1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:05,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio, and Grim 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky Listener Discretion, advised, genius or insanity. 3 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:26,599 Speaker 1: Those were Edward teaches two working theories as to why 4 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: the quaint sixty ton sloop known as the Revenge was 5 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: currently anchored in a small pirate harbor off the coast 6 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: of the Bahamas. Mere days after the Revenge's arrival, the 7 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 1: docks were already a buzz with rumors and speculation about 8 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: the ship, primarily because of the state in which it 9 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: had sailed into port, or more accurately washed into port. 10 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 1: The vessels still bore the scars of its most recent misadventure. 11 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: Red stains and splintered wood marred the Revenge's deck only 12 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: hastily wiped away by what little remained of their crew. 13 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: If Edward Teach was being honest, he was surprised the 14 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,920 Speaker 1: Revenge was still afloat at all. There was almost no 15 00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: scenario in which a glorified dinghy like the Revenge, really 16 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,959 Speaker 1: any pirate ship at all, should have survived a run 17 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: in with a goliath like that of a Spanish warship 18 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 1: at the time seventeen seventeen. A typical government sanctioned man 19 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,320 Speaker 1: of war could have easily held well over one hundred guns. 20 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 1: The Revenge had ten, though after the devastating defeat against 21 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: the Spanish warship, the Revenge's eccentric captain made sure to 22 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: outfit their artillery with an additional two guns, you know, 23 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: to make up for losing half the crew and nearly 24 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: his own life. Which brought Edward Teach back to his 25 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: original question and the reason he found himself knocking on 26 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: the door to the Revenge's captain's quarters. Was it genius 27 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: or insanity that had led this captain to steer his 28 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: crew to almost certain death? The answer, of course, was 29 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:13,840 Speaker 1: the one theory Teach had not thought to consider in 30 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: the first place, stupidity. It was past the captain's doors 31 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:22,919 Speaker 1: and into his private residence that Teach found himself standing 32 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:26,799 Speaker 1: face to face with the fanciful night shirts and vast 33 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: collection of books adorning the cabin of one Steed Bonnet, or, 34 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: as he would one day come to be known, the 35 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: Gentleman Pirate. Today, the name Steed Bonnet is often relegated 36 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: to a footnote amongst the larger legends associated with the 37 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: quote Golden Age of piracy until a recent television series 38 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 1: on HBO Max. He was almost entirely forgotten by all 39 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: but the most passionate students of eighteenth century history. His 40 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: import had really only ever been measured by the interactions 41 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 1: he had with more infamous pirates. But to Edward Teach 42 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: in that moment, Steve Bonnet was no such footnote. He 43 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,400 Speaker 1: was an idiot, sure, but more than that, he was 44 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: a mystery, an opportunity. For so long, Teach had only 45 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: been a part of other men's crews, just waiting for 46 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:25,040 Speaker 1: the day he could take on a ship and a 47 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: crew of his own, And now suddenly here he stood 48 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: next to the incompetent oaf who was unknowingly handing Teach 49 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: his freedom and his future on a silver platter. Bonnet 50 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,119 Speaker 1: had a ship, but he needed a crew, and frankly, 51 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: he needed a captain to lead them while he healed 52 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: from his injuries. What happened once his wounds healed would 53 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: be an issue for a later date, when he was 54 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: sure he could handle. As he continued to stare at 55 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: the spectacle of a man before him, and for the 56 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: first time since stepping on board, Teach felt the lips 57 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: he hid under his considerable beard pull into a genuine smile. 58 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,280 Speaker 1: He held out his hand to the captain and introduced himself, 59 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: not by his given name, but by the name borne 60 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: out of years of infamy on the high seas, a 61 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: name that sent even the most fearsome of foes cowering 62 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: in their boots. He introduced himself as Blackbeard. The two 63 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: shook hands and made their deal. Blackbeard would take the 64 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: revenge temporarily while steed Bonnet healed. But unbeknownst to them, 65 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: with that handshake also came the promise of their end, 66 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,039 Speaker 1: for by the end of December the following year, both 67 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:52,040 Speaker 1: pirates would be dead. But as Blackbeard stared at steed Bonnet, 68 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: clad in ruffles and what he was sure was a 69 00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 1: posture held only by those raised sucking on silver spoons, 70 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: the infamous pirate captain couldn't help but imagine a different 71 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 1: life for himself, one where he stood at the helm 72 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:11,599 Speaker 1: of a mighty ship and the horizon was suddenly within reach. 73 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:31,719 Speaker 1: I'm Danish Schwartz, and this is noble blood. Given that 74 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: the name itself is gilded, it's hard not to romanticize 75 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: the era we've come to recognize as the Golden Age 76 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: of piracy. Little more than a skull and crossbones is 77 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: needed before our subconscious starts humming shanties and conjuring pictures 78 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 1: of open oceans and overflowing treasure chests. But the reality, 79 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: as per usual, was not as carefree as a drunkenly 80 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:01,919 Speaker 1: stumbling Jack Sparrow might have you believe. The life of 81 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: a pirate was not one chosen lightly. In fact, it 82 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,359 Speaker 1: was rarely chosen at all. Most crew members found themselves 83 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,280 Speaker 1: forced into this sort of life through dire financial straits. 84 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: It was also common for black men to use piracy 85 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: as a means to escape the Atlantic slave trade. That's 86 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: not to say that life at sea was free from 87 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: racial prejudice, but a life of poverty on a ship 88 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: as a freeman was still preferable to life as a 89 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: slave on the mainland. So while we often pair the 90 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: title pirate with the likes of Orlando Bloom, in reality 91 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: it was much less swashbuckling rogue saving swooning maidens, and 92 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: more desperate fugitives doing whatever they could to stay alive 93 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 1: and not behind bars or enslaved, which is perhaps why 94 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:56,039 Speaker 1: the story of Steed Bonnet, the man who actively chose 95 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 1: to abandon his life of luxury to take up a 96 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: life of piracy continues to confound and fascinate us to 97 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,719 Speaker 1: this day. But before anyone had ever heard of the 98 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 1: gentleman pirate, Steed was just a boy born into your 99 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: typical wealthy land owning family profiting off slave labor in 100 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: early eighteenth century Barbados. Due to his parents' early deaths. 