Teach captured a French merchant vessel, renamed her Queen Anne's Revenge, and equipped her with 40 guns. He became a renowned pirate, his cognomen derived from his thick black beard and fearsome appearance; he was reported to have tied lit fuses under his hat to frighten his enemies. He formed an alliance of pirates and blockaded the port of Charleston, South Carolina. After successfully ransoming its inhabitants, he ran Queen Anne's Revenge aground on a sandbar near Beaufort, North Carolina. He parted company with Bonnet and settled in Bath Town, where he accepted a royal pardon. But he was soon back at sea, where he attracted the attention of Alexander Spotswood, the Governor of Virginia. Spotswood arranged for a party of soldiers and sailors to try to capture the pirate, which they did on 22 November 1718. During a ferocious battle, Teach and several of his crew were killed by a small force of sailors led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard. (Intro from Wikipedia)
January(?) 1(?), 1680 - Bristol - Edward Teach, future Blackbeard, is born
January(?) 1(?), 1693 - Bristol - Edward's father dies. Shortly after, his mother remarries
January(?) 1(?), 1697 - Bristol - Story says Edward's stepfather disliked him and beated him regularly, until one day when the 16-year old turns on him and beats him half to death. His only alternative was to sign as a cabin boy to the first ship out of Bristol. That was a merchantman bound for Port Royal.
June(?) 1(?), 1697 - Port Royal, Jamaica - Arrival in Jamaica
January(?) 1(?), 1699 - Port Royal - After two years, Teach becomes a highly skilled sailor, serving on merchant ships
January(?) 1(?), 1708 - Port Royal - Teach likely becomes a privateer in 1708, during the War of the Spanish Succession
January(?) 1(?), 1713 - Port Royal | Bay of Campeche - With the end of the war, Teach, like most of the other privateers, turns to commerce with logwood cutter communities in the Bay of Campeche
January(?) 1(?), 1715 - Nassau, New Providence - Bahamas - Harassed like the others by the spanish, Teach is forced to look for living in New Providence
December 1(?), 1716 - Nassau, New Providence - Bahamas - After meeting the pirate captain Benjamin Hornigold, Teach is reported to as a pirate crewmember by that time =(START)
March 1(?), 1717 - Nassau - By this time, Blackbeard already commanded a sloop with 6 guns and 70 men
April (?) 1(?), 1717 - Nassau - Hornigold and Teach depart for the main of América
May(?) 1(?), 1717 - Between Florida and Grand Bahama? - Hornigold and Teach capture a billop from Havana, a sloop from Bermuda and a ship from Madeira
July(?) 1(?), 1717 - Coast of Virginia / Carolinas - Cruising the Coasts of the Carolinas and Virginia, searching for prey
September 15, 1717 - Off Cape Fear - heading to the Virginia Capes (Hornigold, Blackbeard and Bonnet)
September 20(?), 1717 - Coast of Virginia - Careening the "Revenge" in a protected cove
September 29, 1717 - near Cape Charles (Cheasapeake Bay) - Teach, takes the sloop "Betty", carrying Madeira wine
October 4, 1717 - Delaware Bay - Teach reaches Delaware Bay. Bonnet probably resigns the command of the "Revenge" by this time
October 12, 1717 - Delaware Bay - Takes the snows "Spofford" and "Sea Nymph", aswell as a ship from Liverpool
October 18, 1717 - Capes of Virginia - Takes another 2 ships. Described as being with "Hornigold"
October 22, 1717 - Delaware Bay - The sloops "Robert" and "Good Intent" were stopped and their cargo holds emptied
October 31, 1717 - ? - Blackbeard sails south-Southeast to less stormy seas
November 8, 1717 - Anguilla or Barbuda, N Leeward Islands - After a fast time with northeasterly wind, Blackbeard makes landfall in Anguilla or Barbuda
