Pirates 1: A Pirate’s Life

In Sweden, for example, there's a story that's been handed down from generation to generation, and like other pirate tales the world over, people love it so much they don't

care whether it's true or not. The story goes that back in the fifth century, there was once a mighty Scandinavian king with a lovely daughter, young Princess a Wilda's beauty was such that her father, King Sanartis, locked her away in a tower for her protection, of course, and to ensure that no ordinary man could easily scale the tow,

or he surrounded it with deadly snakes and traps. While many men failed, Prince Alf of Denmark succeeded in breaching the castle and then asked the king for his daughter's hand in marriage, to which the king agreed. They had a problem. Though the princess had vanished from the tower, you see, a Wilda's beauty was matched only by her

feistiness and sense of independence. With her mother's help, the princess had made her escape, accompanied by her strong willed handmaidens and other young women, who, much like the princess, were also promised to men they'd never met. They dressed as sailors and made off with a ship, deciding to explore the world, and during their travels, the women came across a pirate ship that had recently lost its captain.

Enamored with a Wilda and her crew, the men voted her to be their new leader, knowing that her father still searched for her. A Wilda and the other women wore helmets to hide their long hair. The princess, pirates and her crew earned a fierce reputation raiding many merchant ships on the Scandinavian seas, and like all pirates, they soon had a bounty on their heads. The King of Denmark placed his son alf in charge of the navy and sent him to eliminate the troublesome pirates. The prince

quickly located them, and a great battle ensued. While his crew engaged with a Wilda's, He and the princess faced each other, swords drawn. They dueled, neither of them getting the better of the other. Having become impressed with her rival and seeing something familiar about him, Awilda removed her helmet. The prince instantly recognized the princess and dropped to one knee to propose, which she accepted. Of course, the battle

ended and a wedding took place instead. A Wilda's pirate ship and Alf's naval fleet returned side by side to Denmark. The newlyweds were welcome to Denmark with a lot of fanfare. A message was sent to King Sanartis, who was also pleased with the marriage. A Wilda and Alf went on to have a daughter together, and it was said that she was just as beautiful and fierce as her mother, and when the king died, the couple ruled long and well.

And while our fictional introduction story is the stuff worthy of a Disney movie, we're about to embark on a different sort of journey, a historical adventure into the most legendary real life rogues of the seas. I'm Aaron Mackey, and welcome two pirates. Piracy has been around for about as long as there have been oceans to sail. But not every pirate belonged to bands of renegades who pillaged

and plundered. Some had a softer title. Governments employed privateers, men who raided and harassed ships belonging to a competing power. And if you're thinking it's the same thing, it was. Governments on the receiving end didn't differentiate between the two. Piracy government sanctioned or otherwise remained an act of war. And there was no more tumultuous time than the Golden Age of piracy, which started in the late seventeenth century.

And the rise in piracy began with what might be the most successful pirate most of us have never heard of. Like a lot of english men of his time, Henry every got his start with the Royal Navy. But he was different from other sailors who spent their meager earnings on liquor or tobacco. He sent money home to his family. Eventually he moved working aboard the Charles the Second, a privateering ship sent to pray on French ships in the West Indies. Like those aboard most British ships, Every lived

in squalid conditions and suffered from poor treatment. The last straw for the men aboard the Charles The second came when they didn't get paid, so the crew mutinied and Every took control as captain and set a course for the southern tip of Africa. Along the way, he led raids on three English merchant ships and several more from other European countries. But his real popularity with the crew happened when he led a capture of a mogul ship full of treasure and women. When the raid was complete,

Every split the wealth equally among his men. Pirating, as you probably know by now, was a dangerous business, and because of his success, Every had a price on his head. Two years in he gave up the pirates life he could afford to, having raked in what amounted to tens of millions of pounds in late six hundreds currency not modern, Henry Every is only one of a few pirates to retire and live to tell the tale. In literature, he

became the inspiration for characters in books and plays. People saw him as a sort of Robin Hood, or at least a man who had fought back against the corruption and unfair practices of English ship captains. He became the most talked about pirates in the world, until that is, a newcomer showed up and perfected whatever he had started. Edward Teach had come from a comfortable family, or so it's theorized, he was educated, unlike many of the sailors

