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.
Charlotte de Berry
also disguised herself as a man, joining the English
navy with her husband. She eventually found herself
forced onto a ship to Africa, whose captain attacked
her. She led a mutiny, beheaded the captain, and turned
the crew to piracy, raiding gold ships on the African
coast.
Charlotte's pirate career demonstrates not only her
own abilities, but also the thin line (or morally, no
line) between then-legal imperialism and piracy. After
all, the gold she stole had originally been stolen from
Africans, who were themselves being violently kidnapped
by the slave trade—rapine of the worse possible
kind. Similarly, the pirates of the Spanish Main were
taking what the conquistadores had stolen from the Aztecs,
Incas, and other Mesoamerican peoples. Charlotte's crew
had been law-abiding sailors when serving under a sadistic
rapist, but outlaws when she led them. This, of course,
in no way excuses the crimes she and these other pirates
committed, it just speaks of the violence of their time,
and that at least these criminals were straightforward
about what they were doing.
ANNE BONNY ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS WOMEN PIRATES.
Anne Bonny was one of the two most famous female pirates.
She sailed on the crew of Calico Jack Rackham. Anne
was romantically involved with Calico Jack but she could
be counted as none the less as fearless as any other
pirate. She was born in County Cork, daughter of an
attorney and his Maid. The lawyer left Ireland in disgrace
but found fortune in the Carolinas. There, he amassed
a fortune and bought a large plantation.
A ne'er-do-well pirate/sailor named James Bonny married
Anne in an attempt to steal the plantation but Anne's
father instead disowned her. Bonny then took Anne to
the Bahamas where he turned informer to Governor Woodes
Rogers, turning in any sailor he didn't like as a pirate
for a handsome reward.
Anne quickly grew to dislike her spineless husband
and quickly caught the eye of one Calico Jack Rackham,
a pirate of some renown. Governor Rogers had recently
passed an amnesty for pirates which left Bonny out of
work. The admiration between Anne and Calico was mutual.
Calico Jack was a handsome man who knew how to spend
money as well as steal it. Anne was a well endowed lass
with a fiery spirit and a temper that matched that of
any man.
In any event, Calico offered to buy Anne from Bonny
but Bonny instead took the matter up with Governor Rogers,
who said that Anne was to be flogged and returned to
her true husband. That night Calico and Anne slipped
out in the harbor, stole a sloop and began a life of
piracy together.
Anne fought in men's clothing, was an expert with pistol
and cutlass and considered as dangerous as any male
pirate. She was fearless in battle and often was a member
of any boarding party.
In October of 1720, retribution was close at hand.
The governor of Jamaica, hearing of Calico's presence
sent an armed sloop to intervene and capture the Captain
and crew. Calico's ship "Revenge", was caught
by surprise and much to Anne dismay, the pirates fought
like cowards and were taken far too easily.
Anne and Mary Read, were also captured but, upon capture,
confessed their "sex" and pleaded to be tried
separately after they gave birth. (Both women were pregnant
at the time). Both received separate trials from the
men but were still sentenced to hang. Mary Read escaped
the hangman by dying from fever while in jail. Anne
however, received several stays of execution before
mysteriously vanishing from official records. It is
believed that her father, who had contacts in the island,
forgave his daughter for her acts and ransomed her back
to the Carolinas where she assumed a new name and a
new life.
MARY READ ANOTHER FAMOUS FEMALE PIRATE
(16?? - 1720)
spent most of her life disguised as a man. In fact,
her mother raised Mary as a boy almost from birth —
her father died before she was born, and her infant
brother (whose name may have been Mark), the only legal
heir under patriarchal system of primogeniture, also
died. So, her mother had Mary take her brother's place
to keep them out of poverty. From this ruse, Mary's
paternal grandmother (who somehow controlled the money)
supported the family until she, too, died. By the way,
all this dying and disguising took place in Devon County,
England.
After this, Mary was on her own. She first held a job
as a footboy, but she was apparently not the subservient
type. She wanted action, and found it by enlisting in
the infantry, fighting in Flanders (now parts of Belgium,
France, and the Netherlands). Mary served with distinction,
but fell in love with another soldier, revealing her
gender to him. They left the army, married, and ran
a tavern, The Three Horseshoes, from 1697 to 1717. This
all ended when peace cleared out their military clientel,
and the man died not long after they went bankrupt.
Mary once again disguised herself as a man so she could
earn a living.
A hundred years is a very long time,
Ho, yes, ho!
A hundred years is a very long time,
A hundred years ago.
They used to think that pigs could fly
Ho, yes, ho!
I don't believe it, no, not I.
A hundred years ago.
They thought the moon was made of cheese.
Ho, yes, ho!
You can believe it if you please.
A hundred years ago.
They thought the stars were set a-light,
Ho, yes, ho!
By some good angel every night,
A hundred years ago.
They hung a man for making steam,
Ho, yes, ho!
They cast his body in the stream.
A hundred years ago.
A hundred years is a very long time,
Ho, yes, ho!
A hundred years is a very long time,
A hundred years ago.
