Blackbeard

Edward Teach (or Thatch), better known as Blackbeard (c. 1680 – 22 November 1718), was an English pirate who prowled the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. His early life remains largely unknown, though he possibly served as a privateer during Queen Anne's War. Around 1716, he joined Captain Benjamin Hornigold's crew at their base on New Providence island in the Bahamas. Hornigold eventually gave Teach command of a captured sloop, and together they conducted numerous piracy operations. Their fleet grew with the addition of two ships, including one commanded by Stede Bonnet, though Hornigold retired from piracy in late 1717, taking two vessels with him.

Teach's most significant capture was a French slave ship, La Concorde, which he renamed Queen Anne's Revenge. He armed it with 40 guns and assembled a crew of over 300 men. His fearsome reputation was enhanced by his appearance - he earned his nickname from his thick black beard, which he would weave with lit fuses to terrify his enemies. His most daring exploit was the blockade of Charles Town, South Carolina, where he ransomed the port's inhabitants. After running Queen Anne's Revenge aground near Beaufort, North Carolina, he parted ways with Bonnet and settled in Bath Town, accepting a royal pardon. However, he soon returned to piracy, drawing the attention of Virginia's Governor Alexander Spotswood. The governor organized a hunting party, and on 22 November 1718, Teach met his end in a fierce battle with Lieutenant Robert Maynard's sailors.

Despite his intimidating reputation, Teach was known as a calculating leader who preferred psychological warfare over violence, using his fearsome image to intimidate victims into submission. After his death, he was romanticized in popular culture, becoming the prototype for pirate characters in fiction across many genres.