22.11.1718 The pirate Blackbeard died

Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was an infamous English pirate of the early 18th century. Between 1716 and 1718, he managed to plunder many merchant ships plying the waters of the Caribbean and Atlantic.

It is said that even aboard his ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, he walked around constantly armed with two pistols and a long sabre to make everyone afraid of him.

"He was fond of a peculiar way of frightening his enemies. He would twist burning matches in his hair and beard, so that he looked as if his head were on fire. Many captains surrendered at the first sight of this terrifying spectacle. His depredations ended in November 1718 in a battle with the British fleet," writes Stevenson Robert Louis in Treasure Island.

Blackbeard is said to have been a bad sailor, but a sadistic pirate, a wind-upc was very good at corrupting governors, which allowed him to live relatively undisturbed, first in the Bahamas and then in North Carolina on the islet of Ocraoke.

He began robbing in 1714 and became an independent captain three years later, his career and life ending on 22 November 1718 after a battle with Lieutenant Maynard. The latter had been sent by Blackbeard, the unpaid governor of Virginia, to destroy his pirate nest.

"As a captain, therefore, he had a very brief career, and as a privateer he could hardly sail to bury the great treasure. His captain, then, probably had nothing to bury, because he spared no expense in bribes to governors," writes Jitka Splítková in In the Footsteps of Mysterious Artists and Mysterious Treasures.

Maynard attacked Chernowus early in the morning when it was just dawn. He fired volleys of cannon that hit Blackbeard's ship Adventure. Then he ordered his men to hide in the hold. When the Blackbeard pirates found themselves on Maynard's ship, his men ran out and a battle ensued. And in the middle of it, Maynard and Chesnovous fought each other. Suddenly, a man from the lieutenant's crew jumped between them and decapitated one of the most famous pirates in history. Maynard hung it on the bow of the ship as a trophy.

In 2011, archaeologists began exploring the Queen Anne's Revenge underwater. The vessel had long been exposed to hurricanes. The wreck was only discovered in very poor condition in 2006. Underwater archaeologists were able to secure, for example, a C23 cannon surrounded by a boiler, pewter plates, cannonballs and several unidentified objects.

Sources:
Stevenson Robert Louis, Treasure Island
Jitka Splítková, In the Footsteps of Mysterious Artists and Mysterious Treasures
www.history101.com