1 00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:04,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:08,480 Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky Listener Discretion, advised, 3 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:25,799 Speaker 1: genius or insanity. Those were Edward teaches two working theories 4 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,280 Speaker 1: as to why the quaint sixty ton sloop known as 5 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: the Revenge was currently anchored in a small pirate harbor 6 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 1: off the coast of the Bahamas. Mere days after the 7 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,920 Speaker 1: Revenger's arrival, the docks were already a buzz with rumors 8 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: and speculation about the ship, primarily because of the state 9 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: in which it had sailed into port, or more accurately 10 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:53,280 Speaker 1: washed into port. The vessel still bore the scars of 11 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: its most recent misadventure. Red stains and splintered wood marred 12 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: the Revenge's deck, only hastily wiped away by what little 13 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: remained of their crew. If Edward Teach was being honest, 14 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: he was surprised the Revenge was still afloat at all. 15 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: There was almost no scenario in which a glorified dinghy 16 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: like the Revenge, really any pirate ship at all, should 17 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: have survived a run in with a goliath like that 18 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: of a Spanish warship at the time seventeen seventeen, a 19 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: typical government sanctioned man of war could have easily held 20 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: well over a hundred guns. The Revenge had ten, though 21 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: after the devastating defeat against the Spanish warship, the Revenge's 22 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: eccentric captain made sure to outfit their artillery with an 23 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:46,759 Speaker 1: additional two guns, you know, to make up for losing 24 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: half the crew and nearly his own life. Which brought 25 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: Edward Teach back to his original question and the reason 26 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: he found himself knocking on the door to the Revenge's 27 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: captain's quarters. Was it genius or insanity that had led 28 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: this captain to steer his crew to almost certain death? 29 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: The answer, of course, was the one theory Teach had 30 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: not thought to consider in the first place, stupidity. It 31 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: was past the captain's doors and into his private residence 32 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:24,360 Speaker 1: that Teach found himself standing face to face with the 33 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: fanciful night shirts and vast collection of books adorning the 34 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:33,840 Speaker 1: cabin of one Steed Bonnet, or, as he would one 35 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: day come to be known, the Gentleman Pirate. Today, the 36 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: name Steed Bonnet is often relegated to a footnote amongst 37 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:48,239 Speaker 1: the larger legends associated with the quote Golden Age of Piracy, 38 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,920 Speaker 1: until a recent television series on HBO Max, he was 39 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,119 Speaker 1: almost entirely forgotten by all but the most passionate students 40 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: of eighteenth century history. His import had really only ever 41 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: been measured by the interactions he had with more infamous pirates. 42 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: But to Edward Teach in that moment, Steve Bonnet was 43 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: no such footnote. He was an idiot, sure, but more 44 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: than that, he was a mystery, an opportunity. For so long, 45 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: Teach had only been a part of other men's crews, 46 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: just waiting for the day he could take on a 47 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,520 Speaker 1: ship and a crew of his own, And now suddenly 48 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: here he stood next to the incompetent Oath who was 49 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: unknowingly handing Teach his freedom and his future on a 50 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: silver platter. Bonnet had a ship, but he needed a crew, 51 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,400 Speaker 1: and frankly, he needed a captain to lead them while 52 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: he healed from his injuries. What happened once his wounds 53 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,120 Speaker 1: healed would be an issue for a later date, when 54 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: he was sure he could handle. As he continued to 55 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: stare at the spectacle of a man before him, and 56 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: for the first time since stepping on board, Teach felt 57 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: the lips he hid under his considerable Beard pull into 58 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,080 Speaker 1: a genuine smile, he held out his hand to the 59 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:14,200 Speaker 1: captain and introduced himself, not by his given name, but 60 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 1: by the name borne out of years of infamy on 61 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,799 Speaker 1: the high seas, a name that sent even the most 62 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: fearsome of foes cowering in their boots. He introduced himself 63 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:31,119 Speaker 1: as Blackbeard. The two shook hands and made their deal. 64 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 1: Blackbeard would take the revenge temporarily while steed Bonnet healed. 65 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:41,279 Speaker 1: But unbeknown to them, with that handshake also came the 66 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:45,240 Speaker 1: promise of their end, for by the end of December 67 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: the following year, both pirates would be dead. But as 68 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: Blackbeard stared at steed Bonnet, clad in ruffles and what 69 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,120 Speaker 1: he was sure was a posture held only by those 70 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:02,400 Speaker 1: raised sucking on silver spoons, the infamous pirate captain couldn't 71 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: help but imagine a different life for himself, one where 72 00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 1: he stood at the helm of a mighty ship and 73 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: the horizon was suddenly within reach. I'm Dani Schwartz, and 74 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: this is noble blood. Given that the name itself is gilded, 75 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: it's hard not to romanticize the arrow we've come to 76 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,840 Speaker 1: recognize as the Golden age of piracy. Little more than 77 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: a skull and crossbones is needed before our subconscious starts 78 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: humming shanties and conjuring pictures of open oceans and overflowing 79 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: treasure chests. But the reality, as per usual, was not 80 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:59,479 Speaker 1: as carefree as a drunkenly stumbling Jack Sparrow might have 81 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: you believe. Evening the life of a pirate was not 82 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: one chosen lightly. In fact, it was rarely chosen at all. 83 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 1: Most crew members found themselves forced into this sort of 84 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: life through dire financial straits. It was also common for 85 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 1: black men to use piracy as a means to escape 86 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: the Atlantic slave trade. That's not to say that life 87 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: at sea was free from racial prejudice, but a life 88 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: of poverty on a ship as a freeman was still 89 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: preferable to life as a slave on the mainland. So 90 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 1: while we often pair the title pirate with the likes 91 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 1: of Orlando Bloom, in reality it was much less swashbuckling 92 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:46,040 Speaker 1: rogue saving swooning maidens, and more desperate fugitives doing whatever 93 