1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,160 Speaker 1: Hey there, history fans. We're off through the end of November, 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,160 Speaker 1: but we've got plenty of classic shows to tide you over. 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,680 Speaker 2: Welcome to This Day in History Class from HowStuffWorks dot 4 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 2: Com and from the desk of Stuff you Missed in 5 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:15,240 Speaker 2: History Class. It's the show where we explore the past 6 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:17,480 Speaker 2: one day at a time with a quick look at 7 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:24,599 Speaker 2: what happened today in history. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 8 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 2: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and it's November twenty second. Blackbeard 9 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 2: died on this day in seventeen eighteen. That was, of course, 10 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 2: the nickname of an infamous pirate named Edward Teach or 11 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 2: perhaps Thatch. That nickname came from his big black beard, 12 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 2: which he was reported to accentuate with lit matches or candles. 13 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 2: He was probably born in Bristol, England, but like a 14 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:51,640 Speaker 2: lot of pirates, his origins and his early life are unclear. 15 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 2: He probably got his start at sea as a privateer 16 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 2: during Queen Anne's War, which was part of the War 17 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 2: of Spanish Succession, shifting to outright piracy once that war 18 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 2: was over and there was no military reason for him 19 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 2: to be plundering French and Spanish ships anymore. He established 20 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 2: a base on the outer banks of North Carolina, and 21 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 2: his flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, had previously been a 22 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,559 Speaker 2: French slave ship called La Concord. When he took this ship, 23 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 2: he left most of the enslaved people aboard with the 24 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:27,600 Speaker 2: captain in a smaller sloop, he kept sixty one aboard 25 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 2: what became the Queen An's Revenge. It seems as though 26 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 2: he absorbed these people into his crew rather than considering 27 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 2: them to be enslaved. That was often how pirates handled 28 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 2: the enslaved people that they captured. They treated them more 29 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 2: as crew members than as enslaved workers. His fleet had 30 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 2: up to four ships at any given time. They were 31 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 2: crewed by as many as two hundred men, and they 32 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 2: plundered off the coast of North America and in the Caribbean, 33 00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 2: becoming really notorious. The peak of his pirate activity was 34 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 2: from seventeen sixteen to seventeen eighteen, after being mentored by 35 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 2: Captain Benjamin Hornigold, when he was serving as a member 36 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,920 Speaker 2: of Hornegold's crew. While the nations whose ships he was 37 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 2: targeting feared and deplored him, for the most part, the 38 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:20,079 Speaker 2: population of the Carolinas tolerated or even encouraged black Beard's 39 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 2: piracy off their coast. Local officials were willing to take 40 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,519 Speaker 2: bribes to look the other way, and his plundering of 41 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 2: these other ships meant that the locals were getting duty 42 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 2: free goods that would be a lot more expensive otherwise, 43 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 2: so he became something of a folk hero locally. That 44 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,519 Speaker 2: started to change, though, after he blockaded the port of 45 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 2: Charleston in May of seventeen eighteen and took hostages that 46 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 2: he didn't release until the city paid a huge ransom 47 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 2: on them. The Queen Anne's Revenge and another of Blackbeard's ships, 48 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 2: the Adventure, both ran aground not long after that, and 49 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 2: they were lost. He had to break up a lot 50 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 2: of his pirate company at that point, and then to 51 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 2: try to continue doing what he was doing in a 52 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,880 Speaker 2: much smaller sloop. Then he was killed in a battle 53 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 2: in Ochrecoke Inlet just about six months later. On November 54 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 2: twenty second, seventeen eighteen, what started out as a naval 55 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 2: battle between two ships ended with heavy fighting aboard the 56 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,679 Speaker 2: sloop of the Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard. The pirates 57 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 2: were lured onto this sloop after what they had thought 58 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 2: was a battle that they had won, but it turned 59 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 2: out that Maynard and several uninjured men were hidden below decks. 60 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 2: That final fight was very bloody, with Blackbeard being shot 61 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 2: and struck with swords repeatedly before dying. Maynard returned to 62 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 2: Virginia afterward with Blackbeard's head hanging from the bow. His 63 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,839 Speaker 2: body had been thrown overboard. The wreck of the Queen 64 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 2: Anne's Revenge was found in nineteen ninety six, and extensive 65 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 2: underwater archaeological work has been done since then. Huge numbers 66 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 2: of artifacts had been brought to the surface for conservation 67 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 2: and in some cases dis blay. The QAAR Conservation Laboratory 68 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 2: was dedicated for this purpose in two thousand and four. 69 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 2: Thanks to Casey Pegram and Chandler Mays for their audio 70 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:12,680 Speaker 2: work on this show. You can subscribe to The Day 71 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 2: in History Class on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and wherever 72 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 2: else you get your podcasts, and you can tune in 73 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:31,160 Speaker 2: tomorrow for an insurrection that lasted for months. 74 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 75 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: show for those interested in the big and small moments 76 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: of history. I'm Gabelusier, and in this episode we're talking 77 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: about one of the most famous kisses in the Galaxy 78 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: and how it reflected a changing perspective on race in 79 00:04:52,520 --> 00:05:03,920 Speaker 1: the late nineteen sixties. The day was November twenty second, 80 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:09,280 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty eight, during a turbulent year for race relations 81 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 1: in America. Actors William Shatner and Michelle Nichols shared a 82 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: prominent kiss on an episode of Star Trek. According to 83 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:23,320 Speaker 1: Gallup polls, when the episode premiered, fewer than twenty percent 84 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,920 Speaker 1: of Americans approved of marriage between white and black people. 