Edward teach [1] was the first pirate when the government tried to ban it, but it got out of hand. In Queen Anne's time, he was a sailor on an armed civilian ship. He has a thick black beard. He belongs to Captain Goth, a great pirate. Later, he left Gott and started his own business. 17 15 years, when he commanded the Revenge Queen with 40 guns, he found the Royal Navy that ordinary pirates dared not provoke. His madness made his name a household name after World War I, and the whole Atlantic coast was plunged into the horror that "even the Royal Navy could not ensure safety". He has deep wild eyes and a thick and unique beard. The beard is so ostentatious that sometimes it has to be tied into a lot of pigtails that run around in all directions. He has one eye and one leg replaced by a piece of wood, and wears deerskin boots all the year round. He is full of energy and has an excellent appetite. He was drunk all day and smelled of sweat and gunpowder. The smell is so strong that everyone who wants to talk to him can't help taking a step back. He always wears a pair of epaulettes on his broad shoulders, and his holster is full of bullets and three pistols. What's more, when he is in a good mood, there is always a leisurely parrot on his shoulder. The most striking feature is that before each robbery, two lighted fuses were inserted under his D 'Artagnan hat, and black smoke was emitted from both ears, so that everyone saw him as if he was facing a powder keg that was about to explode at any time. This is the notorious pirate "Blackbeard". Blackbeard's real name is edward teach. 1680 was born in Bristol, England. At that time, Britain was in turmoil and was at war with Spain, a maritime competitor for many years. As a result, the British government acquiesced in some armed civilian ships attacking and robbing foreign merchant ships at sea (mainly against Spanish merchant ships), and young Blackbeard became a sailor of such armed civilian ships. 17 13, the "Anglo-Spanish naval battle" came to an end and Spain was defeated. According to the Treaty of Utrecht, the Strait of Gibraltar was not only ceded to Britain, but also monopolized the slave trade, and the British Empire became a veritable maritime hegemon. So "triangle trade" began to rise. The so-called "triangle trade" is the international trade centered on the slave trade. At that time, a large number of British businessmen transported glass, ceramics, various decorations, gin, guns, ammunition, bronze and tin utensils from Liverpool, Bristol and London to Africa to exchange slaves, then transported slaves to plantations in West India and South America, sold them to plantation owners, and bought colonial sugar and tobacco to return to Britain. Triangle trade brought a steady stream of money to Britain, and many people became very rich in a short time. In such a trade atmosphere, the original armed civilian ships are like a duck to water, and many sailors have become professional pirates. Later, they even robbed merchant ships of other countries, even Britain's own ships. As a result, the whole Caribbean has become a hunting ground for pirates. When the queen ordered the armed civilian ships to stop attacking merchant ships, she discovered what was meant by playing with fire and setting herself on fire. It is in this historical background that Blackbeard began his thrilling pirate career. 17 16 years is the turning point of Blackbeard's career. This year, he began to follow the famous Captain Honeygold as a pirate, and later Captain Honeygold appointed him as a commander on a looted ship. Blackbeard faithfully followed Captain Honeygold for two years. Later, in the Caribbean, Captain Honeygold successfully robbed a large merchant ship that sold slaves and transported jewelry from Africa to America. This is a very luxurious three-masted sailboat, built in the Netherlands and equipped with 36 guns. At that time, in addition to a large number of slaves, the ship was full of gold, silver and precious stones. Captain Honeygold got the ship and gave it to edward teach as a reward. Blackbeard was very excited to take over this powerful merchant ship, renamed it "Revenge Queen" and started a new stove. Black beard was unknown when he started to fight alone, but he became famous on his first voyage. It turned out that pirates at that time, after all, always tried their best to avoid the royal navy of the British Empire under the banner of serving Her Majesty the Queen. Even if you meet in a narrow way, try to avoid fighting. Unless you put all your eggs in one basket, you won't fight the British navy. But Blackbeard was reckless. He was born a fugitive. In the eyes of others, this is a catastrophe, but in his view, this is only the most exciting challenge. So as soon as he went out to sea, he went straight to the British coastal defense agency on the east coast and brazenly robbed the British merchant ship "Ellen" in the port of the military port. At that time, the British navy warships moored in the