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Like many pirates of the 17th and 18th century, Blackbeard (Edward Teach, 1680-1718) was drawn to the lucrative opportunities of raiding commercial shipping in the Americas and the Caribbean.

During the Queen Anne's War from 1702-1713, many sailors were hired to be privateers, which were basically pirates paid to attack enemy merchant ships during wartime, used as a type of economic warfare. The privateers were paid to be "legal" pirates working with the navy, pillaging enemy cargo ships.

After the war, all these privateers were left without jobs, and turned to the one job that they knew how to do well: pirating. Only instead of working for a set wage, they got to keep whatever they took. Blackbeard was one of these privateer-turned-buccaneers. Blackbeard went to Nissan, in the Bahamas, which was at that time a center for pirates. There he joined the ranks of Benjamin Hornigold, and started his career as a pirate.

Later, he conducted raids along the coasts of the Carolinas, which proved to be his undoing. In November, 1818, a small fleet hired by the Governor of Virginia caught up with Teach and engaged his ship. In the ensuing hand-to-hand battle, he was killed. The lead ship returned to Virginia with the head of Blackbeard tied to its bowsprit.

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14y ago

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