85 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:30,919 Speaker 1: While still pretty low, that was way up from the 86 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,919 Speaker 1: less than five percent who approved just one decade earlier. 87 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,359 Speaker 1: Acceptance of mixed race relationships was on the rise in 88 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: the US, and the kiss on Star Trek was an 89 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 1: early sign of that changing point of view and of 90 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: the victories of the ongoing civil rights movement. A campy 91 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:53,640 Speaker 1: sixties sci fi show might seem like an odd vehicle 92 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: for delivering a cultural message, but the genre and the 93 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,719 Speaker 1: show were actually well suited to the ten. As William 94 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: Shatner once explained, quote, setting Star Trek three hundred years 95 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: in the future allowed creator Gene Roddenberry to focus on 96 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:15,599 Speaker 1: the social issues of the nineteen sixties without being direct 97 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:20,479 Speaker 1: or obvious. Despite its standing as a landmark moment in 98 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 1: American television, the kiss between Shatner and Nichols is about 99 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: as far from romantic as you can get. It takes 100 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,239 Speaker 1: place in a third season episode of the original series 101 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:38,039 Speaker 1: titled Plato's step Children. The admittedly strange plot follows the 102 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,640 Speaker 1: crew of the USS Enterprise as they encounter a group 103 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: of human like aliens called the Playtonians, who patterned their 104 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 1: culture after the teachings of the ancient Greek philosophers Plato 105 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:55,839 Speaker 1: and Socrates. Despite their high minded culture, or perhaps because 106 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 1: of it, the aliens turned out to be arrogant and 107 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: cruel in the episode. Using their telekinetic powers, which is 108 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 1: a whole story in itself, the aliens control the Enterprise 109 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: crew like puppets for their own amusement. In one scene, 110 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: they force an embrace between the black communications officer played 111 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:20,360 Speaker 1: by Nichols and the white captain played by Shatner. Both 112 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 1: characters attempt to resist, but in the end, Lieutenant Uhura 113 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: and Captain Kirk are forced to kiss as the Playtonians 114 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: look on like the total creeps they are. The episode 115 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,119 Speaker 1: was slated to premiere just a little over a year 116 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:40,320 Speaker 1: after the Supreme Court delivered its historic ruling on the 117 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: case of Loving v. Virginia. That decision struck down several 118 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 1: state laws and declared interracial marriage legal in the United States. 119 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: In light of the racial climate in the country, NBC 120 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: executives were nervous when they saw the script for Plato's 121 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: step children. They were worried than an interracial kiss might 122 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: have set their TV station affiliates and viewers in the 123 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: Deep South. The scene was shot as scripted, but to 124 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: appease the networks, the showrunners also filmed an alternate version 125 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: with the kiss occurring off screen. However, Nachelle Nichols later 126 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: wrote in her autobiography that she and Shatner deliberately messed 127 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: up their lines so that the original take would have 128 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: to be used. She wrote, quote, we did a few takes, 129 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,320 Speaker 1: but Bill was deliberately trying to flub it. At one 130 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: point he even crossed his eyes to make me laugh. 131 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:43,000 Speaker 1: In the end, all the concern was for nothing. The 132 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 1: episode aired with the kiss intact, and the network heard 133 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:51,320 Speaker 1: few complaints. According to Nichols, the episode did get more 134 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: fan mail than the Paramount studio had ever received for 135 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 1: a single episode of Star Trek, but the majority of 136 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 1: letters were positive. In the decades that followed, intimacy between 137 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: black and white characters became more and more common on television. 138 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: But it's worth noting that the kiss between Kirk and 139 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:15,320 Speaker 1: Uhura wasn't the first TV kiss between actors of different races. 140 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: In fact, it wasn't even the first interracial kiss on 141 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: Star Trek, and that's to say nothing of earlier shows 142 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:25,959 Speaker 1: going as far back as the nineteen fifties, such as 143 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: I Love Lucy. It all depends on what you consider 144 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: a kiss and how you distinguish one ethnicity from another. 145 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,199 Speaker 1: But the truth is it doesn't really matter which TV 146 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: kiss came before or after another. In the end, each 147 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 1: one was important to someone watching at home, someone who 148 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:49,440 Speaker 1: was seeing their own relationships reflected on screen for the 149 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: first time in their lives. That may sound like a 150 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: stretch given the unromantic context of the kiss on Star Trek, 151 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: but consider this. The kiss between Ahura and Kirk didn't 152 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,280 Speaker 1: shock any of the characters in the show. It's not 153 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 1: played for laughs, and their difference in race isn't written 154 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: as an issue for anyone. In fact, there's no comment 155 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: or discussion of it at all. For some viewers, that 156 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,600 Speaker 1: was a welcome change from real life and a chance 157 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: to imagine a similar future for themselves, a better one 158 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 1: where they could love as they please without other people's 159 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 1: hang ups getting in the way. I'm Gabe Lucier and 160 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 1: hopefully you now know a little more about history today 161 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:40,120 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you enjoyed the show, consider 162 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 1: rating and reviewing it on Apple Podcasts. You can also 163 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show, 164 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: and if you have any thoughts or suggestions you'd like 165 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:55,240 Speaker 1: to share, you can beam them on over to This 166 00:10:55,440 --> 00:11:00,040 Speaker 1: Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for 167 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see 168 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,760 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class. 169 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:17,800 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 170 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:19,560 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.