembly met regularly at his and Elizabeth's house.

Another friend that we dined with occasionally was Edmund Gale, who had arrived from England around 1715. His father was an Anglican clergyman, and rector of Keighley in Yorkshire, England; his mother was a daughter of the chancellor of York. He also served on the Assembly in Bath.

Avast ye say! This don't sound like the heartless, dreadful pirate I be hearin' stories about!

Arrr! Folks also be askin' what a beautiful young maiden saw in a swashbucklin' pirate? Aye, Miss Mary was a child of nature. Her eyes be fierce and unpredictable. When she fastened those eyes upon ye, yer whole body tingled like it did when the fiercest storm be about to descend upon ye at the helm of the Queen Anne's Revenge. The local landlubbers be too tame for this spirited lass. Turns out, Blackbeard the notorious pirate be just what she be lookin' for.

Aye, Blackbeard may have faded into history as a common landlubber, in the legitimate shipping business perhaps, but for the insistence of a crooked Governor, who cajoled meself into goin' back into the piratin' business with him. We struck a deal that he would give me protection in exchange for a share of the loot that we acquired from the open seas. Similar to the position of Privateer, but without the nations blessing, just the Governor's protection.

There be ships fully loaded with gold, silver, artifacts and goods that were bein' pillaged and plundered from the islands and the America's, and was now bein' shipped back to Europe. Me and the crew would take a ships goods, whatever they may be, bring them back to our home port and then sell them to merchants in the region, and after payin' the crew, me and the good Governor would split the profit.

Bath be North Carolina's first town and port of entry, chartered in 1705. Bath and Ocracoke Island served as me home base for a time. A lot of me customers be the naval stores that bought me loot like tobacco, furs, food goods, medicines, sweet meats, sugar, chocolate, textiles, gun powder, rum and whatever we had acquired from passing ships. Me customers be seein' me as a merchant, or modern day business man providin' all sorts of products at excellent prices, which they could resell to the populace.

Arrr! Is it really a crime to take back from one party, what that party has stolen from ye, or the people of the nation around ye? What would ye think of a modern day feller who robbed a bank robber, and then distributed the funds to the less fortunate? (This be called 'rationalizing' yer actions in the modern world.)

There be a story of a landlubber called Robinhood, who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. In fact he be stealin' from the wealthier productive common citizens and distributin' to the poor. As long as he didn't bother the royals, they let him be. In modern times, politicians still claim to be modern day Robinhoods, taxin' the rich to give to the poor, in order to get the poor folks to vote for 'em. But, in fact, this be the evil royals, or national leaders stealin' from the wealthier productive common folks to line their own pockets. The stolen loot never makes it to the poor.

The Blackbeard "narrative" that had been started during the privateer years now took on a life of its own. Unfortunately, I now be looting and sinking ships of the British fleet and occasionally ships headed to or from the America's. So they branded me a pirate and sent an army to do away with me and the crew.

Apparently, if ye be pilligin' and plunderin' while in the employ of the national leaders, ye be legitimate, but if ye be takin' away from the Royals, ye be a criminal. Arrr!

Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, be takin' a dislikin' to Blackbeard because some of me activities be disruptin' his personal businesses. So he colluded with Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard, who cornered me with two ships and the crew of two additional ships, off the coast of North Carolina near Ocracoke, while most of me own crew were on shore leave. I be about to finish off the scurvy Maynard when one of his crew slashed me from behind. I had five or six bullets in me (lost count in all the excitement) and twenty sword cuts. And that ended the life of a mere mortal. But that be only the beginnin' of the legend that would continue to grow for centuries.

Be honest, have ye ever heard the name of Robert Maynard before? I suspect not. But the whole world has heard of Blackbeard! The legend lives on! And with yer help in spreadin' the word, we can correct the image, so that the legend be a force for good in a world consumed by evil. Hunt January 2025 Clue: This skeleton key person was co-lead singer of a band inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

In reality, I be always fightin' for the 'little guy'. I did not like the way the establishment, or powerful leaders, be they called Royals, Presidents, Members of Congress, Senate, or Elites, enslaved what they called 'lesser humans', or 'despicables'. All the people in power be scallywags in me own opinion. They pillage and plunder like no pirate that ever sailed the seas. And they always say, "We be doin' this for the good of the people". Arrr!

Spread the word, me Bucko, help ole' Blackbeard set the record straight. Me entire life me be strivin for health, wealth and happiness. Right up until the end, I be either employed by the British Crown in the Royal Navy, a Privateer with papers from the British Royalty, or workin' with the Governor of North Carolina, North America.

And let this be a lesson to ye, if ye are bein' paid by the national leaders to do things that some would question, it be only a matter of time before ye become a loose end that the Royals can't afford to have unravel. In modern terms, they will throw ye under the bus to save their own scurvy hides, and destroy all evidence that ye worked for them! And then they will brag to the citizens that they saved the citizens from the criminal or the terrorist. Arrr!

Navigate over to Blackbeard Personal Life for more stories about me early days before becoming a notable pirate.