of the time. Tall and thin with broad shoulders, he sported a heavy black beard. People found him charismatic and highly intelligence. Those qualities helped him rise through the ranks in the British Navy. During the Queen Ann's War, the French and Spanish mercilessly attacked the Queen's ships, forcing the British to hire their own privateers, including men like Benjamin Hornegal, Henry Jennings, Woods Rogers, and Charles Vane. But more on

them later. Their jobs came to an end in seventeen fourteen after Queen Anne died When her Catholic heir was found unacceptable to rule, Many of the men loyal to the Queen's House of Stuart remained in Nassau in the Bahamas instead of returning to England. Known as the Pirate Republic, the area became popular among privateers and pirates alike, Hornegold and Teach oversaw the development of the base a few However, men like Jennings remained loyal to England and continued to

raid Spanish ships. That's when Teach paired up with Captain Hornigold once again, this time as his lieutenant. Before long, the two acquired additional ships, one of which was entrusted to Edward Teach. By seventeen seventeen, the captain retired from piracy, leaving his lieutenant to venture out on his own and make his own mark. Now a captain of his own fleet, Edward Teach set out to perfect the art of piracy.

He grew his beard even longer, giving him a wilder appearance, and he wore a long sling over his shoulder, where he kept not one, but three pistols. Now referred to as black Beard, he also put Litton matches in his beard. It said that he looked like the devil himself, and the merchant ships he challenged became so frightened they willingly surrendered without a fight. It was a great strategy. Firepower damaged ships and potential cargo, and fights risked as men.

His strategy of shock and awe had a way of keeping everyone and everything a bit safer, which put more money into their pockets. Clearly, he had become formidable, but Blackbeard wanted to take piracy to the next level, and to do that he needed a better ship. That better ship presented itself on November sevent of seventeen seventeen, when the French slave ship the lack Concord appeared on the horizon. The two fifty tons ship had a strong, oaken hull

and ports that accommodated forty cannons. Under ordinary circumstances, black Beard's crew wouldn't have presented much of a problem. However, most everyone on board the lach Concord had scurvy. With his crew sick and aware of the pirate's reputation, the captain surrendered the moment the first warning volley landed in front of his ship, and with that Blackbeard now had a proper flagship that could stand up to any English vessel.

He left the French captain and his crew with one of his own sloops, and then he offered some of the healthy slaves a place among his men. Then he christened his new ship the Queen Anne's Revenge, and went on to raid several British vessels throughout North American colonies and those traveling in the Caribbean. Pirating became such a problem that King George the First offered clemency for all pirates. Naturally, there was a catch. They'd have to give up their

marauding ways forever. The deal attempted to weaken or disband pirate cruise through attrition, and of course those who refused were still hunted. What the King didn't offer was away for the men to make a living or provide better conditions and pay aboard British ships, and frankly, conditions treatment and pay we're far better aboard pirate ships. That said, many captains and crewmen did take the King up on the offer. Pirating was still a dangerous way to make

a living. Storms, disease, and months or even years at sea made for a less than desirable way of life. The deal, coupled with Nassau's new governor, Woods Rogers, put the pirate Republic into a state of chaos. Blackbeard didn't stay in Nassau long and chose to decline Governor Rogers offer. You see, he had at least one bounty in mind,

so the Queen Anne's revenge set out once more. It had been his friend and fellow pirate Steed Bonnets, who had given Blackbeard the idea block the port of Charleston and capture incoming and outgoing vessels. The township had no guardian fleet, making it easy to overtake the pilot boat and challenge anyone moving through the port. The crew stopped the Crowley, an English bound ship with several prominent Charleston

citizens on board. Instead of raiding the ship, though, Blackbeard chose to take the passengers hostage, including women and children. But he did release a single passenger, one Mr Marks, to relay a message to the governor. You see, by now Blackbeard's crew were sick. He no longer wanted gold or valuables. Now he needed medicine. Two healthy members of his crew accompanied Mr. Marks, and if they didn't all return in two days, he threatened to execute the passengers

and send their heads to the governor. The plan went sideways quickly, the boat carrying his crewman and Mr Marks capsized, forcing them to swim ashore. En route to the Governor's office, the crewman stopped at a tavern for drinks with other fellow pirates. Imports now drunk and behind schedule, the group finally made their way to their destination. The governor offered the pirates clemency, and seeing the unfolding situation, they took

