History of Blackbeard

Edward Teach is probably the most famous pirate to ever live. He more commonly known as the fearsome and bloodthirsty pirate, Blackbeard. Edward was born around the year 1680. Teach left for the Caribbean in the early 18th century where pirates were causing serious damage on Spanish shipping. While he was in Jamaica, Blackbeard served as a privateer under the command of Captain Benjamin Hornigold. While working for Hornigold, Blackbeard commanded his first vessel, which was a sloop. Soon he captured a French merchant vessel and named it Queen Anne's Revenge. He then changed the Queen Anne's Revenge into a 40-gun flagship. After Britain banned privateering, Teach turned towards outright piracy. He soon became the most fearsome pirate in the western hemisphere.
Teach received his nickname because of his long, black beard. As rumor has it, Teach would light slow-burning fuses and tie them to the end of his beard. They say that when most merchants saw this, they surrendered immediately.
Blackbeard left the Caribbean in 1718. He moved up north and began to raid the coastal waters of the Carolinas and Virginia. Here he would hold one of his most famous exploits. He lead a blockade of Charleston harbor that lasted a week. He wouldn't leave until his orders concerning the medical supplies were fulfilled. During this time, Blackbeard and Charles Eden, the governor of North Carolina, were in cahoots. Eden gave Blackbeard protection in exchange for a percent of the profit he made. This lasted a short while because the governor of Virginia offered a reward for the death or capture of Blackbeard. Then on November 22, 1718, Captain Robert Maynard attacked Blackbeard's ship and a huge battle began. In the end Blackbeard was killed and then decapitated. Captain Maynard kept the head and hung it on his ship.