Edward Teach - Blackbeard

Edward Teach is probably the most notorious pirate ever known. Blackbeard as he is more commonly known, is his nickname that he gained due his long thick beard. In the early 18th century he sailed around the Caribbean Sea and western Atlantic Ocean. His ship was the Queen Anne's Revenge.

Young Blackbeard's Life
It's usually said Blackbeard was born around the year 1680, in the British port town of Bristol. However there are those that disagree.
Captain Charles Johnson wrote that Blackbeard started seafaring at a young age and served in the War of Spanish Succession aboard a British ship as a privateer along the Spanish Main and the Spanish West Indies.
Then soon after Britain left the war in 1713, like many other privateers Edward Teach became involved in piracy. His first experiences were with Benjamin Hornigold in Jamaica. When King George I offered two pardons, Hornigold felt it was time for retirement but Blackbeard refused and took charge of one of Hornigold's prize ships, the French slave ship La Concorde. He went on to rename her the Queen Anne's Revenge and armed her with 40 guns. From 1717 to 1718 that was his flagship.
Life as a Pirate
Despite Blackbeard's notoriety, there are no records of him killing anyone. His reputation allowed his crew to board merchant ships and plunder all the valuables, food, liquor, and weapons.
Blockade of Charleston
One of the most significant moments in Blackbeard's career is his blockade of the Charleston, South Carolina harbor. In late May 1718, Blackbeard entered the opening of the Charleston harbor with three small ships and the Queen Anne's Revenge. Five merchant freighters attempted to bypass his ships and he plundered each one of them. No vessels could enter or exit the harbor.
One of the ships Blackbeard had captured had some notable people Blackbeard used as hostages for ransom. He made a demand for a chest of medicine. The negotiation was slow but eventually he received his medicine and the citizens went back unharmed.
Afterwards, Blackbeard ran the Queen Anne's Revenge to the ground. He was accused by his own crew of doing so in order to increase his share of the loot. He stripped all his ships of their treasures and marooned most of his crew while fleeing to Bath, North Carolina where under the Royal Act of Grace he accepted a pardon. He went on to enjoy his loot at the Ocracoke Inlet.
Blackbeard's Death
Edward Teach had accepted the pardon and retired from piracy. But regardless, Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood was concerned about him living nearby. Even though he lived outside of Spotswood's jurisdiction he wanted Blackbeard dead.
Larger vessels could not engage Blackbeard in battle because he usually operated in coastal waters. So Lieutenant Robert Maynard was given command of two small sloops by Spotswood and told to kill Blackbeard offering £100 for his head.
On November 11, 1718 from the James River Maynard sailed with his crew and two sloops. Maynard managed to find the pirates anchored in an inlet in Ocracoke Island on November 21.
Maynard and his men waited until the following morning for a more favorable tide. Blackbeard's crew consisted of only 19 men. Blackbeard had been drinking the night before, however his knowledge of the area gave him an advantage and he managed to escape by a narrow channel which grounded Maynard's ship.
When the tide changed again, Maynard's sloops were able to float again. However Blackbeard rammed his ship into one of the two sloops killing several of his men. This also forced the ship ashore and everyone went inside. Blackbeard used rum bottles filled with gunpowder as grenades on the ship before boarding it.
Maynard's came from out under the deck and the battle started. Legends say that Blackbeard was shot and stabbed many times before he finally died. And Maynyard then cut off his head to bring to Spotswood and claim his prize. Spotswood put his head on a pole at a place now called Teach's Point, as a warning to future would-be pirates.