More than any other, Blackbeard can be called North Carolina's own pirate, although he was not a native of the colony and cannot be considered a credit to the Tar Heel State.
As with most pirates, his origin is obscure though his given name was said to have been Edward Drummond. He began his career as an honest seaman, sailing out of his home port of Bristol, England. But, after he became a pirate, he began calling himself Edward Teach. Yet it was as Blackbeard that he was, and still is, known, and under this name, the people of his generation knew him.
Perhaps Edward's piratical tendencies were the result of his early environment. His hometown, Bristol, turned out more pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries than any other English port. As a young lad, he went to sea as a merchant seaman, and his first taste of adventure came in Queen Anne's War, which lasted from 1701 to 1713. Towards the latter stages of the war, he served on a privateer, sailing out of Kingston in Jamaica to prey on French shipments.
The routine of peace following upon the excitement of warfare created a restlessness in the young man who was beginning to call himself Edward Teach. He signed on as a member of the pirate crew of Captain Benjamin Hornigold, sailing out of New Providence in the Bahamas. He soon distinguished himself by his strength, courage, and devil-may-care attitude. He sailed with Hornigold to engage in a plundering expedition off the coast of North America. The hunting was good, and several rich prizes were taken. After careening their ship in Virginia, the pirates sailed on the return voyage to the islands.
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On the way, a merchantman flying the French flag was sighted, overhauled, and taken. She proved to be engaged in trade between the French Island of Martinique and the African coast. Well-built and fast, Teach saw in this ship the means of realizing his ambitions. He suggested to Captain Hornigold that he had demonstrated such energy and leadership as to prove he was capable of commanding a vessel of his own. He asked Hornigold to make him captain of this prize. His request was granted, and Edward Teach was on his way to becoming a legend in the annals of piracy.
Both ships were made for New Providence. They found the town buzzing with the news of the King's proclamation offering clemency to pirates who would promise to reform. Hornigold, by now a wealthy person, decided to accept. You might say he went far beyond the terms of the proclamation. Until his death, Hornigold devoted his energies to aiding the new governor, Woodes Rogers, in capturing other pirates.
Teach had no such ideas. He re-christened his new command, the Queen Anne's Revenge. And before long, 40 cannons were thrusting their ugly muzzles through the gun ports. Such firepower allowed him to attack the largest and best-armed merchant ships. It was not too long before he was able to prove the strength of his ship. The Great Allan, a large merchantman laden with valuable cargo, was taken near the Island of St. Vincent. After the valuables were transferred to the Queen Anne's Revenge and the prisoners put ashore, the Great Allan was put to the torch. Edward Teach had begun his career as a pirate captain in a grand style.