101 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: By the age of six, Bonnet had inherited his family's estate, 102 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,680 Speaker 1: which boasted over four hundred acres of sugar crops, a 103 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: mill dedicated to the production of cane sugar, and over 104 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: ninety enslaved laborers, along with a litany of servants who 105 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: catered to Steed's every need. Given little other choice, Bonnet 106 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: was raised to follow the course his parent's life had 107 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: set out for him. And even though there is no 108 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 1: historical basis for it, I like to imagine a tiny 109 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: six year old Seed Bonnet sitting at his father's desk 110 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: in his newly inherited study, his stubby legs still too 111 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: short to reach the floor, swinging idle beneath the table 112 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:04,520 Speaker 1: while he stares at Ledger after Leger, trying to make 113 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: sense of his late father sugar enterprise, only to remember 114 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: that he can't read more likely, the business affairs of 115 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: the Bonnet estate were taken over by Steed's next of 116 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:18,160 Speaker 1: kin until he came of age, but that by no 117 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 1: means changes the fact that Steed was born and raised 118 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: to believe that the Barbadian sugar trade would be his future. 119 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: At twenty one, he married a young woman whose family 120 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: also came from the Barbadian social elite, but apart from 121 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:34,960 Speaker 1: that and the four children they had together, the couple 122 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,720 Speaker 1: would have little else in common. Then again, Bonnet held 123 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: little in common with most of the members of the 124 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 1: high society life he had been born into. He may 125 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 1: have technically been made a major in the Barbadian militia 126 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,480 Speaker 1: due mostly to his status as a slaveholder and landowner, 127 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: but his interests quickly became skewed towards the enemies of 128 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 1: the militia that he was set to defend against. The 129 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:02,560 Speaker 1: Careers of pirates at this time were far from private, 130 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,480 Speaker 1: and Bonnet, the bookish scholar that he was, made sure 131 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 1: to keep himself exceptionally up to date on any and 132 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 1: all things pirate. He was a militia man, after all, 133 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: and in some reports, even a justice of the peace. 134 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: He had to be aware of the villains washing up 135 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 1: on their shores, at least until he became one himself. Now, 136 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,600 Speaker 1: there are many conflicting theories as to why Bonnet began 137 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: his pirate exploits. Some say the impetus for his escape 138 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: from high society stemmed from his poor relationship with his wife, 139 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 1: But I do think it's important to note that there 140 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:44,880 Speaker 1: is little information on the exact nature of Bonnet's relationship 141 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: with his wife, and the reports we do have are questionable. 142 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,520 Speaker 1: Some sources call his wife quote nagging, while others, like 143 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:57,959 Speaker 1: Charles Johnson in his seventeen twenty four publication A General 144 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: History of Pirates, merely cited quote some discomforts he found 145 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 1: in a married state. Other scholars suggest Bonnet may have 146 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: been suffering from some form of mental illness. However, this 147 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:15,560 Speaker 1: leads us into the murky waters of posthumous diagnoses, which 148 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:20,960 Speaker 1: remains largely unhelpful when contextualizing Bonnet's story on a larger scale. 149 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 1: The truth is we will never know the real reason 150 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:27,720 Speaker 1: Bonnet chose to abandon the comforts of his affluent life. 151 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:32,320 Speaker 1: It's easy to point fingers at nagging wives or mental 152 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 1: illness to come to conclusions, but ultimately those reasons are 153 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 1: built off assumptions and biases that lack anything close to 154 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:45,120 Speaker 1: actual supported evidence. All this to say, Steed could have 155 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:48,840 Speaker 1: succumbed to the pressures associated with any and all of 156 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,320 Speaker 1: the aforementioned stressors in his life, but he could have 157 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:57,479 Speaker 1: just as likely been having the world's most extreme midlife crisis. 158 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:01,079 Speaker 1: And while Bonnet may have made up his mind to 159 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:04,680 Speaker 1: leave his old life behind, that by no means meant 160 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: that he had any sort of idea what he was 161 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: actually doing. All Bonnet really knew was that in order 162 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,959 Speaker 1: to become a pirate, he needed two things, a ship 163 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 1: and a crew. The former was acquired simply enough. Bonnet's 164 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,320 Speaker 1: pockets were deep enough to encourage the builders to turn 165 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 1: the blind eye to the eccentric aristocrat who demanded a 166 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: library be built into the captain's quarters of his ship. 167 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: Finding a crew was a harder sell. A pirate crew 168 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: was typically bought in the same way a pirate ship 169 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: would be on the high seas, through theft or mutiny. 170 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 1: But since Bonnet had decided to forego traditional pirate code 171 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,680 Speaker 1: and build himself a ship of his own, getting a 172 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,640 Speaker 1: crew to work under him, a land lubber with exactly 173 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: zero experience out on open ocean was a recipe for disaster. 