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 1: they could to stay alive and not behind bars or enslaved, 94 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,159 Speaker 1: which is perhaps why the story of Steed Bonnet, the 95 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: man who actively chose to abandon his life of luxury 96 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,719 Speaker 1: to take up a life of piracy continues to confound 97 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,600 Speaker 1: and fascinate us to this day. But before anyone had 98 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,479 Speaker 1: ever heard of the gentleman pirate, Steed was just a 99 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 1: boy born into your typical wealthy landowning family profiting off 100 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: slave labor in early eighteenth century Barbados. Due to his 101 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: parents early deaths. By the age of six, Bonnet had 102 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: inherited his family's estate, which boasted over four hundred acres 103 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: of sugar crops, a mill dedicated to the production of 104 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: cane sugar, and over ninety enslaved laborers, along with a 105 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: litany of servants who catered to Steed's every need. Given 106 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: little other choice, Bonnet was raised to follow the course 107 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: his parents life had set out for him. And even 108 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 1: though there is no historical basis for it, I like 109 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: to imagine a tiny six year old Seed Bonnet sitting 110 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: at his father's desk in his newly inherited study, his 111 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: stubby legs still too short to reach the floor, swinging 112 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: I'd leave beneath the table while he stares at Ledger 113 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:05,880 Speaker 1: after Ledger, trying to make sense of his late father's 114 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:11,200 Speaker 1: sugar enterprise, only to remember that he can't read. More likely, 115 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: the business affairs of the Bonnet estate were taken over 116 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,120 Speaker 1: by Steed's next of kin until he came of age, 117 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: but that by no means changes the fact that Steed 118 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: was born and raised to believe that the Barbadian sugar 119 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: trade would be his future. At twenty one, he married 120 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:29,600 Speaker 1: a young woman whose family also came from the Barbadian 121 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:33,199 Speaker 1: social elite. But apart from that and the four children 122 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: they had together, the couple would have little else in common. 123 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:40,440 Speaker 1: Then again, Bonnet held little in common with most of 124 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: the members of the high society life he had been 125 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: born into. He may have technically been made a major 126 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:49,880 Speaker 1: in the Barbadian militia due mostly to his status as 127 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: a slaveholder and landowner, but his interests quickly became skewed 128 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: towards the enemies of the militia that he was set 129 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:01,360 Speaker 1: to defend against the careers of pirates. At this time, 130 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 1: we're far from private, and Bonnet, the bookish scholar that 131 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:08,760 Speaker 1: he was, made sure to keep himself exceptionally up to 132 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:12,720 Speaker 1: date on any and all things pirate. He was a 133 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: militiaman after all, and in some reports even a justice 134 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 1: of the peace. He had to be aware of the 135 00:09:18,480 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 1: villains washing up on their shores, at least until he 136 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:28,319 Speaker 1: became one himself. Now, there are many conflicting theories as 137 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:32,160 Speaker 1: to why Bonnet began his pirate exploits. Some say the 138 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 1: impetus for his escape from high society stemmed from his 139 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: poor relationship with his wife, But I do think it's 140 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: important to note that there is little information on the 141 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 1: exact nature of Bonnet's relationship with his wife, and the 142 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: reports we do have are questionable. Some sources call his 143 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 1: wife quote nagging, while others, like Charles Johnson in his 144 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: seventeen twenty four publication A General History of Pirates, merely 145 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:04,559 Speaker 1: cited quote some discomforts he found in a married state. 146 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: Other scholars suggest Bonnet may have been suffering from some 147 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: form of mental illness. However, this leads us into the 148 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 1: murky waters of posthumous diagnoses, which remains largely unhelpful when 149 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 1: contextualizing bonnet story on a larger scale. The truth is 150 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 1: we will never know the real reason Bonnet chose to 151 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: abandon the comforts of his affluent life. It's easy to 152 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 1: point fingers at nagging wives or mental illness to come 153 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 1: to conclusions, but Ultimately, those reasons are built off assumptions 154 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:42,559 Speaker 1: and biases that lack anything close to actual supported evidence. 155 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: All this to say Steed could have succumbed to the 156 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:50,359 Speaker 1: pressures associated with any and all of the aforementioned stressors 157 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:53,280 Speaker 1: in his life, but he could have just as likely 158 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: been having the world's most extreme midlife crisis. And while 159 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:01,439 Speaker 1: Bonnet may have made up his mind to leave his 160 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:04,960 Speaker 1: old life behind, that by no means meant that he 161 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,400 Speaker 1: had any sort of idea what he was actually doing. 162 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:11,840 Speaker 1: All Bonnet really knew was that in order to become 163 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:15,880 Speaker 1: a pirate he needed two things, a ship and a crew. 164 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 1: The former was acquired simply enough. Bonnets pockets were deep 165 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 1: enough to encourage the builders to turn to blind eye 166 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 1: to the eccentric aristocrat who demanded a library be built 167 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,959 Speaker 1: into the captain's quarters of his ship. Finding a crew 168 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: was a harder sell. A pirate crew was typically bought 169 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 1: in the same way a pirate ship would be on 170 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:42,160 Speaker 1: the high seas, through theft or mutiny. But since Bonnett 171 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:46,520 Speaker 1: had decided to forego traditional pirate code and build himself 172 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: a ship of his own, getting a crew to work 173 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 1: under him, a land lover with exactly zero experience out 174 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: on open ocean was a recipe for disaster. But far 175 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,439 Speaker 1: be it from Bonnet to let something as inconsequential as 176 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:06,800 Speaker 1: inexperience keep him from following through on a truly terrible idea. 177 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:12,600 Speaker 1: His solution a fair wage. Seeing as he was perpetually 178 00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 1: one small misstep away from having his crew replace him 179 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:19,400 Speaker 1: with a captain who was far more capable, Bonnet made 180 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:22,880 Speaker 1: the one move he suspected would keep them in his favor. 