Blackbeard’s Last Fight

In April 1713 the War of the Spanish Succession came to an end.During the conflict hundreds of privateers – licenced pirates – preyed on enemy shipping throughout the Caribbean. These privateers now found themselves out of a job, and many turned to piracy. One of theme was Edward Teach – more popularly known as “Blackbeard”. He joined the pirates in New Providence (now Nassau) in the Bahamas, and by early 1717 he had become a pirate captain. From then on he caused havoc off the North American seaboard, in the West Indies and off Honduras, before appearing off Charleston, South Carolina in May 1718.This step-by-step account explores Blackbeard's week-long blockade of this major port, an act that made him the most notorious pirate of his day.