Edward Teach: The Golden Age Of Piracy

During the early 1700s, there was a time commonly known as, “The Golden Age of Piracy.” During these years the amount of pirates sailing our seas grew exponentially. Also during these years the inspired pirates usually came from a privateering career, who also inspired other privateers to join as well. They are well known for pillaging and/or plundering other ships at sea. One of the more popular ones during this time was a man known as Blackbeard.
His real name was Edward Teach, but it is also said that his last name could’ve been Thatch or Drummond. Through a majority of the official documents has it stated as Edward Teach. Teach was born and raised in Bristol, United Kingdom sometime in the 1680’s. There is no record of Teach going to school,
He had an enormous black beard, which he tied up with black ribbons and twisted into braids. According to some accounts, it covered his entire face and grew down to his waist. Before going into battle, he tucked pieces of hempen rope (rope made from fibers of the hemp plant)—which were soaked in saltpeter and lit—into his hair. The slow-burning chords of rope gave off clouds of thick black smoke that gave him the appearance of a living demon. Captain Charles Johnson, the author of a pirate history that was published six years after Teach's death, wrote what is probably the best-known description of the infamous pirate: "Captain Teach assumed the cognomen [nickname] of Black-beard, from that large quantity of hair, which, like a frightful meteor, covered his whole face, and frightened America more than any comet that has appeared there in a long time." (“Blackbeard”)
Not only was his smoking beard a distinguishing feature of his, but he was also identifiable by all of his weapons and clothes. He was known to have many swords, knives, and pistols to his disposal, and would always wear a feathered tricorn hat.
This event has been said to be the Blockade of Charleston.
Around the end of May in 1718, Blackbeard had entered the Charleston harbor with his ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, and three lighter vessels. He had plundered five merchant freighters that were trying to enter or leave the port. Other vessels would not transit the harbor in fear of encountering the pirate squadron. On one of the more important ships that Blackbeard captured in the harbor was a group of eminent Charleston citizens, including Samuel Wragg. The people were held hostage for a very interesting ransom, this was a chest of medicines.
Due partly to his envoys’ preference for carousing rather than bargaining, the demand took many days to be delivered. Evidently, those who were held hostage by Blackbeard, were nearly murdered by Blackbeard himself. The medicines were eventually delivered and the prisoners were not harmed but most likely very frightened. Blackbeard’s squadron then escaped the harbor and traveled