174 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: But far be it from Bonnet to let something out 175 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: as inconsequential as inexperienced keep him from following through on 176 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:11,079 Speaker 1: a truly terrible idea. His solution a fair wage. Seeing 177 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:15,080 Speaker 1: as he was perpetually one small misstep away from having 178 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 1: his crew replace him with a captain who was far 179 00:12:17,640 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 1: more capable, Bonnet made the one move he suspected would 180 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 1: keep them in his favor. On a normal pirate ship, 181 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:28,680 Speaker 1: crew members were paid a percentage of the plunder they received, 182 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:34,679 Speaker 1: but Bonnet, aware of his already unorthodox method of acquiring 183 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: his ship, doubled down to match the needs of his crew. 184 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 1: With a steady income, they would be less likely to 185 00:12:42,120 --> 00:12:47,959 Speaker 1: replace him with someone better. And so, in spring seventeen seventeen, 186 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:53,120 Speaker 1: with his shiny new boat, begrudgingly acceptant crew, and an 187 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:57,680 Speaker 1: over abundance of unearned confidence, Steed Bonnet set sail from 188 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:01,440 Speaker 1: Barbados on the vessel he had named for probably no 189 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: other reason other than that he thought it sounded cool. 190 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:09,440 Speaker 1: The revenge now, whether it was due to his cruise 191 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 1: knowledge of the trade or the universe taking pity on him, 192 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:18,640 Speaker 1: Bonnet's initial venture into piracy went surprisingly well. The Revenge 193 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: successfully overtook upwards of eight ships of varying sizes, stripping 194 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:26,439 Speaker 1: each of their valuables before they swiftly moved on to 195 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: their next target. He only stopped if he wanted to 196 00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:32,560 Speaker 1: set fire to a ship he plundered, a practice that 197 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 1: he suspiciously only acted upon when the ship was native 198 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:40,720 Speaker 1: to Barbados. Some historians theorized that Bonnet may not have 199 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 1: wanted news of his criminal activities reaching home, but soon 200 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:48,080 Speaker 1: enough no amount of arson could keep tales of the 201 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 1: Revenge's exploits at bay. Despite his string of early successes, 202 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 1: Bonnet's lucky streak officially came to an end in September 203 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:02,040 Speaker 1: seventeen seventeen, when he and his crew came face to 204 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:06,199 Speaker 1: face with a Spanish man of war. After a skirmish 205 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 1: that left the Revenge with half its crew and more 206 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:13,280 Speaker 1: or less half a captain, the remaining men made the 207 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:17,680 Speaker 1: decision to head towards the known pirate harbor Nasa off 208 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: the coast of the Bahamas. Cut to Edward Teach, the 209 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 1: infamous Blackbeard, staring with a mixture of disdain and awe 210 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 1: at the battered ship and equally battered captain. Perhaps the 211 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:36,960 Speaker 1: most peculiar pirate he'd ever met, Steed Bonnet. Steed was 212 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 1: everything a pirate shouldn't have been, wealthy, educated, well mannered. 213 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 1: There was no reason for him to have ended up 214 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:48,680 Speaker 1: in a pirate harbor, both him and his ship riddled 215 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 1: with the scars of battle. But once Blackbeard was able 216 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 1: to look past the lavish dressing gown and entirely impractical 217 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:02,200 Speaker 1: library at sea, Blackbeard saw Bonnet as the opportunity that 218 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:06,640 Speaker 1: he was. After Bonnet's debacle with the Spanish Navy, it 219 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 1: was no secret that Bonnet's crew was unimpressed by their 220 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: lackluster excuse of a captain, and now that the former 221 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 1: aristocrat could barely leave his bed because of his injuries, 222 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:21,040 Speaker 1: it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the fact that 223 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:25,360 Speaker 1: the Revenge needed a real captain. If Steed didn't appoint one, 224 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 1: his crew might take matters into their own hands and 225 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:32,960 Speaker 1: make that decision for him. Luckily for Bonnet, Blackbeard was 226 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:36,560 Speaker 1: more than happy to step into the role. After setting 227 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: sail from Nassau with its new captain at the helm, 228 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 1: the Revenge steadily made its way up the coast leaving 229 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 1: a trail of destruction cast carelessly behind them. Any vessel 230 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,320 Speaker 1: unlucky enough to be caught in their path was subject 231 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: to the typical looting and plundering of any pirate raid. 232 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: Jewels were stolen, coins were pocketed, and casks of Madeira wine, rum, 233 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,920 Speaker 1: and ammunition were plucked like they sat on grocery store 234 00:16:02,920 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 1: shelves instead of in the halls of merchant ships. But Blackbeard, 235 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:12,280 Speaker 1: always the overachiever, didn't stop there after he'd taken his fill. 236 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: He would order his crew to dump any and all 237 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: extra cargo that they weren't planning on taking with them, 238 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: just because he could. And while tales of Blackbeard's villainous 239 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,160 Speaker 1: exploits echoed off the walls of almost every tavern up 240 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 1: and down the Atlantic coast, whispers of a peculiar gentleman 241 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: draped in finery aboard the revenge were swiftly making the 242 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 1: round as well. In the months since his near brush 243 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:44,120 Speaker 1: with death with the Spanish Bonnet, had recovered from the 244 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,840 Speaker 1: majority of his injuries, only to find himself in the 245 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 1: peculiar position of being a guest in his own home. 246 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:56,640 Speaker 1: Though guests may have been too generous a term, he 247 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,800 Speaker 1: may have owned the ship and paid the crew, but 248 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 1: he even sleeping in the captain's quarters didn't change the 249 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 1: fact that the Revenge was becoming more of a prison 250 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,680 Speaker 1: than his lesh estate in Barbados had ever been. At 251 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:14,439 Speaker 1: the time, seating his role as captain to Blackbeard had 252 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:18,720 Speaker 1: seemed like the only logical choice, But as Bonnet grew stronger, 253 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:23,639 Speaker 1: he also became acutely aware that his crew had little, 254 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:27,800 Speaker 1: if any remaining loyalty to him, not that this was 255 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:32,359 Speaker 1: at all surprising. During one instance, when Bonnet was momentarily 256 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,200 Speaker 1: given back control of the Revenge, the ill equipped gentleman 257 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:40,119 Speaker 1: pirate threatened an oncoming merchant vessel that he and his 258 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,959 Speaker 1: crew would quote do them mischief unless they came aboard 259 00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:47,120 Speaker 1: and shared a meal with them, not exactly the type 260 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: of behavior that instills fear and loyalty in pirate ranks. 261 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:55,280 Speaker 1: When the crew all but begged Blackbeard to stay on 262 00:17:55,440 --> 00:18:00,159 Speaker 1: as captain, Bonnet felt the carefully crafted pirate fantasy he 263 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:04,479 Speaker 1: had built for himself slipping through his fingers. Trapped aboard 264 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,760 Speaker 1: a ship he'd bought to escape his former life, the 265 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:13,159 Speaker 1: disgruntled former aristocrat fell into a deep depression, confiding in 266 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:17,200 Speaker 1: one of his few remaining loyal crew members, his new found, 267 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:22,680 Speaker 1: though predictably familiar, desire to now leave behind his life 268 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:28,120 Speaker 1: of piracy for a quieter existence abroad, maybe Spain or Portugal, 269 00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 1: his real only prerequisite being the country's protection against being 270 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:40,720 Speaker 1: extradited for piracy crimes. Strangely enough, the answer to Bonnet's 271 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:44,119 Speaker 1: prayers would come from the British Crown itself, in the 272 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: form of a decree called a Proclamation for Suppressing of Pirates, or, 273 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: as it was better known, the Act of Grace. Across 274 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 1: the Atlantic, the repercussions of the quote Golden Age of 275 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 1: piracy were finally beginning to affect life life in England. 