Bristol can boast a terrible rogues' gallery of reckless, vicious pirates but
none of them approach the devilry of the infamous Blackbeard. This bizarre character was portrayed with relish by the star Robert Newton in the title role of the Hollywood film, but even Newton at his over-the-top best couldn't have matched the original.EDWARD TEACH
The English Pirate Edward Teach was born in Redcliffe Bristol, England around 1680. He was nicknamed Blackbeard for all of his facial hair, in which he would weave hemp and light during battles to strike terror in his enemies. He served as a seaman on privateers sailing out of Jamaica during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-13), and later served aboard a Jamaican sloop commanded by the pirate Benjamin Hornigold.
Blackbeard was made captain of a captured trading sloop while serving under Captain Hornigold. A later capture of a French merchant ship "the Concorde" provided him with his flagship which he renamed the Queen Annes Revenge.
THE END OF BLACKBEARD
He was killed by the Royal Navy on November 22, 1718 off the coast of North Carolina. He was undoubtedly one of the most dreaded and despised pirates of all times..
Bristol can boast a terrible rogues' gallery of reckless, vicious pirates but
none of them approach the devilry of the infamous Blackbeard. This bizarre character was portrayed with relish by the star Robert Newton in the title role of the Hollywood film, but even Newton at his over-the-top best couldn't have matched the original.