181 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,360 Speaker 1: On a normal pirate ship, crew members were paid a 182 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:31,079 Speaker 1: percentage of the plunder they received, but Bonnet, aware of 183 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:36,480 Speaker 1: his already unorthodox method of acquiring his ship, doubled down 184 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 1: to match the needs of his crew. With a steady income, 185 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:44,160 Speaker 1: they would be less likely to replace him with someone better. 186 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 1: And so, in spring seventeen seventeen, with his shiny new boat, 187 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 1: begrudgingly acceptant crew, and an overabundance of unearned confidence, Steve 188 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 1: Bonnet set sail from Barbados on the vessel he had 189 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: named for probably no other reason other than that he 190 00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 1: thought it sounded cool. The revenge now, whether it was 191 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,240 Speaker 1: due to his cruise knowledge of the trade or the 192 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:15,439 Speaker 1: universe taking pity on him, bonnet initial venture into piracy 193 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: went surprisingly well. The Revenge successfully overtook upwards of eight 194 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:25,079 Speaker 1: ships of varying sizes, stripping each of their valuables before 195 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 1: they've swiftly moved on to their next target. He only 196 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:30,800 Speaker 1: stopped if you wanted to set fire to a ship 197 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 1: he plundered, a practice that he suspiciously only acted upon 198 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: when the ship was native to Barbados. Some historians theorized 199 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:42,280 Speaker 1: that Bonnet may not have wanted news of his criminal 200 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: activities reaching home, but soon enough no amount of arson 201 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:51,479 Speaker 1: could keep tales of the Revenge's exploits at bay. Despite 202 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 1: his string of early successes, Bonnet's lucky streak officially came 203 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:00,120 Speaker 1: to an end in September seventeen seventeen, when he and 204 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:04,080 Speaker 1: his crew came face to face with a Spanish man 205 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,679 Speaker 1: of war. After a skirmish that left the Revenge with 206 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: half its crew and more or less half a captain, 207 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 1: the remaining men made the decision to head towards the 208 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 1: known pirate harbor Nasa off the coast of the Bahamas. 209 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 1: Cut to Edward Teach, the infamous Blackbeard, staring with a 210 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:28,760 Speaker 1: mixture of disdain and awe at the battered ship and 211 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: equally battered captain. Perhaps the most peculiar pirate he'd ever met, 212 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 1: Steed Bonnet. Steed was everything a pirate shouldn't have been, wealthy, educated, 213 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 1: well mannered. There was no reason for him to have 214 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: ended up in a pirate harbor. Both him and his 215 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 1: ship riddled with the scars of battle. But once Blackbeard 216 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 1: was able to look past the lavish dressing gown and 217 00:14:55,800 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 1: entirely impractical library at sea, Blackbeard saw Bonnet as the 218 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 1: opportunity that he was. After bonnets debacle with the Spanish Navy, 219 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 1: it was no secret that Bonnet's crew was unimpressed by 220 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: their lackluster excuse of a captain, and now that the 221 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,960 Speaker 1: former aristocrat could barely leave his bed because of his injuries, 222 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 1: it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the fact that 223 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:25,120 Speaker 1: the Revenge needed a real captain. If Steve didn't appoint one, 224 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:28,080 Speaker 1: his crew might take matters into their own hands and 225 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 1: make that decision for him. Luckily for Bonnet, Blackbeard was 226 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,520 Speaker 1: more than happy to step into the role. After setting 227 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 1: sail from Nassau with its new captain at the helm, 228 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 1: the Revenge steadily made its way up the coast, leaving 229 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: a trail of destruction cast carelessly behind them. Any vessel 230 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: unlucky enough to be caught in their path was subject 231 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: to the typical looting and plundering of any pirate raid. 232 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 1: Jewels were stolen, coins were pocketed, and casks of Madeira wine, 233 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: rum and ammune Shian were plucked like they sat on 234 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,640 Speaker 1: grocery store shelves instead of in the halls of merchant ships. 235 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 1: But Blackbeard, always the overachiever, didn't stop there after he'd 236 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 1: taken his fill. He would order his crew to dump 237 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,560 Speaker 1: any and all extra cargo that they weren't planning on 238 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: taking with them, just because he could. And while tales 239 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 1: of Blackbeard's villainous exploits echoed off the walls of almost 240 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,880 Speaker 1: every tavern up and down the Atlantic coast, whispers of 241 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: a peculiar gentleman draped in finery aboard the revenge were 242 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: swiftly making the rounds as well. In the months since 243 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 1: his near brush with death with the Spanish Bonnet, had 244 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 1: recovered from the majority of his injuries, only to find 245 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,960 Speaker 1: himself in the peculiar position of being a guest in 246 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:55,360 Speaker 1: his own home. Though guests may have been too generous 247 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 1: a term, he may have owned the ship and paid 248 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: the crew, but he been sleeping in the captain's quarters. 249 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 1: Didn't change the fact that the Revenge was becoming more 250 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 1: of a prison than his luscious state in Barbados had 251 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:13,240 Speaker 1: ever been. At the time, seating his role as captain 252 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:17,000 Speaker 1: to Blackbeard had seemed like the only logical choice, But 253 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:21,440 Speaker 1: as Bonnet grew stronger, he also became acutely aware that 254 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: his crew had little, if any remaining loyalty to him, 255 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:30,440 Speaker 1: not that this was at all surprising. During one instance, 256 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 1: when Bonnet was momentarily given back control of the Revenge, 257 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:39,119 Speaker 1: the ill equipped gentleman pirate threatened an oncoming merchant vessel 258 00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: that he and his crew would quote do them mischief 259 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,840 Speaker 1: unless they came aboard and shared a meal with them, 260 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:49,400 Speaker 1: not exactly the type of behavior that instills fear and 261 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 1: loyalty in pirate ranks. When the crew all but begged 262 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:58,240 Speaker 1: Blackbeard to stay on as captain, Bonnet felt the carefully 263 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:02,280 Speaker 1: crafted pirate fantasy he had built for himself slipping through 264 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: his fingers. Trapped aboard a ship he'd bought to escape 265 00:18:06,359 --> 00:18:10,639 Speaker 1: his former life, the disgruntled former aristocrat fell into a 266 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:15,080 Speaker 1: deep depression, confiding in one of his few remaining loyal 267 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:21,000 Speaker 1: crew members, his newfound, though predictably familiar, desire to now 268 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:25,640 Speaker 1: leave behind his life of piracy for a quieter existence abroad, 269 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: maybe Spain or Portugal, his real only prerequisite being the 270 00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:39,120 Speaker 1: country's protection against being extradited for piracy crimes. Strangely enough, 271 00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:42,680 Speaker 1: the answer to bonnet prayers would come from the British 272 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: Crown itself, in the form of a decree called a 273 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 1: Proclamation for Suppressing of Pirates, or, as it was better known, 274 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: the Act of Grace. Across the Atlantic, the repercussions of 275 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 1: the quote Golden Age of piracy were finally beginning to effect. 