276 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 1: King George the First was facing pressure from merchants and 277 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:08,399 Speaker 1: shareholders to enact some sort of measure to quell the 278 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:13,400 Speaker 1: exponentially growing crime rate on the high Seas. Their livelihoods 279 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:17,600 Speaker 1: were quite literally being dumped in the ocean. His solution, 280 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:22,119 Speaker 1: which on the surface appears slightly counterintuitive, was to offer 281 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,080 Speaker 1: a pardon to any and all pirates who surrendered themselves 282 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:28,960 Speaker 1: to the Crown before the fifth of January that year. 283 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:34,159 Speaker 1: It gave pirates like Bonnet the opportunity to turn themselves 284 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:38,200 Speaker 1: in with next to no consequences save their promise never 285 00:19:38,280 --> 00:19:42,280 Speaker 1: to practice piracy against the Crown ever again. Now, if 286 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:44,639 Speaker 1: that offer sounds a little too good to be true, 287 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,679 Speaker 1: you wouldn't be the only one to think so. The 288 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 1: language of the proclamation made it clear that the Crown 289 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 1: only offered quote promise of a pardon, which, if pop 290 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: culture rhetoric has taught us anything about pirates, it's that 291 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 1: a promise to or or from one is about as 292 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:04,439 Speaker 1: binding as a scrap of masking tape, or, you know, 293 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,640 Speaker 1: a marriage contract with Steed Bonnet. Needless to say, there 294 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:11,919 Speaker 1: was a fair amount of skepticism in the pirate community 295 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: towards the King's pardon, leading some historians to theorize that Blackbeard, 296 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:21,240 Speaker 1: with his general distrust of authority and recently acquired small 297 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:24,879 Speaker 1: fleet of pirate vessels, sent Bonnet to the town of 298 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: Bath to acquire a pardon for himself as a test 299 00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:31,480 Speaker 1: before he attempted to procure one of his own. For 300 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:34,359 Speaker 1: Bonnet's part, it didn't take much to convince him to 301 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: seek the pardon for himself, especially since one could argue 302 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 1: running away from his problems was historically Steed's favorite pastime. 303 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 1: It probably took even less convincing for Bonnet to leave 304 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 1: his ship and his crew in the care of Blackbeard. 305 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 1: As he set sail on a small dinghy inland to 306 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,800 Speaker 1: settle his affairs. Maybe he even waved back to his 307 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:58,920 Speaker 1: crew as they grew into small dots on the horizon, 308 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:01,640 Speaker 1: as he felt the weight he'd been holding on to 309 00:21:01,840 --> 00:21:05,960 Speaker 1: as a pseudo captain turned guest turned prisoner, lifting with 310 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:10,680 Speaker 1: every inch he floated closer to land. But Steed's old 311 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:14,119 Speaker 1: crew aboard The Revenge wouldn't have seen the small hand 312 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: waving toward them in the distance. No, just a Steed 313 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 1: Bonnet stepped on land toward what he was sure would 314 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: be a brighter future. His old hired crew was just 315 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:30,960 Speaker 1: realizing that Blackbeard and Blackbeard's own pre Revenge crew had 316 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: just turned their weapons against them. Now, if there was 317 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:40,160 Speaker 1: an official rule book on how to be a pirate, 318 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 1: I imagine the first rule would be printed in all 319 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:48,199 Speaker 1: caps across the front page, bolded, highlighted, and double underlined, 320 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 1: never trust a pirate. Unfortunately, for Bonnet, such a book 321 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:57,400 Speaker 1: was not held in his fully stocked library aboard The Revenge, 322 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: and Blackbeard wasted no time taking advantage of bonnet ignorance 323 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,439 Speaker 1: to strip the Revenge of any and all things of 324 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 1: value to their horror. This unfortunately included Bonnet's original crew, who, 325 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:15,560 Speaker 1: thanks to the very captain they had so very recently 326 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:19,360 Speaker 1: switched their allegiance to, were left marooned on an island 327 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:23,680 Speaker 1: near Topsail Inlet, off the coast of North Carolina. Because, 328 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,040 Speaker 1: of course, Blackbeard was the type of petty not only 329 00:22:27,119 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: to strip the Revenge clean of everything save a few 330 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:33,080 Speaker 1: barrels of food, but to take his crew just to 331 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:36,720 Speaker 1: maroon them on an island so that Bonnet couldn't have them. 332 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,520 Speaker 1: When Blackbeard initially took command of the Revenge, he had 333 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: managed to assemble one hundred and fifty men after the 334 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 1: Spanish navy had all but decimated Bonnet's already modest crew 335 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:52,360 Speaker 1: of seventy five. But as rumor of the Revenge's exploits spread, 336 00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:55,399 Speaker 1: soon even the men they were robbing were begging to 337 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:59,359 Speaker 1: join their company. In one instance, upon crossing paths with 338 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,359 Speaker 1: the Revenge, a merchant ship willingly surrendered and pledged their 339 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,080 Speaker 1: loyalty to Blackbeard rather than suffer the consequences of their 340 00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: most likely imminent demise. As time went on, what had 341 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 1: started as a mere one hundred and fifty aboard one 342 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,720 Speaker 1: lone damaged ship, mounted to upwards of four hundred men, 343 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 1: spread across several vessels. And while this may have sounded 344 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,359 Speaker 1: like a good thing, Bonnets and by extent, the Revenge's 345 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: dead weight was becoming more apparent by the day, especially 346 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 1: since any raid Blackbeard undertook had to be split amongst 347 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,879 Speaker 1: all of his crew, and plunder shared four hundred ways 348 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: didn't come with the same sense of satisfaction or the 349 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:45,879 Speaker 1: amount of money it would with a smaller group, And 350 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: since Blackbeard was essentially cleaning house after Steed, it was 351 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:55,680 Speaker 1: clear that Steed's men had to go. Meanwhile, in Bath, 352 00:23:55,880 --> 00:24:00,080 Speaker 1: Bonnet had successfully expunged his record of all criminal pirate activity, 353 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:02,760 Speaker 1: and he was more than ready to set sail aboard 354 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,400 Speaker 1: his ship onto the next chapter of his life. Unfortunately 355 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 1: for him, this was also the point in which he 356 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,920 Speaker 1: finally noticed the metaphorical knife that had been sticking out 357 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,440 Speaker 1: of his back ever since he'd landed on the mainland 358 