Blackbeard’s Unexpected Spoils in Charleston

In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, Charleston was a hangout for pirates such as Stede Bonnet, Anne Bonney, and most infamously, Blackbeard. The ransom he demanded from the city will surprise you!

Edward Teach, or Blackbeard, the enigmatic 18^th-century British pirate, was an intimidating figure. His build was tall and imposing, and when raiding enemy ships he would brandish several pistols while smoke billowed around him from slow-burning cannon fuses he placed in his long black beard and hair.

Beginning in 1717, in just eighteen months he carved out a successful career as a pirate, terrorizing most of the East Coast from the Carolinas to Delaware Bay, but the most brazen act of his career occurred in Charleston. In mid-May of 1718 he and his crew of 400 arrived on four ships and proceeded to blockade the city’s port for six days. They seized all ships attempting to enter or leave the port and stole their cargoes, but these vessels didn’t carry anything of much value – mostly barrels of pitch, tar, and rice. To compensate, Blackbeard seized passengers of the ship Crowley and held them for ransom, but the goods he demanded were not what you might think. He wanted medicine! He and his crew were probably stricken with STDs, and he was willing to resort to murder for a remedy!

Blackbeard sent a few crew members ashore to negotiate this ransom. Because his men preferred to carouse rather than bargain, the ransom took several days to be delivered, and Blackbeard came close to murdering his prisoners. Eventually Governor Robert Johnson agreed to give Blackbeard a valuable 400-pound chest of medicine. On receiving it, the pirate immediately released the unharmed (but stripped naked) captives, and he and his men continued their journey up the coast.

Therefore, Blackbeard’s crew carried out one of the largest pirate blockades in North American history for less than £2000 worth of goods. To each his own, I guess!

Hear this story and more on a walking tour of Charleston on our Colonial Charleston and Savannah in 7 Days Tour or Jewels of the South in 9 Days tour!