him up on it. Then the governor agreed to Blackbeard's demands and Mr. Marks made his way back to the dock alone. By the time he arrived, he was past the deadline and the Queen Anne's Revenge had pulled into ports. Crewman ran through the streets. Men, women and children screamed and fled for their lives. Picturing this scene, I can only imagine the terror that Mr Marks felt. The most feared and formidable pirate had unleashed an angry and diseased

crew upon the town. Hoping to stop the attack, he rode back to the ship after handing over the medicines. Marks relayed a message from the governor surrender and received clemency, but Blackbeard refused, and even though the deadline had passed, he held up his end of the bargain. He returned the ship undamaged and released all the prisoners unharmed, although he did take some of their finer clothing. After loading the clothes and medicines onto the Queen Ann's Revenge. Blackbeard

and his crew left port. He had a new plan, this time one he shared with his trusted quartermaster, William Howard. It was time to give up the pirate life, well sort of. Blackbeard and Howard met with North Carolina as governor Charles Eden, Charismatic as always, they negotiated a deal, a pardon for the crew. The best part, though, they would continue as privateers, sanctioned by King George the First.

Shortly afterward, the Queen Anne's Revenge ran into a sandbar, damaging her main mast, forcing them to switch to a Spanish ship. Black Beard simply called the Revenge. While he'd retired from piracy, word of his vicious nature endured, although oddly, in all his time as a pirate, he never actually killed anyone. He'd created a persona that did the work for him. Captain and crew aboard the Revenge left Port and headed up the Delaware River to sell off some

of their goods before leaving for the Caribbean. There they captured two French ships laden with cocoa and sugar, a valuable command city in the colonies. On the return trip, they stopped for repairs and to unload the cargo at Ocracoke Island, part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There he met up with Charles Vane, a pirate who hadn't taken the King's pardon, and invited him to stay

on Ocracoke for a while. Meanwhile, in Virginia, Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood, who not only hated pirates but had a fear of them that bordered on irrationality, heard of Blackbeard's return and his current company. He claimed that Blackbeard planned to make Ocracoke the new pirate republic. When no one listened, he took matters into his own hands and planned an attack.

He had no authority over Ocracoke and understood that he'd beheld accountable for his actions and for violating North Carolina's sovereignty. To further justify his plan, he also claimed that Governor Eden had become corrupt and was in league with the pirates for personal gain. Of course, he had no proof, but that didn't really matter. Step one was to send out an expedition to capture both Beard and Governor Eden. Then he convinced Lieutenant Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy

to hunt down the Queen Anne's Revenge at sea. Since he knew he wouldn't get approval from Virginia's governor, Spotswood paid all expenses out of his own pockets. He purchased the Ranger and the Jane, two vessels capable of handling the shallow waters that were common along the outer banks. Well not as big as other ships, they still carried cannons,

and accompanying them was the h M. S. Pearl. With a plan in motion, spots would kept the ambush secret from the governor, who would most certainly have called off the attack. Maynard arrived on the southern tip of okrah Coke after dark on the night of November one, seventeen eighteen. By the morning of the surprise attack took a turn when the Ranger and the Jane ran ashore, giving black Beard time to ready his crew and a ship. It wouldn't be enough, though Maynard's men unbeached the two boats

and the chase was on. The Revenge had superior firepower. A short barrage of cannon fire killed the Ranger's captain and sent several men on the deck of the Jane overboard. Realizing that a head to head battle with black Beard wouldn't work. Maynard instead chose to set a trap. He ordered the remaining men on board the Jane to go below deck and hide, and then they quietly waited, hoping that they'd be boarded instead of taking more fire, and

it worked. Black Beard and his men boarded, not expecting many survivors. Maynard and his crew charged from below. For ten minutes, both sides engaged in brutal and bloody battle. Swords clashed and guns were fired. Men without weapons took the fist fighting. Maynard managed to draw a pistol and he shot Blackbeard once in the chest. Seemingly unfazed, the infamous pirate lunged forward, forcing Maynard to retreat. A crewman from the Jane rounded the corner and slashed black Beard

across the throat. Finally, another man fired four additional shots, and black Beard fell to the blood soaked deck. With the famous pirates and most of his crew dead, Maynard took everything of value. Then he severed black Beard's head and tossed the body overboard. Finally, he mounted the head on the bowsprit and returned to Virginia, proudly displaying his prize like a ghoulish hunting trophy. Naturally, Governor Eden was outraged, and it's no surprise that Spots would denied any personal

involvement in the attack. He hated Blackbeard, and the one thing the Lieutenant Governor couldn't do was stop people from immortalizing the pirates. I can only imagine how furious that made him. In seventeen twenty four, Captain Charles Johnson published a general History of the robberies and murders of the most notorious pirates Pirates spelled with the y instead of an eye. He took literary license with the life and times of all pirates, stating that they always buried their treasures.

