The sight of Blackbeard was enough to make most of his adversaries surrender without a fight. If they gave up peacefully, he would usually take their valuables, navigational instruments, weapons, and rum before allowing them to sail away. If they resisted, he would often maroon the crews and burn their ship. It was more often than not that Blackbeard’s oppenents surrendered after the first sight of him (Butler 21). As stated by Captain Charles Johnson, “his eyes naturally looking fierce and wild, made him altogether such a figure, that imagination cannot

Aside from his frightening appearance, Blackbeard’s reputation stemmed from his accomplishments as a great pirate. He began his pirating in 1714 as a crewman aboard a Jamaican sloop commanded by the pirate Benjamin Hornigold. In 1717, Hornigold appointed Teach to command his own captured vessel (Konstam, Pirates 102). Together, the two pirates captured numerous vessels including “the 20-ton Concorde, a French vessel. Blackbeard assumed command of the vessel and renamed it Queen Anne’s Revenge, probably as an insult to King George I” (Butler 20). He then rearmed the ship, converting it into a 40-gun warship. Queen Anne's Revenge was one of the largest pirate ships to ever sail the Spanish Main. The following year “he established his base in a North Carlonia inlet, forcibly collected tolls from shipping in Pamlico Sound, and made a prize-sharing agreement with Charles Eden, governor of the North Carolina colony” (“Teach” 855). No doubt Blackbeard had established a niche in North Carolina, and was developing his reputation with every month of piracy. Then in May of 1718, Teach set up a weeklong blockade in the port of Charleston, capturing eight vessels and inprisoning many important citizens (Konstam, Pirates 102). After the blockade, “merchant ships in the harbor were so scared of the nortoious Blackbeard that they refused to leave anchorage, and all commerce was suspended” (Meltzer 24). During the winter of 1717-1718, Teach cruised the Caribbean, taking prizes. Along the way, he decided to keep two smaller captured vess

Some topics in this essay:
Edward Teach, Charles Johnson, Konstam Pirates, George England, Bonnet Teach, Royal Navy, North Carolina, Konstam Shipwrecks, Teach Piracy, North American, butler 21, butler 20, edward teach, royal navy, konstam pirates 102, blackbeard’s reign, north carolina, pirates 102, blockade port, konstam pirates, king george,