Blackbeard- Despite his legendary reputation, little is known about the early life of Blackbeard

Blackbeard- Despite his legendary reputation, little is known about the early life of Blackbeard. Even his true name is uncertain, though it is usually given as some variation of Edward Thatch or Teach.

He is reported to have served as a privateer during Queen Anne's War (1701 - 1714), and turned to piracy sometime after the war's conclusion. N.C.-based Maritime archaeologist and historian David Moore spent considerable time tracing the history of Blackbeard.

The earliest primary source document Moore located that mentions the pirate by name dates to the summer of 1717. Other records indicate that by the fall of 1717 Blackbeard was operating off Delaware and Chesapeake bays in conjunction with two other pirate captains, Benjamin Hornigold and Stede Bonnet.

 Blackbeard served an apprenticeship under Hornigold before becoming a pirate captain in his own right.He would capture his flagship, The Queen Annes Revenge in 1717 (tomorrows post will be on that ship specifically). After taking his new ship, he cruised the Caribbean, taking prizes and adding to his fleet. According to David Moore's research, from the Grenadines, Blackbeard sailed north along the Lesser Antilles plundering ships near St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Nevis, and Antigua, and by early December he had arrived off the eastern end of Puerto Rico. From there, a former captive reported that the pirates were headed to Samana Bay in Hispaniola (Dominican Republic). By April 1718, the pirates were off the Turneffe Islands in the Bay of Honduras. It was there that Blackbeard captured the sloop Adventure, forcing the sloop's captain, David Herriot, to join him. Sailing east once again, the pirates passed near the Cayman Islands and captured a Spanish sloop off Cuba that they also added to their flotilla. Turning north, they sailed through the Bahamas and proceeded up the North American coast. In May 1718, the pirates arrived off Charleston, South Carolina, with Queen Anne's Revenge and three smaller sloops. In perhaps the most brazen act of his piratical career, Blackbeard blockaded the port of Charleston for nearly a week.

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