I will not be merciful, or I will go to hell, Edward "Blackbeard" Tichy, 1716-1718.
Far from being the most successful pirate, "Blackbeard" Edward Titch was the most notorious.
He was a British privateer during the War of Queen Anne (1702–1713), and at the end of the war he turned to pirates.
In 1716, Blackbeard traveled to the "Pirate Republic" in Nassau, Bahamas, where he met Captain Benjamin Honeygold.
Honeygold had him command a small sailing ship. The two men collaborated in the hijacking of ships and operated in the waters off Cuba and Bermuda, as well as along the east coast of North America.
Honeygold and Blackbeard soon encountered the Barbadian pirate, the "Gentleman" Sted Bonet, who was seriously wounded in a fight with a Spanish warship, half of Bonet's crew died, and the remaining 70 lost confidence in his leadership.
So, the three began to join forces, and Bonet temporarily placed his sloop "Revenge" under the command of "Blackbeard".
Power
In November 1717, near Martinique, Honeygold seized a 200-ton fast ship, the "Concorde of Nantes". Honeygold puts Blackbeard in charge of the precious ship. Blackbeard renamed it Queen Anne's Revenge.
In December of the same year, King George I passed the Reparations Act, which pardoned pirates who publicly declared their careers as pirates.
Honeygold opposed the arbitrary plundering of all ships, including British ships, and lost his position as captain.
He was pardoned by the king and parted ways with "Blackbeard".
Bonet's men eventually abandoned him in favor of Blackbeard.
Blackbeard ordered the Queen Anne's Revenge to be taken care of and kept Bonet on board as a "guest".
Soon after, Blackbeard sailed for North Carolina, where he blockaded the Port of Charleston, captured nine boats, and blackmailed a wealthy businessman politician.
The Queen Anne Revenge ran aground as soon as it left Port Charleston.
Bonet and Blackbeard had the fleet dock at Topsay Inlet before disembarking for Bath, North Carolina, where they were pardoned by Governor Charles Eden in June 1718.
However, when Bonet stayed, Blackbeard secretly ransacked the Queen Anne's Revenge and two other ships, and transferred the stolen goods to his small sailing ship, the Adventure. "Blackbeard" violated the terms, and the government offered a large reward for his arrest.
On November 22, 1718, Lieutenant Robert Maynard led two Royal Navy warships to meet Blackbeard's Adventure in Oklacook Bay.
The last resistance
At first, Blackbeard lured Royal Navy warships to the sandbar. Instead of fleeing, he twice attacked Maynard's sailing ship with a gunwale. When the black smoke cleared, the lieutenant and several crew members were still on deck, and Blackbeard ordered his 23 pirates to occupy the enemy ship.
As the pirates climbed aboard, 30 armed sailors suddenly appeared from below deck and a bloody battle began. Maynard and Blackbeard pointed their respective muskets at each other and pulled the trigger. Blackbeard missed, and Maynard hit the opponent in the abdomen. However, Blackbeard quickly recovered and slashed Maynard's sword in half with a short machete. However, before he could continue his attack, one of Maynard's men pierced a spear into his shoulder. Blackbeard's men surrendered due to disadvantage in weapons and manpower, but he continued to resist and eventually died with 5 gunshot wounds and 20 knife wounds.
Maynard ordered the head of Blackbeard to be hung on the bow slash. Later, Blackbeard's head was suspended from a pillar near the Hampton River to set an example.
"Legal" pirates
Sociologists have long recognized that crime and deviance arise under specific circumstances and change over time and location. Pirates are a prime example.
In the mid-13th century, King Henry III of England began issuing a type of license called a "privateer's mandate", allowing sailors to attack and plunder foreign ships.
After 1295, this license was known as a "privateer permit".
In the 16th and 18th centuries, the number of privateers grew tremendously, and some did so without royal permission, such as Francis Drake, who attacked Spanish ships. During the Queen Anne Wars, English privateers often looted French and Spanish ships. However, when the war between the countries ended, the formerly legitimate professional privateers suddenly found themselves outlaws.
Thus, the determination of whether an act is criminal depends on how the social structure changes, which is determined by larger political and economic realities.