With black Beard in particular, though, Johnson turned him into a ruthless, thirsty killer, and from that point on, Johnson's fictional depiction of black Beard would obscure the equally dramatic truth, and in doing so, it would accomplish the opposite of what Spots would had hoped, because while normal men can die, legends live forever. For centuries, people have searched for black beards reportedly buried treasure. Sadly, it appears to be a

stereotypical myth. Sorry fortune hunters, but in private salvagers came across a shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina. The nearly three year old ship looked to be the Queen Anne's revenge. It wouldn't be until two thousand eleven before evidence revealed without a doubt that the ship had once belonged to Blackbeard. Originally built in seventeen ten in England, the French had stolen the ship a year later, only

to have it taken from them by Edward Teach. Johnson's version of black Beard has overshadowed history centuries after his death. The stories surrounding his brutal end took on a supernatural flare. Soon after his demise, reports of his ghost haunting the coastline scared people half to death. As one British report stated, he frightened America more than any comment, and in all honesty, I can understand why it would have scared people too.

You see, according to the folklore, that final day, Blackbeard's severed head called out to his body, and in response, his body swam around Maynard's boat three times before plunging into the ocean. Depths on Ocrah Cooke, there's a small channel of water where it said Blackbeard anchored the Queen Anne's revenge. People report seeing him there, swimming in the waters in search of his head. On stormy nights. They say you can still hear his voice calling out to

his body. Later in the twentieth century, moviegoers became obsessed with black Beard and piracy as a whole. Soon all pirates took on the stereotype men with black hearts who spared no one who crossed their path. Pirates were lawless, bloodthirsty, drunkards, and they lived without rules. Hollywood and popular fiction also romanticized piracy. In reality, most pirates met a fateful end

soon into their careers. Blackbeards lasted just two years. Historians have long since pointed to documents and journals of the day that portrayed Edward Teach as a cunning strategist, a brilliant marketer, and a relatively nonviolent man. In two thousand fourteen, a historian combing through Jamaican maritime records stumbled across a

name Feach, a common variant of the surname Teach. This document, from seventeen oh six revealed a letter from a man named Edward Feach aboard a sixty gun ship called the Windsor, a Royal Navy vessel. The sailor's father had died, leaving his Alafa state to his eldest son. Typical for the time, Feach Senior had owned a sugar plantation in Jamaica, and back in the seventeen hundreds sugar was known as white gold.

This young man had written to the lawyer handling the execution of his father's will back home in Bristol, England. He stated his love and affection for his stepmother Lucretia, his sister Rachel, and his brother Thomas, and asked that the estate be divided among them. Essentially, Edward Teach gave up a considerable fortune and instead chose a hard life on the seas, also that his family back home could be comfortable. Quite a different picture from the bloodthirsty rogue

that Johnson painted for all of us. But Teach painted his own picture as well. He did such a good job of instilling fear into the hearts of his adversaries by making himself out to be the devil, and perhaps that's why today we still think of him first as Blackbeard rather than Edward Teach. One thing is certain, though years later, the real history doesn't stop us from loving the legend any less. I think we can all agree that the world of historical pirates has the potential to

deliver both thrills and chills. Hopefully today's walk through the Man behind the Legend of Blackbeard give you a little bit of both. And if you were hoping for more, then boy, do I have a treat for you. Today's episode kicks off a brand new season that will take us all the way to the end of the year, exploring all the water logged corners of this unique culture and cast of characters. But before we wrap things up for today, my grim and mild teammate Ali Steed has

one last treasure to unpack for you. Stick around through this brief sponsor break to hear all about it. When it comes to buried treasure, there's one myth that stands out from all the rest. Little is known about William Kidd's early life. He was born in Scotland somewhere around sixteen fifty four, either January or October, depending on the source. By Kid's own account, he had been born in Greeneck. He ventured to New York City in search of new opportunity.