276 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:04,000 Speaker 1: In England, King George the First was facing pressure from 277 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:07,639 Speaker 1: merchants and shareholders to enact some sort of measure to 278 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 1: quell the exponentially growing crime rate on the high Seas. 279 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:16,360 Speaker 1: Their livelihoods were quite literally being dumped in the ocean. 280 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:21,600 Speaker 1: His solution, which on the surface appears slightly counterintuitive, was 281 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:24,960 Speaker 1: to offer a pardon to any and all pirates who 282 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,440 Speaker 1: surrendered themselves to the Crown before the fifth of January 283 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 1: that year. It gave pirates like Bonnet the opportunity to 284 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:37,200 Speaker 1: turn themselves in with next to no consequences save their 285 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:41,879 Speaker 1: promise never to practice piracy against the Crown ever again. Now, 286 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,600 Speaker 1: if that offer sounds a little too good to be true, 287 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 1: you wouldn't be the only one to think so. The 288 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 1: language of the proclamation made it clear that the Crown 289 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 1: only offered quote promise of a pardon, which, if pop 290 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 1: culture rhetoric has taught us anything about pirates, it's that 291 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:01,920 Speaker 1: a promise to or from one is about as binding 292 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: as a scrap of masking tape, or, you know, a 293 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 1: marriage contract with Steed Bonnet. Needless to say, there was 294 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 1: a fair amount of skepticism in the pirate community towards 295 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: the King's pardon, leading some historians to theorize that Blackbeard, 296 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:21,199 Speaker 1: with his general distrust of authority and recently acquired small 297 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: fleet of pirate vessels, sent Bonnet to the town of 298 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,760 Speaker 1: Bath to acquire a pardon for himself as a test 299 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:31,439 Speaker 1: before he attempted to procure one of his own. For 300 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 1: Bonnet's part, it didn't take much to convince him to 301 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: seek the pardon for himself, especially since one could argue 302 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 1: running away from his problems was historically Steed's favorite pastime. 303 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 1: It probably took even less convincing for Bonnet to leave 304 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:49,480 Speaker 1: his ship and his crew in the care of Blackbeard. 305 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,520 Speaker 1: As he set sail on a small dinghy inland to 306 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,760 Speaker 1: settle his affairs. Maybe he even waved back to his 307 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,879 Speaker 1: crew as they grew into small dots on the horizon, 308 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,000 Speaker 1: as he felt the weight he'd been holding onto as 309 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 1: a pseudo captain turned guests turned prisoner, lifting with every 310 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:11,000 Speaker 1: inch he floated closer to land. But Steed's old crew 311 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:14,520 Speaker 1: aboard The Revenge wouldn't have seen the small hand waving 312 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:18,720 Speaker 1: toward them in the distance. No, just a Steed Bonnet 313 00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 1: stepped on land toward what he was sure would be 314 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 1: a brighter future. His old hired crew was just realizing 315 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,160 Speaker 1: that black Beard and black Beard's own pre Revenge crew 316 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:37,520 Speaker 1: had just turned their weapons against them. Now, if there 317 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,120 Speaker 1: was an official rule book on how to be a pirate, 318 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:43,200 Speaker 1: I imagine the first rule would be printed in all 319 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:48,200 Speaker 1: caps across the front page, bolded, highlighted, and double underlined, 320 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 1: never trust a pirate. Unfortunately, for Bonnet, such a book 321 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,360 Speaker 1: was not held in his fully stocked library aboard The Revenge, 322 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:01,480 Speaker 1: and black Beard wasted no time taking advantage of bonnet 323 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: ignorance to strip the Revenge of any and all things 324 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:12,200 Speaker 1: of value to their horror. This unfortunately included Bonnet's original crew, who, 325 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:15,480 Speaker 1: thanks to the very captain they had so very recently 326 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:19,360 Speaker 1: switched their allegiance too, were left marooned on an island 327 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:23,640 Speaker 1: near Topsail Inlet, off the coast of North Carolina. Because, 328 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:27,000 Speaker 1: of course, Blackbeard was the type of petty not only 329 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:30,040 Speaker 1: to strip the Revenge clean of everything save a few 330 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 1: barrels of food, but to take his crew just to 331 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,919 Speaker 1: maroon them on an island so that Bonnet couldn't have them. 332 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 1: When Blackbeard initially took command of the Revenge, he had 333 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:43,560 Speaker 1: managed to assemble a hundred and fifty men after the 334 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:47,920 Speaker 1: Spanish navy had all but decimated bonnets already modest crew 335 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:52,320 Speaker 1: of seventy five. But as rumor of the Revenge's exploit spread, 336 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:55,320 Speaker 1: soon even the men they were robbing we're begging to 337 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 1: join their company. In one instance, upon crossing paths with 338 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 1: the Revenge, a merchant ship willingly surrendered and pledged their 339 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:07,080 Speaker 1: loyalty to Blackbeard rather than suffer the consequences of their 340 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: most likely imminent demise. As time went on, what had 341 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:15,280 Speaker 1: started as a mere hundred fifty aboard one lone damaged 342 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:19,920 Speaker 1: ship mounted to upwards a four hundred men spread across 343 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:23,199 Speaker 1: several vessels. And while this may have sounded like a 344 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: good thing, Bonnets and by extent, the Revenge is dead 345 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: weight was becoming more apparent by the day, especially since 346 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:35,280 Speaker 1: any raid Blackbeard undertook had to be split amongst all 347 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:39,479 Speaker 1: of his crew, and plunder shared four hundred ways didn't 348 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,879 Speaker 1: come with the same sense of satisfaction or the amount 349 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 1: of money it would with a smaller group, And since 350 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:51,159 Speaker 1: Blackbeard was essentially cleaning house after Steed, it was clear 351 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:56,439 Speaker 1: that steedsmen had to go. Meanwhile, in Bath, Bonnet had 352 00:23:56,480 --> 00:24:00,240 Speaker 1: successfully expunged his record of all criminal pirate activity, and 353 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:02,840 Speaker 1: he was more than ready to set sail aboard his 354 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 1: ship onto the next chapter of his