harbor turned out to be British pirates attacking British warships under clear skies. They were surprised and quickly left Hong Kong to intercept. The British warship fired first, and Blackbeard drove the "Revenge Queen" to avoid the other side's shelling. He seized the opportunity to advance at full speed and crashed the British warship into the middle. The suicide outlaw simply stunned the Royal Navy because they had never seen such a play and were at a loss for a moment. Black beard's pirates took the opportunity to shoot wildly on the deck with guns. British officers and men suffered heavy casualties and fled in haste. Black beard is famous all over the world, and ships along the Atlantic coast run away as soon as they hear this name. Just when people were alarmed by the name Blackbeard, he suddenly disappeared without a trace, leaving the British navy chasing him back in vain. After two years, when he was gradually forgotten by people, he quietly came out. From then on, on the routes from Virginia in the north to Honduras in the south, almost all the ships coming and going were within the scope of his robbery, and many merchant ships became his bag. After 18 months of crazy robbery, Blackbeard's spoils piled up like mountains. In some port cities in North Carolina, he disposed of a lot of stolen things at a low price. What is even more unimaginable is that people soon discovered that gold and money are not his only hobbies. His greatest hobby is to torture people for fun and torture them to death. Blackbeard's favorite way to kill prisoners-walking on a board. Why do you say that? It turned out that every time Blackbeard robbed a ship, he ordered the passengers to tie their hands, blindfolded them, and threatened them to jump into the sea one by one by the side of the ship with a sword until all the passengers on board died. Once, a captured captain showed a slight resistance to Blackbeard, so he cut off the captain's nose and ears and forced him to eat the bloody ears and nose on the spot. The most cruel thing is that Blackbeard not only killed innocent people, but also spared those who worked with him. It is said that whenever a treasure is robbed and needs to be buried, he will take a sailor with him. However, when he was half buried, he often attacked and killed sailors from behind and buried his body with the treasure. 1765438+In May 2008, Blackbeard successfully achieved the boldest raid in his whole pirate career: he led four pirate ships to block Charleston, the capital of South Carolina, looted all the ships in the harbor, and then set fire to it. In an instant, all the boats were on fire. In this robbery, he kidnapped many hostages and members of the city Council, and cut off the heads of these hostages, demanding that the city government exchange huge ransom for the freedom of the hostages. Under the brutal threat of Blackbeard, the city government had to meet his demands. When Blackbeard's pirate fleet left Charleston Harbor, it not only obtained a lot of cotton, tobacco and other items, but also extorted a ransom of 6.5438+0.5 million pounds. This huge ransom is enough for him to enjoy for a lifetime. So he wants to break up and keep the treasure for himself. In order to get rid of those accomplices who risked their lives with him, he set a poisonous plan to drive the "Revenge of Queen Anne" and two other ships to an isolated island and deliberately run aground, so that his men could go ashore for inspection and repair. He and 40 other confidants quickly left the island by boat. Two days later, British major Bonnett accidentally sailed his sailboat to this uninhabited island, just to save all the pirates left by Blackbeard. At that time, although most members of the South Carolina city government were intimidated by Blackbeard's arrogance, there was one exception, and that was Virginia Governor Alexander Putzwood. The man was determined to kill Blackbeard at all costs, and Blackbeard's ruthlessness to his partner angered all the pirates who came back alive at that time. They contacted many businessmen and planters who were hurt by Blackbeard, found Spotwood together and decided to take revenge on him. Soon, the governor issued an announcement encouraging the public to help the government catch Blackbeard and his accomplices. The municipal government offered a reward 100 for catching Blackbeard himself; 40 pounds for catching other pirate captains; Catch his lieutenant for 20 pounds; The prize for catching junior officers is15; The reward for catching ordinary pirates is 10. In addition, Governor Spitz Wood turned to the British naval base for help. The Royal Navy sent two warships, Pearl and Lin, carrying more than 60 sailors and a large number of weapons to help catch Blackbeard. Captain Robert Maynard is the commander-in-chief of the two warships. 