00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: when he stepped aboard the Revenge after just three days away. Remember, 359 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:22,679 Speaker 1: he was always planning on coming back to his ship. 360 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:25,399 Speaker 1: He just wanted to clear his pirate record. He was 361 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,640 Speaker 1: planning on taking the ship that he owned too, wherever 362 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:31,879 Speaker 1: he would live next. But he now realized he owned 363 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:35,280 Speaker 1: a ghost ship. It was little more than a hollowed 364 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:39,879 Speaker 1: out husk of driftwood, run aground and completely abandoned in 365 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 1: his absence. There's a metaphor in there somewhere, but even Bonnet, 366 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,159 Speaker 1: a man so fond of literature that he built a 367 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,280 Speaker 1: library at sea, was in no mood to appreciate it. 368 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,760 Speaker 1: Once upon a time he had named his ship the Revenge, 369 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:58,200 Speaker 1: but taking stock of his empty sloop and completely missing crew, 370 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:02,480 Speaker 1: quickly changed it from name to a purpose. And when 371 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:06,240 Speaker 1: he eventually found his few remaining men marooned and left 372 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 1: to die on an uninhabited island, for once, the skeptical 373 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:15,040 Speaker 1: crew and their inept gentleman pirate were in agreement. Blackbeard 374 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:19,240 Speaker 1: was going to pay. Unfortunately, I have to spoil the 375 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,000 Speaker 1: ending to this particular part of the story and tell 376 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:26,280 Speaker 1: you Blackbeard did not pay, at least not by Bonnet's hands. 377 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:30,360 Speaker 1: As great the tale of the Revenge's Revenge would have been, 378 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 1: apart from a handful of near misses, the two enemy 379 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:38,439 Speaker 1: captains would never cross paths again in their lifetime. Bonnett, however, 380 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,560 Speaker 1: didn't know this yet, and quickly made it his life's 381 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,480 Speaker 1: mission to make Blackbeard suffer for his treachery for turning 382 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: the Revenge into a Blackbeard franchise and then completely abandoning it. 383 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 1: The first amongst a series of hiccups in Steve Bonnet's 384 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: plans proved to be the most problematic one. Technically, he 385 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:03,520 Speaker 1: was no longer a pirate, at least he wasn't supposed 386 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,600 Speaker 1: to be according to the terms of his pardon. The 387 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:10,119 Speaker 1: ink had barely dried on Bonnet's pardon before he was 388 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:15,280 Speaker 1: already about to break the only term of his agreement. Granted, 389 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,639 Speaker 1: he was given little other choice. Blackbeard had left the 390 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,080 Speaker 1: Revenge with nothing but a few casks of food, and 391 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:25,920 Speaker 1: after failing to secure a privateering commission from the governor 392 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,440 Speaker 1: following his pardon, Bonnet forged a head the only way 393 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:34,480 Speaker 1: he knew how. This time, Bonnet began conducting his pirate 394 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:38,679 Speaker 1: business under the name Captain Thomas and sailing a ship 395 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:42,200 Speaker 1: that looked remarkably similar to the Revenge, but was instead 396 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:46,880 Speaker 1: named the Royal James. And to ensure that bonnet activities 397 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:50,159 Speaker 1: were relatively above board, he made sure that all of 398 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 1: his run ins with merchant vessels were classified as trades, 399 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,320 Speaker 1: even if he stole everything but the shirts off their 400 00:26:57,359 --> 00:27:01,199 Speaker 1: backs in exchange for maybe a small parcel of rice or, 401 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:05,639 Speaker 1: in one case, an old anchor cable. Originally, the Royal 402 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:10,679 Speaker 1: James only quote traded out of necessity, but by July 403 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:14,720 Speaker 1: seventeen eighteen, the gentleman pirate and his crew had once 404 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 1: again fully abandoned all charades of diplomacy in favor of 405 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 1: embracing the pirate life. In the summer of seventeen eighteen, 406 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 1: the Royal James was on an extended, glorified shopping spree, 407 00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:30,560 Speaker 1: boarding merchant vessels and taking their fill before going off 408 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:34,800 Speaker 1: to find their next victims. During this time, Bonnet managed 409 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 1: to add two more sloops and a handful of new 410 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:41,680 Speaker 1: crew members to his small but mighty fleet. Soon after 411 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:45,920 Speaker 1: acquiring the new ships, The Francis and the Fortune, Bonnet 412 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:48,800 Speaker 1: and his men sailed their way into the Cape Fear 413 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,919 Speaker 1: River Estuary off the coast of North Carolina, only to 414 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,200 Speaker 1: find that they had a much more practical problem on 415 00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:00,240 Speaker 1: their hands. The Royal James had a leak as the 416 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:03,760 Speaker 1: ship began to take on more and more water, and 417 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,760 Speaker 1: the Atlantic hurricane season was closing in. Bonnet and his 418 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:11,439 Speaker 1: crew had no choice but to make landfall to fix 419 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:15,360 Speaker 1: their flagship vessel and wait out the bad weather. By 420 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:19,439 Speaker 1: late August, word of Bonnet's extended stay in the Cape 421 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: Fear River had reached Charlestown, and the Governor of South 422 00:28:23,040 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: Carolina was less than pleased. Even though Bonnet's location was 423 00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:32,720 Speaker 1: technically in North Carolina, outside the governor's jurisdiction, Governor Johnson 424 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:36,400 Speaker 1: was not prepared to let someone with Seed Bonnet's lengthy 425 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:40,120 Speaker 1: criminal history and ties to arguably one of the most 426 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:44,320 Speaker 1: nefarious pirates of their time, lounge about on a beach nearby, 427 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:50,080 Speaker 1: and so on September twenty sixth, seventeen eighteen, Colonel William 428 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 1: Rhett found himself sailing into the Cape Fear rivermouth with 429 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:57,880 Speaker 1: two government ships and one hundred and thirty militiamen on 430 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:00,720 Speaker 1: a commission from Governor Johnson too to carry out the 431 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,440 Speaker 1: capture and arrest of Steed Bonnet and the crew of 432 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: the Royal James. Meanwhile, from further up the waterway, Steed 433 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:12,240 Speaker 1: Bonnet held his spyglass to his eye and squinted at 434 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:15,560 Speaker 1: the blurry shapes he saw bobbing in the distance. Now, 435 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 1: he may not have been the most experienced pirate, but 436 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 1: Bonnet was at least ninety percent sure that the masses 437 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:25,920 Speaker 1: he saw were ships merchant vessels if he was not mistaken, 438 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: And it was under that assumption that Bonnet sent three 439 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:32,560 Speaker 1: canoes full of his crew to go off and capture 440 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:37,480 Speaker 1: the mysterious merchant ships in the river mouth. However, as 441 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 1: his men drifted closer, the sight of the British Naval 442 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:45,840 Speaker 1: flag quickly enlightened Bonnet's crew as to the reality of 443 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:50,080 Speaker 1: their situation. The men hastily scrambled to turn around and 444 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,280 Speaker 1: sail back to warn their captain about the imminent attack. 