November 12(?), 1717 - Coast of the Bahamas - Hornigold faces a mutiny and Blackbeard part ways with him
November 17, 1717 - 60 miles W of Martinique - Laying West of Martinique, Blackbeard spots a sail and gives chase
A french slaveship similar to the La Concorde, 1716 |
November 30, 1717 - ? - Blackbeard overtakes the sloop "New Division" and interrogates the captain for shipping information
November 31, 1717 - St.Lucia | St.Vincent - Blackbeard takes and destroys the "Great Allen", a big ship from Boston
December 1(?), 1717 - Bequia - Teach sails along Saint Vincent and Grenadines, disembark the cargo and converts the ship as "Queen Anne's Revenge"
December 5, 1717 - Off Crab Island, near Anguilla - Blackbeard stops the merchant sloop "Margaret" and ransack her
December 14(?), 1717 - Off Sint Eustacius - Two sloops captured plus a ship from Guadaloupe taken
December 18(?), 1717 - Samana Bay, Hispaniola - Blackbeard spends 3 quiet months in Hispaniola. Careens the ships
March 30(?), 1718 - Turneffe Island, E of Belize - Takes fresh water. Takes the Sloop "Adventure". Crew and captain join the pirates
April 9, 1718 - Bay of Honduras - Blackbeard loots and burns the "Protestant Caesar"
April 14, 1718 - Bay of Honduras - Blackbeard and Bonnet separate
April(?), 16(?), 1718 - Trujillo, Honduras - Passing through Trujillo in route to the Caymans
April(?), 22(?), 1718 - Grand Cayman - Captures a small turtler
May 9(?), 1718 - Off Havana, Cuba - Captures a small spanish vessel leaving the port
May 12(?), 1718 - off eastern Florida (Bahamas Channel) - Blackbeard sails to the wrecks of the 1715 spanish fleet
May 22, 1718 - Charleston, South Carolina - Blackbeard blockades the port of Charleston. Up to 9 ships are taken in the next 5 days. Blackbeard demands a chest of medical supplies and no money - it is believed that some of the crew had contracted syphilis the previous year
May 27, 1718 - Charleston - With the chest of medical supplies, Blackbeard releases 80 captives, strips them of their best clothes and sails north to hide for a while and careen the ships
June 3, 1718 - Topsail Inlet, North Carolina - Blackbeard arrives to Topsail Inlet
June 10(?), 1718 - Ocracoke - Blackbeard intensionally runs the "Queen Anne's Revenge" aground
June 12(?), 1718 - Ocracoke - As Bonnet goes seek a pardon at Bath, Blackbeard leaves up to 250 pirates behing and 17 marooned (for 2 days until a revengeful Bonnet appears to save them)
June 18(?), 1718 - Ocracoke Inlet | Pamlico Sound - Crosses Ocracocke Inlet and Pamlico Sound to reach Bath City
June 25(?), 1718 - Bath - Blackbeard meets Governor Eden and obtains a pardon. Starts building an house in Plum Point, with a view to Bath Harbour
July 1(?), 1718 - Bath | Ocracoke - Blackbeard spends July and August shuttling between his base in Bath Town and his sloop and crew off Ocracoke
August 30(?) - On the way to Bermuda - As the "Adventure" is ready to put to sea, Blackbeard returns to Piracy
September 15(?), 1718 - On the way to Bermuda - Blackbeard takes three british merchants and two french, bound for the Caribbean
September 24, 1718 - Ocracoke | Bath - Blackbeard takes one of the french prizes to Ocracoke. Audience with Governor Eden in Bath
September 26(?), 1718 - Ocracoke Inlet - Charles Vane's "Ranger" enters in Ocracoke Inlet. Both crews party for a week
November 21, 1718 - Ocracoke Island - Blackbeard's pirates are spotted by Lt.Robert Maynard of "HMS Pearl"
November 22, 1718 - Ocracoke Island - Death of Edward Teach, in combat against Maynard's british expedition =(END)
Bibliography
KONSTAM, Angus - "Blackbeard: America's most notorious pirate"