life. Unfortunately for him, 355 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 1: this was also the point in which he finally noticed 356 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: the metaphorical knife that had been sticking out of his 357 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,119 Speaker 1: back ever since he'd landed on the mainland when he 358 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:20,160 Speaker 1: stepped aboard the Revenge after just three days away. Remember, 359 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: he was always planning on coming back to his ship. 360 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:25,359 Speaker 1: He just wanted to clear his pirate record. He was 361 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:28,600 Speaker 1: planning on taking the ship that he owned to wherever 362 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 1: he would live next. But he now realized he owned 363 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:35,240 Speaker 1: a ghost ship. It was little more than a hollowed 364 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 1: out husk of driftwood, run aground and completely abandoned in 365 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:44,360 Speaker 1: his absence. There's a metaphor in there somewhere, but even Bonnet, 366 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:47,080 Speaker 1: a man so fond of literature that he built a 367 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,280 Speaker 1: library at sea, was in no mood to appreciate it. 368 00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:53,680 Speaker 1: Once upon a time he had named his ship the Revenge, 369 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:58,160 Speaker 1: but taking stock of his empty sloop and completely missing crew, 370 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:02,440 Speaker 1: quickly changed it from name to a purpose. And when 371 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,200 Speaker 1: he eventually found his few remaining men marooned and left 372 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:10,040 Speaker 1: to die on an uninhabited island, for once, the skeptical 373 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:14,960 Speaker 1: crew and their inept gentleman pirate were in agreement. Blackbeard 374 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:19,199 Speaker 1: was going to pay. Unfortunately, I have to spoil the 375 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 1: ending to this particular part of the story and tell 376 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:26,240 Speaker 1: you Blackbeard did not pay, at least not by Bonnet's hands. 377 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:30,320 Speaker 1: As great the tale of the revengees Revenge would have been, 378 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: apart from a handful of near missus, the two enemy 379 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:38,440 Speaker 1: captains would never cross paths again in their lifetime. Bonnet, however, 380 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:41,520 Speaker 1: didn't know this yet, and quickly made it his life's 381 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:45,440 Speaker 1: mission to make Blackbeard suffer for his treachery for turning 382 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: the Revenge into a black Beard franchise and then completely 383 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:54,000 Speaker 1: abandoning it. The first amongst a series of hiccups in 384 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:59,240 Speaker 1: Steve Bonnet's plans proved to be the most problematic one. Technically, 385 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,960 Speaker 1: he was no longer a pirate, at least he wasn't 386 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,919 Speaker 1: supposed to be according to the terms of his pardon. 387 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,880 Speaker 1: The ink had barely dried on Bonnet's pardon before he 388 00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:15,240 Speaker 1: was already about to break the only term of his agreement. Granted, 389 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,600 Speaker 1: he was given little other choice. Blackbeard had left the 390 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:22,080 Speaker 1: Revenge with nothing but a few casks of food, and 391 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,840 Speaker 1: after failing to secure a privateering commission from the governor 392 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,520 Speaker 1: following his pardon, Bonnet forged ahead the only way he 393 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:34,960 Speaker 1: knew how. This time, Bonnet began conducting his pirate business 394 00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:38,800 Speaker 1: under the name Captain Thomas and sailing a ship that 395 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:42,560 Speaker 1: looked remarkably similar to the Revenge, but was instead named 396 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 1: the Royal James. And to ensure that bonnet activities were 397 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:50,280 Speaker 1: relatively above board, he made sure that all of his 398 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:55,080 Speaker 1: run ins with merchant vessels were classified as trades, even 399 00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:57,639 Speaker 1: if he stole everything but the shirts off their backs 400 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:01,159 Speaker 1: in exchange for maybe a small parcel of rice or, 401 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:05,639 Speaker 1: in one case, an old anchor cable. Originally, the Royal 402 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:10,639 Speaker 1: James only quote traded out of necessity, but by July 403 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 1: seventeen eighteen, the gentleman pirate and his crew had once 404 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,720 Speaker 1: again fully abandoned all charades of diplomacy in favor of 405 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 1: embracing the pirate life. In the summer of seventeen eighteen, 406 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:26,760 Speaker 1: the Royal James was on an extended, glorified shopping spree, 407 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:30,520 Speaker 1: boarding merchant vessels and taking their fill before going off 408 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 1: to find their next victims. During this time, Bonnet managed 409 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: to add two more sloops and a handful of new 410 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:41,639 Speaker 1: crew members to a small but mighty fleet. Soon after 411 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,879 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 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:52,879 Speaker 1: River Estuary off the coast of North Carolina, only to 414 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:56,239 Speaker 1: find that they had a much more practical problem on 415 00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:00,200 Speaker 1: their hands. The Royal James had a leak as the 416 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:03,720 Speaker 1: ship began to take on more and more water, and 417 00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 1: the Atlantic hurricane season was closing in. Bonnet and his 418 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 1: crew had no choice but to make landfall to fix 419 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:15,320 Speaker 1: their flagship vessel and wait out the bad weather. By 420 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:19,399 Speaker 1: late August, word of Bonnet's extended stay in the Cape 421 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,960 Speaker 1: Fear River had reached Charlestown, and the Governor of South 422 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:27,679 Speaker 1: Carolina was less than pleased. Even though Bonnet's location was 423 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:32,760 Speaker 1: technically in North Carolina, outside the governor's jurisdiction, Governor Johnson 424 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:36,359 Speaker 1: was not prepared to let someone with Steve Bonnet's lengthy 425 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:40,040 Speaker 1: criminal history and ties to arguably one of the most 426 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:44,840 Speaker 1: nefarious pirates of their time, lounge about on a beach nearby, 427 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:50,480 Speaker 1: and so on September six, seventeen eighteen, Colonel William Rhett 428 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 1: found himself sailing into the Cape Fear River mouth with 429 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:57,800 Speaker 1: two government ships and one hundred and thirty militiamen on 430 00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:01,240 Speaker 1: a commission from Governor Johnson to carry out the capture 431 00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 1: and arrest of Steed Bonnet and the crew of the 432 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:09,680 Speaker 1: Royal James. Meanwhile, from further up the waterway, Steed Bonnet 433 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:12,320 Speaker 1: held his spyglass to his eye and squinted at the 434 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,640 Speaker 1: blurry shapes he saw bobbing in the distance. Now, he 435 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:19,280 Speaker 1: may not have been the most experienced pirate, but Bonnet 436 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:22,560 Speaker 1: was at least sure that the masses he saw were 437 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,520 Speaker 1: ships merchant vessels, if he was not mistaken, and it 438 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,160 Speaker 1: was under that assumption that Bonnet sent three canoes full 439 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:33,840 Speaker 1: of his crew to go off and capture the mysterious 440 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 1: merchant ships in the river mouth. However, as his men 441 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:42,760 Speaker 1: drifted closer, the sight of the British Naval flag quickly 442 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,720 Speaker 1: enlightened bonnet crew as to the reality of their situation. 