Some time after the British took over the area from the Dutch. Shortly after his arrival, Sarah Bradley cox Ort, a young and wealthy widow, caught his eye. Though they briefly courted, the sea called and he left again. In sixteen eighty nine, William Kidd sailed with the privateering crew who rated ships in the Caribbean. During this particular trip, the crew mutinied over poor treatment and made sail to

the British colony of Nevus, a small island neighboring Saint KITT's. Willing, Kidd became the captain and renamed the ship the Blessed William. While not fully sanctioned or supported by the British government, as long as Kidd and other privateers only rated French supply ships, the King looked the other way for a ten percent fee. Of course, the cruel board the Blessed William became quite successful, once taking in what amounted to

two thousand pounds sterling in a single raid. After months at sea, Kid returned to New York to find Sarah had been waiting for him. He showered her with gifts and courted her with long walks, and on May sixteenth of six The two wed and settled into a tall house on Wall Street. The couple had two daughters and kids. Privateering ways ensured his beloved family wanted for nothing. They were the perfect couple except for one thing. Kid had

another love. Let see, he wanted to hunt the pirates that attacked British trade ships in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. After earning his commission, Kids set sail out of Portsmouth in sixte on a galley ship named the Adventure. The ship boasted thirty four guns and a crew of a hundred men. He lived his dream life, and yet he is about to lose everything. While sailing down the Thames in England, Kid failed to salute a

naval yacht. In response to the snub, the yacht fired a warning shot to remind those on board the Adventure of their duty. Crewman on the Adventure turned their backs and slapped their backsides, but the insult didn't go unpunished. The British Navy took the crew and impressed them on navy ships. Essentially, impression is a dressed up term for forced servitude. They didn't take Kid, however, He was sent back to New York, where he hired a new crew and set sail again, arriving at the Cape of Good

Hope in Africa in September of six. Unfortunately, that crew fell ill with cholera, and they're bad luck didn't and there the ship began to leak, and worst of all, the pirates they'd been hoping to hunt down never even materialized, which was bad news because if he returned home with nothing, he would have to personally cover all the costs of the trip out of his own pocket. A short time later, they came across two ships, but Kid refused to attack.

Both ships were flying the British flag, which meant they were off limits, but a gunner named William Moore fought with Kidd, trying to get him to attack anyway. The men ended up in a brawl and the gunner he wand up dead. The crew on the Adventure sailed on, eventually raiding an indianship hired by Armenian merchants. It was only after they were on board this newcomer that Kidd learned the captain was an Englishman, which meant the ship

had the protection of the Crown. Unfortunately, his men refused orders to leave the ship and its valuables alone. When the news reached England, the king declared Kid a pirate. Once a servant of the Crown, now the king's naval

commanders were on the search for the adventure. Though the Crown had begun to offer clemency to pirates, Kid learned the offer didn't extend to him, so he abandoned the adventure in the Caribbean and headed home to New York, hoping to find protection with Governor Belmont, who had financed his privateering endeavors. Along the way, he stopped at Gardner's Island to stash a small treasure, but not for the

stereotypical reasons. Kid was arrested in six He told Belmont where he'd hidden the treasure, hoping to exchange it for his life. Instead, the governor distanced himself, fearing he'd be implicated as well. A year later, Kid was sent to England and put on trial for piracy and murder. On May eighth, sev one, the court sentenced him to hang. After his death, they tarred his body, wrapped it in chains, and placed the corpse in a steel cage, where it

remained on display for years. Throughout time. The worth of his treasure and the location have changed. Whatever its value and precise location was, will never know. Belmont dug up the treasure and offered some or all of it to the British courts to be used as evidence against William Kidd. When it comes to legends, Sometimes the hunter became the hunted, and the more we learn about Pirates, the more buried treasure. Will find. Pirates was executive produced by Aaron Manky and

narrated by Aaron Manky and Alexandra Steid. Writing for this season was provided by Michelle Mudo, with research by Alexandra Steed and Sam Alberty. Production assistance was provided by Josh Than, Jesse Funk, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. To learn more about this and other shows from Grimm and Mild and I Heart Radio, visit grim and Mild dot com