445 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:56,600 Speaker 1: But when they returned, they realized that the Royal Navy 446 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 1: ships behind them weren't moving at all. In fact, it 447 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:04,200 Speaker 1: seemed as though one of the vessels was stalled in 448 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:08,320 Speaker 1: the opening of the estuary. Aboard the British naval ship, 449 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:12,400 Speaker 1: the Henry, poor Colonel Rhett was having a rough day 450 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:17,080 Speaker 1: with Bonnet in his sights. The Henry sped towards its target, 451 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:20,239 Speaker 1: only to be abruptly jarred to a halt as its 452 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:24,320 Speaker 1: hull scraped the bottom of the Cape Fear River without 453 00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,920 Speaker 1: any way to free itself from its sandy prison, the 454 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:34,360 Speaker 1: Henry transformed from dangerous adversary to only slightly intimidating art installation. 455 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,920 Speaker 1: As the tide continued to drop lower and lower, and 456 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:41,960 Speaker 1: so with the British Navy stuck in the entrance to 457 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:45,200 Speaker 1: the harbor and Bonnet and his men unable to flee 458 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:49,080 Speaker 1: due to ret blocking their only escape route, all parties 459 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:53,080 Speaker 1: were forced to angrily brood in their respective corners until 460 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:57,120 Speaker 1: the moon inevitably turned the tides in one of their favors. 461 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:02,160 Speaker 1: By the time the Henry finally managed to get itself 462 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:05,680 Speaker 1: back on the water, the sun had long since disappeared 463 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:08,960 Speaker 1: below the horizon, and even Bonnet was not so foolish 464 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:13,000 Speaker 1: as to attempt to navigate the rocky estuary in the dark. Together, 465 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,480 Speaker 1: He and the crew of the Royal James decided to 466 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 1: wait until morning before taking any action, but as the 467 00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 1: moon rose, bonnet patience waned. Before long, even the crew 468 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:29,040 Speaker 1: had taken note of his erratic behavior. By the late 469 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,720 Speaker 1: hours of the night, the once timid aristocrat had all 470 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:36,440 Speaker 1: but vanished, eclipsed by the shadow of a man being 471 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 1: forced to watch the last of his freedom wash away 472 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:43,960 Speaker 1: with the tide. The wounds of Blackbeard's betrayal still stung 473 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 1: fresh in his memory, and as he and the crew 474 00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:49,800 Speaker 1: of the Royal James waited for the sun to rise, 475 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:54,240 Speaker 1: Bonnet couldn't help but see treachery etched into the faces 476 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:58,120 Speaker 1: around him. With nothing else to do, Bonnet set about 477 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:01,920 Speaker 1: preparing his men for battle, assembling the forty or so 478 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:05,200 Speaker 1: men that he'd scattered amongst his three vessels, and bringing 479 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:09,040 Speaker 1: them together aboard the Royal James to defend their flagship 480 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:13,320 Speaker 1: and its captain. Predictably, some of the men were less 481 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:16,800 Speaker 1: than enthusiastic when asked to put their life on the line, 482 00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:21,200 Speaker 1: to which Bonnet simply responded, quote, if anyone refused to fight, 483 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:24,600 Speaker 1: he would blow their brains out. It was also at 484 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,280 Speaker 1: this point that, with no one left to yell at, 485 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:30,720 Speaker 1: Bonnet returned to his captain's quarters to write a letter 486 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:34,360 Speaker 1: to the Governor of South Carolina, because, when in doubt, 487 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:38,080 Speaker 1: always asked to speak to the manager. In his letter, 488 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:41,120 Speaker 1: he condemned the governor for his actions against him and 489 00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:44,640 Speaker 1: his crew, and he ended the message explaining that should 490 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:48,200 Speaker 1: wrehtt follow through on his attack come daybreak, he would 491 00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:52,160 Speaker 1: not hesitate to quote burn and destroy all ships and 492 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:56,040 Speaker 1: vessels going in or coming out of South Carolina. But 493 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:59,720 Speaker 1: as the sun rose over the Atlantic, any words uttered 494 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:04,640 Speaker 1: by Bonnet, written or otherwise were swiftly forgotten. The Royal 495 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,720 Speaker 1: James was the first to make a move, launching full 496 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:11,160 Speaker 1: speed ahead towards the Henry, hoping Rhet would take the 497 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,080 Speaker 1: bait and chase them out of the harbor and into 498 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:17,800 Speaker 1: the open ocean, where they would make their escape. However, 499 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:21,239 Speaker 1: in order to complete this maneuver, the Royal James was 500 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:24,680 Speaker 1: forced to avoid the Henry in the relatively narrow river 501 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:29,560 Speaker 1: mouth by banging close to the shore, which predictably was 502 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:35,080 Speaker 1: when everything once again devolved into chaos. Rhett, realizing what 503 00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,400 Speaker 1: Bonnet was attempting to do, used the advantage of having 504 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 1: two vessels to try to flank the Royal James on 505 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:46,360 Speaker 1: either side, only for Rhet to feel the familiar dreaded 506 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:50,760 Speaker 1: scrape of sand below, dragging the Henry to a halt. 507 00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:54,800 Speaker 1: To Colonel Rhet's horror, the other ship sent with him, 508 00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:58,880 Speaker 1: the Sea Nymph, had run aground as well, meaning instead 509 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:02,440 Speaker 1: of corralling bond It on either side, they had given 510 00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:06,000 Speaker 1: him a runway in which to sail off to freedom. 511 00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:11,640 Speaker 1: Except of course they hadn't, because just as Bonnet gleefully 512 00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 1: came to the same conclusion and barreled forward to greet 513 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:18,920 Speaker 1: his victory upon the open ocean, the Royal James too 514 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:22,640 Speaker 1: came to a screeching halt as a hull found the 515 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:26,920 Speaker 1: warm embrace of the Cape Fear River floor, and suddenly, 516 00:34:27,160 --> 00:34:30,480 Speaker 1: for the second time in twenty four hours, Ruett and 517 00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:34,520 Speaker 1: Bonnet were stuck twiddling their thumbs and staring at each 518 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:37,399 Speaker 1: other while they waited for the tide to release them 519 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:43,440 Speaker 1: from their oddly specific purgatories. However, this time, the Royal 520 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:46,279 Speaker 1: James had managed to beach itself in such a way 521 00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:49,680 Speaker 1: that they were within shooting distance of the Henry, which 522 00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:53,080 Speaker 1: led the crews of both vessels to fire recklessly at 523 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:57,040 Speaker 1: each other as they waited out their stalemate. Bullets and 524 00:34:57,160 --> 00:35:00,960 Speaker 1: taunt were exchanged in equal measure over the following six hours. 525 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:05,360 Speaker 1: Unti let last, fate chose the Henry to be the winner. 526 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:09,000 Speaker 1: When Rhett carefully maneuvered his ship so that the Royal 527 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:14,000 Speaker 1: James was effectively staring down the barrels of their cannons. 