Documentary about Blackbeard and Queen Annes Revenge

[DonRamon1981]

Hi all.

Today at ZDF Info was a documentary about Edward Teach a.k.a. Captain Blackbeard and his, the most famous pirate ship of all Queen Anne's Revenge.

Here are some pictures I took and some historical facts that are really interesting:

Everybody know the flag of the skeleton hitting a heart already posted in another topic. 

Edward Teach was an English Pirate from Bristol. Very democratic mind, he planned to attack slave ships as they been big and fast on the famous routes he knew for years. He was able to capture a French slave ship called LeConcorde. He kept only 60 slaves (from 560) for his Crew the rest was left alive without any injuries. 

He changed the name to Queen Anne's Revenge (he was Catholic that explains the name of that time)

The US found the ship in the 90s in front of North Carlolinas Coast and are examing it heavily taking cannons and other stuff from the ship wreck. 

They also said there are more fairy tails about pirate than facts, showing the first pirate book from England from 1724 that has more fiction than facts, but inspired all of our, Legos and Hollywood imagination of how pirates was, that is why black flags are more common in our mind than the original red. In the Golden Age the pirates used already more the black flags.

Captain Blackbeard was known for his burning cigars and stuff inside of his beard and hair when Attacking, looking like the devil himself to avoid battles.

99% of his attacks being without battle, and like capturing LeConcorde he let everybody alive without an injury. 

He allegedly did not kill a single man in his whole life.

The book of 1724 had supringsingly a lot of true facts at least about Captain Bleackbeard, who had the biggest part in the book and is documented as having one or the biggest pirate ship ever with the Queen Anne's Revenge.

Most books or novels say he had 40 to 50 guns on board. In fact it was 28, found on the wreck. Also typical for that time to exxagarate a lot.

The cannons was even still loaded, they used a lot of other stuff inside than just cannon balls, because they did not shot to sink the cargo ships they attacked the sails to stop them.

He wanted to hide and get away from the British navy by going close the coast of North Carolina, where he accedently (not like reported by some crew members by purpose) wrecked his ship on a sand bank. 

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You can see on the pictures of the reconstruction of the ship that it was way smaller especially at the back than that one from Pirates of the Caribbean. And the load cannons what they found inside, the metal sticks that was shot to destroy the sails.

The anchor was found far away from the ship as they tried to get away, an usual move if you wrecked in low waters.

Also all the cannons was moved to middle and back of the ship to get it out, unsuccessful. 

The canons being loaded because they tried to get through that bay without being spotted by the British Navy, as Carlina being an British Colony back than, and the British Navy notoriously fighting piracy in 1718. The only chance to survive would be to destroy their sails and sail away if the Navy would spot him.

Edited September 4, 2019 by DonRamon1981

[DonRamon1981]

For those who are interested in Queen Anne's Revenge as his name for the ship...

Queen Anne was the last Queen from the Stuart Family, it was the last Catholic Monarch and the first of Great Britiain (Act of Union from 1707). The war of Spanish Succession, in the Caribbean Era also called Queen Anne's War. Captain Edward Teach was fighting for the British from Jamaica. 

When Queen Anne died in 1714, the Hanover Family took over the British Crown and from now on all Catholics was banned from being British Monarchs. The new King, George I. spoke German and French and wasn't very popular inside the Empire. The pirates that fought officially side by side with British Warship vs the Spanish wasn't took into the Navy like in 1588 after the Spanish Armada was destroyed... no this King declared them pirates again... also Edward Teach.

So Teach became pirate called Blackbeard and felt traitored by the Crown and how the Stuarts was banned from the Crown. So when he captured LeConcorde he took the name Queen Anne's Revenge for the name of his new ship... 

Edited September 4, 2019 by DonRamon1981

[Mister Phes]

This is all very fascinating!

But what was the actual name of the documentary for those who may want to watch it for themselves?

[blackdeathgr]

Thank you for your time and effort! Great facts indeed.