17 18 autumn, Spotwood received a tip-off that Blackbeard's flagship "Adventurer" was moored in Oakcock Bay, and he immediately sent the two warships to catch it. At this time, Blackbeard was tipped off by his insider, the governor's secretariat. In the evening, they spent the night partying on the shore and returned to the pirate ship equipped with nine guns after dawn. In the afternoon 171865438+10/7, the two sides began to exchange fire. Captain Maynard saw a black beard flag hanging from the mast of another pirate ship in the distance-a blood-red heart and a white skull printed on the black background. Blackbeard's gunner is battle-hardened after all. When they started fighting, they hit the rime accurately. The soldiers on board suffered heavy casualties, and Captain Baker died immediately. Blackbeard turned the gun and fired at Pearl. In the fierce battle between the two sides, I saw Captain Blackbeard approaching the gun tube with a lighted fuse. He shouted sullenly, "Go to hell!" "Then, the little spark in his hand jumped up and spread back along the fuse. Subsequently, the breech gun slammed into the fork-shaped movable gun mount, and a deadly shell was ejected towards the British warship. The artillery regiment on the pirate ship bombarded the Royal Navy warships with breeches. The English sloop and the pirate ship gradually approached, one meter at a time, until the two ships suddenly contacted and met. Due to the complex terrain of Oklahock Bay, there are shoals and reefs everywhere, and the ships of both sides soon ran aground, and the naval battle became a land war. At this time, the captain Maynard on the naval ship ordered all the soldiers to hide immediately, leaving only two people standing on the deck as bait. Blackbeard was really taken in. He thought that all the people on board were killed. He climbed onto the Pearl with both hands and roared, and the Royal Navy suddenly rushed out from below and began a fierce hand-to-hand combat. In this bloody battle, Captain Maynard ended up with only 12 soldiers alive. Blackbeard thinks he will win soon. Suddenly, he found Captain Maynard, drew his gun and fired. Blackbeard and Captain Maynard pulled out their pistols almost at the same time, but Blackbeard didn't hit him because he was drunk. Maynard shot him in the stomach, and Blackbeard screamed at me and broke Maynard's sword. A sailor loaded a bullet and quickly stabbed him in the neck. Black beard choked Maynard's throat while spraying blood, and other sailors rushed to strike until he was killed. After Blackbeard finished, Captain Maynard and the soldiers always found 25 knife wounds and 5 gunshot wounds on Blackbeard when cleaning up the battlefield. He ordered his men to cut off the black beard's head and feed it to the sharks. There are two stories about Blackbeard's head: Some people say that after his head was cut off, Blackbeard swam many times and ventured until he disappeared into the depths of the sea forever. It is also said that Captain Maynard took the chopped head as a warning, hung it on the teeth of a warship and brought it back to Virginia. A week later, the black beard's head was boiled, wrapped in silver foil and made into a wine glass. Later, people used it in many pubs until the silver-plated pirate head mysteriously disappeared on the east coast of the United States. Why did the pirate's head glass mysteriously disappear later? It turned out that after Blackbeard's death, his buried treasure became the target of many people's search. Because it has never been found, someone wants to find clues about his hidden treasure from his head. Blackbeard's Head In fact, the search for Blackbeard's treasure began after he was killed. At that time, after Blackbeard was killed by Captain Maynard, the soldiers of the Royal Navy searched all the places on Blackbeard's pirate ship that might hide the treasure. But after searching, they only found 145 bags of cocoa beans, 1/barrel of wine, 1 barrel of indigo and1bag of cotton, but they didn't find any gold, silver or jewelry. Since then, there have been countless stories about the whereabouts of Blackbeard's treasure, because the captain of the merchant ship robbed by Blackbeard knows that he must have hidden a lot of treasures, but where are those treasures? As a result, all the daily necessities and residences related to Blackbeard have become the targets of treasure hunters. After many years, they finally admitted that Blackbeard was too cunning. He didn't leave a few words and any clues, let alone a treasure map. Not only that, Blackbeard declared shortly before his death that only the devil and himself could find the place where he hid his treasure. 1997 270 years after the sinking of the flagship of Blackbeard pirate fleet, an American diver finally found its trail. Archaeologists later determined that the wreckage of the Revenge Queen was located in the so-called "hurricane corridor" 200 meters off the coast of North Carolina. As a result, people began to expect to fish out a batch of treasures underwater. Of course, this is just a wish of treasure hunters. As for when this wish can be realized, it seems that the old man needs to continue to testify.