528 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:18,000 Speaker 1: Bonnet finally waved the white flag and surrendered himself to 529 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:22,680 Speaker 1: be taken into custody at Charlestown, but of course, Steed 530 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:26,560 Speaker 1: being Steed, he was not planning on staying there for long. 531 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,680 Speaker 1: For all the trouble it had taken to apprehend Steed 532 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:35,280 Speaker 1: Bonnet and bring him into custody, their welcome upon arriving 533 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: in Charlestown was surprisingly underwhelming. For one, Charlestown had yet 534 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:43,839 Speaker 1: to build a suitable prison to hold the more than 535 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,200 Speaker 1: thirty pirates Governor Johnson now had in his custody. Improvising, 536 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:51,439 Speaker 1: the Governor had Bonnet's crew put in a spare one 537 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:56,600 Speaker 1: story building in town until they could organize their trials. However, Bonnet, 538 00:35:57,040 --> 00:35:59,680 Speaker 1: whether it was due to his I've never slept in 539 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:03,319 Speaker 1: anything less than silk attitude or because they didn't want 540 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:08,120 Speaker 1: him plotting something nefarious with his men, was intentionally isolated 541 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:11,880 Speaker 1: and put into the care of South Carolina's Provost, Marshal 542 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:17,040 Speaker 1: Nathaniel Partridge, who imprisoned him in his own home, which 543 00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:20,359 Speaker 1: meant that while Bonnet's thirty men were detained in some 544 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:23,879 Speaker 1: decrepit shack with barely a chamber pot split between them, 545 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,160 Speaker 1: Bonnet suffered silently in the private guest quarters of a 546 00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:33,839 Speaker 1: prominent South Carolina government official imagine. But Steed didn't have 547 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:37,800 Speaker 1: to suffer alone for long. Soon the prosecution had managed 548 00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:41,279 Speaker 1: to turn two of bonnet Crewe into key witnesses in 549 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:45,319 Speaker 1: exchange for clemency. As such, they were then separated from 550 00:36:45,360 --> 00:36:48,879 Speaker 1: the rest of the crew and consequently sent to Partridge's 551 00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:53,520 Speaker 1: home to await trial. At least Bonnet's boatswing, Ignacious Pell, 552 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:57,080 Speaker 1: was the other man set to testify for the prosecution. 553 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:01,200 Speaker 1: A man named David Harriet arrived at Part's home but 554 00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:05,920 Speaker 1: quickly began conspiring with Bonnet. Like I said earlier, Bonnet 555 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:09,440 Speaker 1: was never planning on staying imprisoned for long, and so 556 00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:14,320 Speaker 1: three weeks after his initial arrest, Bonnet and Harriet slipped 557 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:18,640 Speaker 1: out past the heavily bribed guard surrounding the Partridge estate 558 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:22,680 Speaker 1: and escaped into the night. Some historians report that the 559 00:37:22,719 --> 00:37:26,359 Speaker 1: two men dressed in women's clothing as disguises, which I'm 560 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:29,640 Speaker 1: inclined to believe is true, if only because Bonnet's previous 561 00:37:29,719 --> 00:37:35,040 Speaker 1: lifestyle choices leaned towards the more theatrical. But regardless, Harriet 562 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:37,680 Speaker 1: and Bonnet managed to make it to the small canoe 563 00:37:37,719 --> 00:37:41,000 Speaker 1: that they'd arranged for, and they sailed quietly out of 564 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:47,759 Speaker 1: Charlestown Harbor. Now, if Governor Johnson had thought he was 565 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:51,040 Speaker 1: angry at the idea of Steed Bonnet lounging beachside on 566 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:54,400 Speaker 1: the shores of Cape Fear River, that was nothing compared 567 00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:57,399 Speaker 1: to what he felt upon getting word that Bonnet had 568 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:01,720 Speaker 1: escaped custody, and, after a week spent sending search party 569 00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:05,160 Speaker 1: after search party out to no avail, the Governor's fuse 570 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:10,560 Speaker 1: was burning dangerously short. Desperate to begin Bonnet's trial, the 571 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:13,880 Speaker 1: Governor put out a reward for seven hundred pounds for 572 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:17,719 Speaker 1: Bonnet's capture, and once again Colonel Rhett was sent out 573 00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:21,080 Speaker 1: to scavenge the land for any and all traces of 574 00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:27,000 Speaker 1: the dread gentleman pirate. Ultimately, in typical Steed fashion, his 575 00:38:27,080 --> 00:38:31,799 Speaker 1: demise came from his own hand, or rather his pen. 576 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:36,600 Speaker 1: While it's true that Bonnet had successfully escaped without a trace, 577 00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:40,239 Speaker 1: that didn't mean he'd managed to get very far. The 578 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:43,359 Speaker 1: canoe that he and Harriet had disappeared into the night 579 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:45,880 Speaker 1: with had only taken them to the edge of the 580 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:50,560 Speaker 1: Charlestown Harbor to a place called Sullivan's Island. There, the 581 00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:53,120 Speaker 1: man who supplied them the canoe was meant to have 582 00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:56,880 Speaker 1: secured them a sloop to actually escape on. Only that 583 00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:00,960 Speaker 1: ship never came, and after a week without word, Bonnet 584 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:03,959 Speaker 1: was tired of waiting and decided to take matters into 585 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:07,960 Speaker 1: his own hands. He confronted his adversary the only way 586 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:12,680 Speaker 1: he knew how, with a strongly worded letter. After dotting 587 00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:15,560 Speaker 1: his eyes and crossing his teas with what I imagined 588 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:18,640 Speaker 1: to be slightly more aggression than was probably called for, 589 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:22,239 Speaker 1: Bonnet sent off his letter of complaint about the contract 590 00:39:22,280 --> 00:39:26,640 Speaker 1: for his sloop, but it would never reach the ship Cellar. Instead, 591 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:30,239 Speaker 1: the note would fall into the hands of Colonel Rhett, and, 592 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:33,920 Speaker 1: following an altercation that left Harriet and two others dead, 593 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:38,600 Speaker 1: Bonnet ultimately handed himself in for the final time, with 594 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:41,839 Speaker 1: little other choice but to face the court that would 595 00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:47,600 Speaker 1: ultimately decide his fate. Given his proclivity for reading, it 596 00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:51,200 Speaker 1: stands to reason that in another life, Bonnet could have 597 00:39:51,239 --> 00:39:55,719 Speaker 1: abandoned his family's sugar plantation for law school instead of piracy. 