443 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:50,800 Speaker 1: The men hastily scrambled to turn around and sail back 444 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,880 Speaker 1: to warn their captain about the imminent attack. But when 445 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,400 Speaker 1: they returned, they realized that the Royal Navy's ships behind 446 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 1: them weren't moving at all. In fact, act, it seemed 447 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:04,280 Speaker 1: as though one of the vessels was stalled in the 448 00:30:04,360 --> 00:30:09,400 Speaker 1: opening of the estuary. Aboard the British naval ship, the Henry, 449 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 1: poor Colonel Rhett was having a rough day. With Bonnet 450 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:17,800 Speaker 1: in his sights. The Henry sped towards its target, only 451 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:20,480 Speaker 1: to be abruptly jarred to a halt as its hull 452 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:24,720 Speaker 1: scraped the bottom of the Cape Fear River. Without any 453 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:28,360 Speaker 1: way to free itself from its sandy prison, the Henry 454 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:34,400 Speaker 1: transformed from dangerous adversary to only slightly intimidating art installation. 455 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:38,920 Speaker 1: As the tide continued to drop lower and lower, and 456 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,920 Speaker 1: so with the British Navy stuck in the entrance to 457 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: the harbor and Bonnet and his men unable to flee 458 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:49,040 Speaker 1: due to rhet blocking their only escape route, all parties 459 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 1: were forced to angrily brood in their respective corners until 460 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:57,160 Speaker 1: the moon inevitably turned the tides in one of their favors. 461 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:02,080 Speaker 1: By the time the Henry finally managed to get itself 462 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:05,640 Speaker 1: back on the water, the sun had long since disappeared 463 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:08,920 Speaker 1: below the horizon, and even Bonnet was not so foolish 464 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,960 Speaker 1: as to attempt to navigate the rocky estuary in the dark. Together. 465 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,440 Speaker 1: He and the crew of the Royal James decided to 466 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,760 Speaker 1: wait until morning before taking any action, but as the 467 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:25,080 Speaker 1: moon rose, bonnet patients waned. Before long, even the crew 468 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:29,000 Speaker 1: had taken note of his erratic behavior. By the late 469 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:32,680 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 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:39,600 Speaker 1: forced to watch the last of his freedom wash away 472 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:43,920 Speaker 1: with the tide. The wounds of Blackbeard's betrayal still stung 473 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:47,000 Speaker 1: fresh in his memory, and as he and the crew 474 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:49,760 Speaker 1: of the Royal James waited for the sun to rise, 475 00:31:50,200 --> 00:31:54,320 Speaker 1: Bonnet couldn't help but see treachery etched into the faces 476 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:58,040 Speaker 1: around him. With nothing else to do, Bonnet set about 477 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:01,880 Speaker 1: preparing his men for battle, assembling the forty or so 478 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,200 Speaker 1: men that he'd scattered amongst his three vessels, and bringing 479 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,960 Speaker 1: them together aboard the Royal James to defend their flagship 480 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:13,280 Speaker 1: and its captain. Predictably, some of the men were less 481 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:16,800 Speaker 1: than enthusiastic when asked to put their life on the line, 482 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 1: to which Bonnet simply responded, quote if anyone refused to fight, 483 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:24,560 Speaker 1: he would blow their brains out. It was also at 484 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 1: this point that, with no one left to yell at, 485 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:30,680 Speaker 1: Bonnett returned to his captain's quarters to write a letter 486 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:34,320 Speaker 1: to the Governor of South Carolina, because when in doubt, 487 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:38,080 Speaker 1: always asked to speak to the manager. In his letter, 488 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:41,040 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 --> 00:32:48,160 Speaker 1: Rhett follow through on his attack come daybreak, he would 491 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:52,120 Speaker 1: not hesitate to quote, burn and destroy all ships and 492 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:56,000 Speaker 1: vessels going in or coming out of South Carolina, but 493 00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:59,720 Speaker 1: as the sun rose over the Atlantic, any words uttered 494 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:04,160 Speaker 1: by on it, written or otherwise were swiftly forgotten. The 495 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,280 Speaker 1: Royal James was the first to make a move, launching 496 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:11,040 Speaker 1: full speed ahead towards the Henry, hoping Rhet would take 497 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:13,600 Speaker 1: the bait and chase them out of the harbor and 498 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:17,720 Speaker 1: into the open ocean, where they would make their escape. However, 499 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:21,160 Speaker 1: in order to complete this maneuver, the Royal James was 500 00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:24,640 Speaker 1: forced to avoid the Henry in the relatively narrow river 501 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:29,480 Speaker 1: mouth by binging close to the shore, which predictably was 502 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:35,000 Speaker 1: when everything once again devolved into chaos. Rhett, realizing what 503 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:38,360 Speaker 1: Bonnet was attempting to do, used the advantage of having 504 00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:41,600 Speaker 1: two vessels to try to flank the Royal James on 505 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:46,360 Speaker 1: either side, only for Rhett to feel the familiar, dreaded 506 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:51,640 Speaker 1: scrape of sand below, dragging the Henry to a halt. Two. 507 00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:55,000 Speaker 1: Colonel Rhett's horror, the other ships sent with him the 508 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:59,000 Speaker 1: Sea Nymph had run aground as well, meaning instead of 509 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:02,760 Speaker 1: corralling it on either side, they had given him a 510 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:07,800 Speaker 1: runway in which to sail off to freedom, except, of course, 511 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:12,120 Speaker 1: they hadn't, because, just as Bonnet gleefully came to the 512 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:15,919 Speaker 1: same conclusion and barreled forward to greet his victory upon 513 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:19,680 Speaker 1: the open ocean. The Royal James two came to a 514 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:23,719 Speaker 1: screeching halt as its hull found the warm embrace of 515 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:27,880 Speaker 1: the Cape Fear River floor, and suddenly, for the second 516 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:31,760 Speaker 1: time in twenty four hours, Rhett and Bonnet were stuck 517 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:35,279 Speaker 1: twiddling their thumbs and staring at each other while they 518 00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:38,760 Speaker 1: waited for the tide to release them from their oddly 519 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:44,480 Speaker 1: specific purgatories. However, this time, the Royal James had managed 520 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:47,120 Speaker 1: to beat itself in such a way that they were 521 00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:50,400 Speaker 1: within shooting distance of the Henry, which led the crews 522 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:53,759 Speaker 1: of both vessels to fire recklessly at each other as 523 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:58,360 Speaker 1: they waited out their stalemate. Bullets and taunt were exchanged 524 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:01,640 Speaker 1: an equal measure over the following six hours, until at 525 00:35:01,719 --> 00:35:06,080 Speaker 1: last fate chose the Henry to be the winner, when 526 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:09,440 Speaker 1: Rhett carefully maneuvered his ship so that the Royal James 527 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:14,560 Speaker 1: was effectively staring down the barrels of their cannons. Bonnet 528 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,040 Speaker 1: finally waved the white flag and surrendered himself to be 529 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:23,520 Speaker 1: taken into custody at Charlestown, but of course, Steed being Steed, 530 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:28,840 Speaker 1: he was not planning on staying there for long. For 531 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:32,120 Speaker 1: all the trouble it had taken to apprehend Steed Bonnet 532 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:35,279 Speaker 1: and bring him into custody, their welcome upon arriving in 533 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:41,239 Speaker 1: Charlestown was surprisingly underwhelming. For one, Charlestown had yet to 534 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,320 Speaker 1: build a suitable prison to hold the more than thirty 535 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:48,360 Speaker 1: pirates Governor Johnson now had in his custody. Improvising, the 536 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,880 Speaker 1: Governor had Bonnet crew put in a spare, one story 537 00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:56,560 Speaker 1: building in town until they could organize their trials. However, Bonnet, 538 00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:59,640 Speaker 1: whether it was due to his I've never slept in 539 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:03,279 Speaker 1: any less than silk attitude or because they didn't want 540 00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:08,080 Speaker 1: him plotting something nefarious with his men, was intentionally isolated 541 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:11,840 Speaker 1: and put into the care of South Carolina's Provost, Marshal 542 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:17,000 Speaker 1: Nathaniel Partridge, who imprisoned him in his own home, which 543 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:20,319 Speaker 1: meant that while Bonnets thirty men were detained in some 544 00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:23,879 Speaker 1: decrepit shack with barely a chamber pot split between them, 545 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:28,120 Speaker 1: Bonnet suffered silently in the private guest quarters of a 546 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:33,799 Speaker 1: prominent South Carolina government official. Imagine, but Steve didn't have 547 00:36:33,880 --> 00:36:37,760 Speaker 1: to suffer alone. For long. Soon the prosecution had managed 548 00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:41,200 Speaker 1: to turn two of bonnet crew into key witnesses in 549 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:45,279 Speaker 1: exchange for clemency. As such, they were then separated from 550 00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:48,680 Speaker 1: the rest of the crew and consequently sent to partridge 551 00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:53,200 Speaker 1: is Home to await trial. At least Bonnet's boatswin Ignacious 552 00:36:53,239 --> 00:36:57,160 Speaker 1: Pell was the other man set to testify for the prosecution. 553 00:36:57,239 --> 00:37:00,680 Speaker 1: A man named David Harriet arrived at part Ridges home 554 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:05,239 Speaker 1: but quickly began conspiring with Bonnet. Like I said earlier, 555 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:09,200 Speaker 1: Bonnet was never planning on staying imprisoned for long, and 556 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:13,560 Speaker 1: so three weeks after his initial arrest, Bonnet and Harriet 557 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:18,200 Speaker 1: slipped out past the heavily bribed guards surrounding the Partridge 558 00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:22,520 Speaker 1: estate and escaped into the night. Some historians report that 559 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:26,160 Speaker 1: the two men dressed in women's clothing as disguises, which 560 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:29,120 Speaker 1: I'm inclined to believe is true, if only because bonnets 561 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:34,319 Speaker 1: previous lifestyle choices leaned towards the more theatrical. But regardless, 562 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:37,240 Speaker 1: Harriet and Bonnet managed to make it to the small 563 00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:40,879 Speaker 1: canoe that they'd arranged for, and they sailed quietly out 564 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:47,640 Speaker 1: of Charlestown Harbor. Now, if Governor Johnson had thought he 565 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:50,880 Speaker 1: was angry at the idea of Steed Bonnet lounging beachside 566 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,840 Speaker 1: on the shores of Cape Fear River. That was nothing 567 00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:57,200 Speaker 1: compared to what he felt upon getting word that Bonnet 568 00:37:57,200 --> 00:38:01,240 Speaker 1: had escaped custody, and after a week spent sending search 569 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,759 Speaker 1: party after search party out to no avail, the Governor's 570 00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:10,080 Speaker 1: fuse was burning dangerously short. Desperate to begin Bonnets trial, 571 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:13,719 Speaker 1: the Governor put out a reward for seven hundred pounds 572 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:17,439 Speaker 1: for bonnets capture, and once again Colonel Rhett was sent 573 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:20,920 Speaker 1: out to scavenge the land for any and all traces 574 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:26,320 Speaker 1: of the dread gentleman pirate. Ultimately, in typical Steed fashion, 575 00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:31,719 Speaker 1: his demise came from his own hand, or rather his pen. 576 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:36,560 Speaker 1: While it's true that Bonnet had successfully escaped without a trace, 577 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:40,239 Speaker 1: that didn't mean he'd managed to get very far. The 578 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:43,319 Speaker 1: canoe that he and Harriet had disappeared into the night 579 00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:45,840 Speaker 1: with had only taken them to the edge of the 580 00:38:45,920 --> 00:38:50,480 Speaker 1: Charlestown Harbor, to a place called Sullivan's Island. They're the 581 00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:53,080 Speaker 1: man who supplied them. The canoe was meant to have 582 00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:56,920 Speaker 1: secured them a sloop to actually escape on, Only that 583 00:38:56,960 --> 00:39:00,920 Speaker 1: ship never came and after a week without word, Bonnet 584 00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:03,919 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 00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:12,640 Speaker 1: he knew how, with a strongly worded letter. After dotting 587 00:39:12,719 --> 00:39:15,520 Speaker 1: his eyes and crossing his tees with what I imagined 588 00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:18,600 Speaker 1: to be slightly more aggression than was probably called for, 589 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:22,200 Speaker 1: Bonnet sent off his letter of complaint about the contract 590 00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:26,600 Speaker 1: for his slut, but it would never reach the ship seller. Instead, 591 00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:30,239 Speaker 1: the note would fall into the hands of Colonel Rhett, and, 592 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:34,200 Speaker 1: following an altercation that left Harriet and two others dead, 593 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:38,560 Speaker 1: Bonnet ultimately handed himself in for the final time, with 594 00:39:38,719 --> 00:39:41,839 Speaker 1: little other choice but to face the court that would 595 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:47,520 Speaker 1: ultimately decide his fate. Given his proclivity for reading, it 596 00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:51,160 Speaker 1: stands to reason that in another life, Bonnet could have 597 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:56,120 Speaker 1: abandoned his family's sugar plantation for law school instead of piracy. 598 00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:59,040 Speaker 1: But that wasn't this life, and Steve Bonnet in the 599 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:03,080 Speaker 1: courtroom was his own worst enemy. The one witness the 600 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:07,200 Speaker 1: prosecution still had the Royal James's boat swayed. Ignacious Pell 601 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:10,880 Speaker 1: tried to protect Bonnet as best he could. When asked 602 00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:15,359 Speaker 1: if Bonnet was their Commander in chief, pell answered, much 603 00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:19,080 Speaker 1: to the annoyance of the prosecution, he went by that name, 604 00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:23,640 Speaker 1: but the Quartermaster had more power than he. The entirety 605 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:27,600 Speaker 1: of Bonnet's trial proceedings are available for free online, so 606 00:40:27,640 --> 00:40:30,399 Speaker 1: I won't go into too much detail, but I will 607 00:40:30,480 --> 00:40:33,920 Speaker 1: say it's both impressive and kind of funny that the 608 00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:39,000 Speaker 1: judge's tone of increasing exasperation comes through so clearly, even 609 00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:42,760 Speaker 1: three years after the fact. At one point, an incident 610 00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:46,000 Speaker 1: of the Royal James steeling upwards of twenty barrels of 611 00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:49,880 Speaker 1: molasses was brought into evidence, leading the judge to ask 612 00:40:49,960 --> 00:40:53,279 Speaker 1: the question on everyone's mind, what need had you of 613 00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:57,920 Speaker 1: so much molasses, to which Bonnet replied cryptically quote, I 614 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:00,759 Speaker 1: did not carry it away, and it was contrary to 615 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:04,279 Speaker 1: my inclination. I like to imagine the judge had been 616 00:41:04,280 --> 00:41:07,080 Speaker 1: wearing glasses all day just so that at that moment 617 00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:09,400 Speaker 1: he could have taken them off and pinched the bridge 618 00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:12,400 Speaker 1: of his nose between his fingers, trying to hold it together. 