598 00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:59,080 Speaker 1: But that wasn't this life, and Steed Bonnet in the 599 00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:03,120 Speaker 1: courtroom was his own worst enemy. The one witness the 600 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:07,840 Speaker 1: prosecution still had the Royal James's boatswain ignacious Pell tried 601 00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:11,080 Speaker 1: to protect Bonnet as best he could. When asked if 602 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:15,520 Speaker 1: Bonnet was their commander in chief, Pell answered, much to 603 00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:19,120 Speaker 1: the annoyance of the prosecution, he went by that name, 604 00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:23,680 Speaker 1: but the quartermaster had more power than he. The entirety 605 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:27,560 Speaker 1: of Bonnet's trial proceedings are available for free online, so 606 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:30,480 Speaker 1: I won't go into too much detail, but I will 607 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:33,960 Speaker 1: say it's both impressive and kind of funny that the 608 00:40:34,040 --> 00:40:39,000 Speaker 1: judge's tone of increasing exasperation comes through so clearly, even 609 00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:42,279 Speaker 1: three hundred years after the fact. At one point, an 610 00:40:42,360 --> 00:40:45,960 Speaker 1: incident of the Royal James stealing upwards of twenty barrels 611 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:49,440 Speaker 1: of molasses was brought into evidence, leading the judge to 612 00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:53,000 Speaker 1: ask the question on everyone's mind, what need had you 613 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:57,680 Speaker 1: of so much molasses, to which Bonnet replied cryptically, quote, 614 00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:00,680 Speaker 1: I did not carry it away, and it was contrary 615 00:41:00,719 --> 00:41:04,120 Speaker 1: to my inclination. I like to imagine the judge had 616 00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:06,719 Speaker 1: been wearing glasses all day just so that at that 617 00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,120 Speaker 1: moment he could have taken them off and pinched the 618 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:11,959 Speaker 1: bridge of his nose between his fingers, trying to hold 619 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:15,000 Speaker 1: it together. When he repeated back to him, you gave 620 00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:17,840 Speaker 1: orders for it to be done, and yet it was 621 00:41:17,960 --> 00:41:23,120 Speaker 1: contrary to your inclinations or other highlights, like Bonnet claiming 622 00:41:23,160 --> 00:41:25,879 Speaker 1: innocence about a raid of another sloop due to him 623 00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:29,800 Speaker 1: having been asleep at the time. But ultimately it was 624 00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:35,400 Speaker 1: a futile effort. On November tenth, seventeen eighteen, the jury 625 00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:40,120 Speaker 1: found Steed Bonnet guilty, and two days later the judge 626 00:41:40,160 --> 00:41:44,759 Speaker 1: sentenced him to death. On December tenth, Steed Bonnet found 627 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:47,759 Speaker 1: himself putting one foot in front of the other as 628 00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:50,880 Speaker 1: he stepped up the gallows at the White Point Garden 629 00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:54,640 Speaker 1: in Charlestown. When he looked out the crowd assembled to 630 00:41:54,680 --> 00:41:58,040 Speaker 1: witness his final moments, he had no choice but to 631 00:41:58,120 --> 00:42:01,760 Speaker 1: finally face the consequences of the life he had chosen 632 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:05,280 Speaker 1: for himself. I consider that I speak to a person, 633 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:07,239 Speaker 1: the judge had said to him on the day of 634 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:11,399 Speaker 1: his sentencing, whose offenses have proceeded not so much from 635 00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:15,520 Speaker 1: his not knowing as his slighting and neglecting his duty. 636 00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:19,839 Speaker 1: There was no more running for Steed, no more starting over. 637 00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:24,680 Speaker 1: No amount of money or charming naivete could save him. Now, 638 00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:29,319 Speaker 1: as the noose tightened around his neck, Steed Bonnet, the 639 00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:33,600 Speaker 1: gentleman pirate cast his eyes on the horizon, just as 640 00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:36,680 Speaker 1: he had a year and a half earlier, sailing aboard 641 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:51,480 Speaker 1: the freshly christened Revenge, awaiting fate. That was the sad 642 00:42:51,680 --> 00:42:55,680 Speaker 1: end to the unintentionally funny life of Steed Bonnet. But 643 00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:59,000 Speaker 1: stick around after a brief sponsor break to hear what 644 00:42:59,120 --> 00:43:03,640 Speaker 1: happened to black Beard after he and Bonnet parted ways. 645 00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:15,080 Speaker 1: Given how much of a household name Blackbeard is compared 646 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:17,719 Speaker 1: to Steed Bonnet, it may surprise you to learn that 647 00:43:17,880 --> 00:43:21,319 Speaker 1: his pirting career was roughly the same length as our 648 00:43:21,440 --> 00:43:25,480 Speaker 1: gentleman pirates. After leaving the Revenge's crew to die on 649 00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:29,040 Speaker 1: an island near Topsail Inlet, Blackbeard went to the one 650 00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:35,800 Speaker 1: place Bonnet least expected, bath North Carolina. Yes, teach also 651 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:39,200 Speaker 1: went to get himself a pardon from the governor, only 652 00:43:39,719 --> 00:43:43,600 Speaker 1: he went one step further, befriending the governor and gaining 653 00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:47,240 Speaker 1: a privateering commission so that he could continue to pillage 654 00:43:47,239 --> 00:43:51,000 Speaker 1: and plunder, but under the protection of the law. The 655 00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:54,640 Speaker 1: governor of Virginia, though, was not a fan of Blackbeard, 656 00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:59,200 Speaker 1: and after the well publicized antics he and Bonnet had pulled, 657 00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:02,839 Speaker 1: he was itching to see Blackbeard brought to justice. The 658 00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:06,719 Speaker 1: Governor of Virginia sent a man named Lieutenant Reynard off 659 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:10,120 Speaker 1: with two slopes to Okracoke Island, where they had received 660 00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:13,920 Speaker 1: word that Blackbeard and his men were hiding out with 661 00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:17,840 Speaker 1: many of Teach's men, including his second in command, Israel, 662 00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:22,840 Speaker 1: hands on business inland. Blackbeard found himself at a disadvantage 663 00:44:22,840 --> 00:44:27,239 Speaker 1: when the fight with Maynard began. After massive carnage sustained 664 00:44:27,239 --> 00:44:31,120 Speaker 1: on both sides from cannon and gunfire, the fight was 665 00:44:31,239 --> 00:44:35,960 Speaker 1: ultimately won by Maynard. His secret strategy had been sending 666 00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:39,200 Speaker 1: the majority of his men below deck just before they 667 00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:43,640 Speaker 1: were boarded by Blackbeard's men. The ensuing surprise attack cost 668 00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:48,719 Speaker 1: Edward Teach his life, and on November twenty second, seventeen eighteen, 669 00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:53,320 Speaker 1: Blackbeard was killed by five bullet wounds and around twenty 670 00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:58,760 Speaker 1: cuts laid across his body. Maynard would then famously decapitate 671 00:44:58,840 --> 00:45:01,680 Speaker 1: him and hang his head from the front of his ship, 672 00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:04,440 Speaker 1: only for it later to be put on a stake 673 00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:07,799 Speaker 1: at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay as a warning for 674 00:45:07,920 --> 00:45:12,680 Speaker 1: other pirates who sailed by. It's somehow oddly fitting that 675 00:45:12,760 --> 00:45:15,680 Speaker 1: a man whose life and death have been aggrandized to 676 00:45:15,800 --> 00:45:20,320 Speaker 1: such mythological proportions should sit side by side in history 677 00:45:20,360 --> 00:45:25,879 Speaker 1: with someone as ostensibly unremarkable as steed Bonnet. In the end, 678 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:29,840 Speaker 1: both men only engaged in piracy for around two years, 679 00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:32,200 Speaker 1: a blink of an eye in the course of the 680 00:45:32,280 --> 00:45:36,400 Speaker 1: three centuries that we've spent talking about them since, despite 681 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:40,600 Speaker 1: having polar opposite personalities on paper, there are legends that 682 00:45:40,640 --> 00:45:44,720 Speaker 1: Blackbeard would light slow burning fuses and then carefully place 683 00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:46,960 Speaker 1: them in his beard to make it look as though 684 00:45:46,960 --> 00:45:50,279 Speaker 1: he existed in a halo of thick, black smoke. And 685 00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:54,960 Speaker 1: if that doesn't scream Steed Bonnet theatrical tendencies, then I 686 00:45:54,960 --> 00:45:58,440 Speaker 1: don't know what does. And maybe it's all just legend, 687 00:45:58,880 --> 00:46:01,399 Speaker 1: But maybe there's a reason in their stories have been 688 00:46:01,440 --> 00:46:06,640 Speaker 1: inextricably tied together over the centuries. Maybe those two men 689 00:46:06,920 --> 00:46:11,680 Speaker 1: who sailed out for adventure or freedom or money were 690 00:46:11,719 --> 00:46:31,160 Speaker 1: more similar than history gives them credit for. Noble Blood 691 00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:34,360 Speaker 1: is a production of iHeart Radio and Grim and Mild 692 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:38,600 Speaker 1: from Aaron Manke. Noble Blood is hosted by me Dana Schwartz. 693 00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:43,000 Speaker 1: Additional writing and researching done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, 694 00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:47,279 Speaker 1: Mira Hayward, Courtney Sender, and Lori Goodman. The show is 695 00:46:47,320 --> 00:46:51,959 Speaker 1: produced by rima Il Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thain 696 00:46:52,239 --> 00:46:56,640 Speaker 1: and executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. 697 00:46:57,000 --> 00:47:02,520 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 698 00:47:02,640 --> 00:47:09,520 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.