619 00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:15,799 Speaker 1: When he repeated back to him, you gave orders for 620 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:18,680 Speaker 1: it to be done, and yet it was contrary to 621 00:41:18,760 --> 00:41:24,000 Speaker 1: your inclinations or other highlights, like Bonnet claiming innocence about 622 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:26,399 Speaker 1: a rate of another sloop due to him having been 623 00:41:26,680 --> 00:41:30,960 Speaker 1: asleep at the time, but ultimately it was a futile effort. 624 00:41:31,719 --> 00:41:37,880 Speaker 1: On November tenth, seventeen eighteen, the jury found Steed Bonnet guilty, 625 00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:41,520 Speaker 1: and two days later the judge sentenced him to death. 626 00:41:42,160 --> 00:41:46,120 Speaker 1: On December tenth, Steve Bonnet found himself putting one foot 627 00:41:46,239 --> 00:41:48,600 Speaker 1: in front of the other as he stepped up the 628 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:52,759 Speaker 1: gallows at the White Point Garden in Charlestown. When he 629 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:56,160 Speaker 1: looked out at the crowd assembled to witness his final moments, 630 00:41:56,640 --> 00:41:59,720 Speaker 1: he had no choice but to finally face the consequences 631 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:03,800 Speaker 1: of the life he had chosen for himself. I consider 632 00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:06,359 Speaker 1: that I speak to a person, the judge had said 633 00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:09,160 Speaker 1: to him on the day of his sentencing, whose offenses 634 00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:12,960 Speaker 1: have proceeded not so much from his not knowing as 635 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:17,200 Speaker 1: his slating and neglecting his duty. There was no more 636 00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:21,279 Speaker 1: running for Steed, no more starting over. No amount of 637 00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:25,799 Speaker 1: money or charming naivete could save him. Now, as the 638 00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:30,360 Speaker 1: noose tightened around his neck, Steed Bonnet, the gentleman pirate, 639 00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:33,959 Speaker 1: cast his eyes on the horizon, just as he had 640 00:42:34,040 --> 00:42:37,400 Speaker 1: a year and a half earlier, sailing aboard the freshly 641 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:52,080 Speaker 1: christened Revenge awaiting fate. That was the sad end to 642 00:42:52,239 --> 00:42:56,440 Speaker 1: the unintentionally funny life of Steed Bonnet. But stick around 643 00:42:56,520 --> 00:42:59,520 Speaker 1: after a brief sponsor break to hear what happened to 644 00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:12,600 Speaker 1: black Beard after he and Bonnet parted ways. Given how 645 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:15,160 Speaker 1: much of a household name black Beard is compared to 646 00:43:15,239 --> 00:43:18,000 Speaker 1: Steve Bonnet, it may surprise you to learn that his 647 00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:22,400 Speaker 1: pirating career was roughly the same length as our gentleman pirates. 648 00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:26,000 Speaker 1: After leaving the Revengeance crew to die on an island 649 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:30,080 Speaker 1: near Topsail Inlet, Blackbeard went to the one place Bonnet 650 00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:36,239 Speaker 1: least expected, bath North Carolina. Yes, teach also went to 651 00:43:36,280 --> 00:43:40,080 Speaker 1: get himself a pardon from the governor. Only he went 652 00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:44,480 Speaker 1: one step further, befriending the governor and gaining a privateering 653 00:43:44,480 --> 00:43:47,800 Speaker 1: commission so that he could continue to pillage and plunder, 654 00:43:48,200 --> 00:43:52,760 Speaker 1: but under the protection of the law. The governor of Virginia, though, 655 00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:56,040 Speaker 1: was not a fan of Blackbeard, and after the well 656 00:43:56,160 --> 00:43:59,719 Speaker 1: publicized antics he and Bonnet had pulled, he was it 657 00:44:00,120 --> 00:44:03,800 Speaker 1: to see Blackbeard brought to justice. The Governor of Virginia 658 00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:07,719 Speaker 1: sent a man named Lieutenant Reynard Off with two slopes 659 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:11,480 Speaker 1: to Okracoke Island, where they had received word that Blackbeard 660 00:44:11,520 --> 00:44:15,120 Speaker 1: and his men were hiding out with many of teachers men, 661 00:44:15,360 --> 00:44:19,720 Speaker 1: including his second in command, Israel, hands on business inland. 662 00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:23,440 Speaker 1: Blackbeard found himself at a disadvantage when the fight with 663 00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:28,480 Speaker 1: Maynard began. After massive carnage sustained on both sides from 664 00:44:28,560 --> 00:44:33,200 Speaker 1: cannon and gunfire, the fight was ultimately one by Maynard. 665 00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:36,920 Speaker 1: His secret strategy had been sending the majority of his 666 00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:40,759 Speaker 1: men below deck just before they were boarded by Blackbeard's men. 667 00:44:41,239 --> 00:44:45,480 Speaker 1: The ensuing surprise attack cost Edward Teach his life, and 668 00:44:45,640 --> 00:44:50,799 Speaker 1: on November twenty second, seventeen eighteen, Blackbeard was killed by 669 00:44:50,920 --> 00:44:55,640 Speaker 1: five bullet wounds and around twenty cuts laid across his body. 670 00:44:55,840 --> 00:45:00,319 Speaker 1: Maynard would then famously decapitate him and hang his head 671 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:03,160 Speaker 1: from the front of his ship, only for it later 672 00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:05,480 Speaker 1: to be put on a stake at the entrance to 673 00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:10,040 Speaker 1: Chesapeake Bay as a warning for other pirates who sailed by. 674 00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:13,880 Speaker 1: It's somehow oddly fitting that a man whose life and 675 00:45:13,960 --> 00:45:18,680 Speaker 1: death have been aggrandized to such mythological proportions should sit 676 00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:23,480 Speaker 1: side by side in history with someone as ostensibly unremarkable 677 00:45:23,520 --> 00:45:27,680 Speaker 1: as Steed Bonnet. In the end, both men only engaged 678 00:45:27,719 --> 00:45:30,960 Speaker 1: in piracy for around two years, a blink of an 679 00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:33,520 Speaker 1: eye in the course of the three centuries that we've 680 00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:38,520 Speaker 1: spent talking about them since. Despite having polar opposite personalities 681 00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:42,320 Speaker 1: on paper, there are legends that Blackbeard would light slow 682 00:45:42,400 --> 00:45:45,560 Speaker 1: burning fuses and then carefully placed them in his beard 683 00:45:45,800 --> 00:45:47,759 Speaker 1: to make it look as though he existed in a 684 00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:51,560 Speaker 1: halo of thick black smoke. And if that doesn't scream 685 00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:55,839 Speaker 1: Steed Bonnet theatrical tendencies, then I don't know what does. 686 00:45:56,719 --> 00:45:59,719 Speaker 1: And maybe it's all just legend, but maybe there's a 687 00:45:59,719 --> 00:46:03,479 Speaker 1: rea in their stories have been inextricably tied together over 688 00:46:03,520 --> 00:46:08,400 Speaker 1: the centuries. Maybe those two men who sailed out for 689 00:46:08,600 --> 00:46:13,120 Speaker 1: adventure or freedom or money were more similar than history 690 00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:32,080 Speaker 1: gives them credit for. Noble Blood is a production of 691 00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:35,560 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. 692 00:46:35,760 --> 00:46:39,880 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is hosted by me Danish Wartz. Additional writing 693 00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:44,160 Speaker 1: and researching done by Hannah Johnston, Hannah's Wick, Mirra Hayward, 694 00:46:44,280 --> 00:46:48,000 Speaker 1: Courtney Sunder, and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by 695 00:46:48,040 --> 00:46:53,040 Speaker 1: rema Il Kali, with supervising producer Josh Thane and executive 696 00:46:53,080 --> 00:46:57,359 Speaker 1: producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more 697 00:46:57,400 --> 00:47:01,120 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 698 00:47:01,360 --> 00:47:04,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 699 00:47:07,600 --> 00:47:07,640 Speaker 1: H