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Edward Teach
Black-sails-ray-stevenson
Vital statistics
Title Captain
Gender Male
Status Deceased
Ships Revenge
Relationships Charles Vane (Protégé; deceased)
Israel Hands (Ex-Crewmen/Enemy)
Jack Rackham (Rival/Ally)
Anne Bonny (Rival/Ally)
James Flint (Rival/Ally)
Woodes Rogers (Enemy)
Appearances First Appearance : XIX.

Last Appearance : XXXI.

Portrayed by Ray Stevenson
Gallery Edward Teach Gallery
"And I know that you're conflicted about what you have left behind. But the question is whether you can cling fast to the truth we both hold in our hearts, the truth that makes us of the same mind."
"And what truth is that?"
"That a lion keeps no den. Because the savanna, all the space within it, everything that walks and crawls upon it belongs to him.
"
―Edward Teach and Charles Vane[src]

Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was a fearsome pirate captain and founder of the Pirate Republic. Blackbeard will return to Nassau to settle some unfinished business, but a great deal had changed during his absence, and he will have to disrupt cemented alliances and challenged new ones to achieve the impossible.

Biography

Background

Edward Teach was one of the pirate captains who operated from New Providence Island at the beginning of the eighteenth century. During his career as a pirate, he took a young Charles Vane onto his crew, and became a mentor to him. One day, shortly after taking Vane onto his crew, they spent two weeks careening on an unnamed island.  Teach led Vane and some men inland. Even then, Teach knew that he and Vane were extremely similar, and it seemed that they were fated to matter to each other. While resting by a spring, the sun climbed up over the trees, shining off the pool. At that moment, a massive snow white bird, as large as a boar, flew before them and landed on the water. Teach told Vane that there were men in his mother's hometown in Clifton, a suburb of Bristol, that would have considered that bird an omen of good fortune, but there were men in the East who thought it a bad omen. When asked what he thought, Vane replied he thought it meant "dinner."

He founded the Pirate Republic  in Nassau when he led the pirates of Nassau in ousting Governor Robert Thompson. Teach's second, Israel Hands, was the one who killed Thompson's wife and son. Over time, Hands became jealous of Teach's new protege, Vane. This lead to a falling out between Teach and Hands, which led to a public beating of Hands before all the crews on the beach, followed by Teach having Hands shot in the face, barely missing his eye. Hands then became an outcast, living in the Wrecks[1].

However, a few years later, Vane became the lover of the black marketeer Eleanor Guthrie, and she convinced him to switch sides and to join with her. This, combined with the fact that Benjamin Hornigold had also joined her, with the promise of being named Steward of the Fort, Teach had no choice but to leave Nassau, or kill Vane. Blackbeard abandoned the life on the high seas and took the Royal Pardon, settling in the Colonies. Living in Virginia and Carolina under the false name Drummond, he was landed gentry, and was doing well. For eight years, he went through nine wives in pursuit of producing a son. However, this failed, leaving him deeply unsatisfied with no heir apparent[2].

Season One

After John Silver is taken on by the pirate crew of the Walrus, they return to Nassau. There, he is confronted by two new crew-mates, Logan and the Gaunt Man. The Gaunt Man says that "he meets the new ones." Silver is confused, and Logan tells him that he is to meet Blackbeard, frightening Silver. They take Silver to the Inn and lead him upstairs to a room full of prostitutes. However, Silver sees the face of the figure standing in the middle of the room and it is a woman. Silver then remarks that she isn't Blackbeard, prompting her to disrobe, revealing that she earned the moniker as a uniquely endowed prostitute[3].

Season Three

In Bath,  Carolina, Blackbeard learns that the Guthries have been deposed in Nassau. He decides the time is right to return to Nassau, and reconnect with his former protégé, Charles Vane, whom he regards as the son he never had. Before he can leave, the brothers of his latest wife, Mary, board his ship and demand that he keep his vow to their sister. The three march into his cabin, and Teach calmly asks if he can help them. Tom answers that Teach is Drummond (his alias), Mary's husband, they are Mary's brothers. Teach then names Caleb and Tom, but cannot recall Edgar's name, so Edgar answers for himself. Teach asks if they came all they way from Williamsburg just to tell him that they are upset with him and Tom replies that they came to make sure Teach honors his vows to their sister, saying he'll either be Mary's current husband, or her late one. Teach apologizes and says he has somewhere he needs to be, but Tom insists that he is going with them. Teach says he understands their anger, but any promise made using the word "forever" is simply an agreed upon lie. He goes on to say that there is no such thing as forever, and everything moves towards its end. As you get closer, the louder the clock ticks, and someone will no longer want to deprived of happiness because of that promise. Teach tells Tom and his brothers that he explained all this to Mary, and she told him that she would not protest their separation. 

At this point, Tom angrily questions if Teach is calling their sister a liar. Teach calmly answers that considering they're standing before him, he can think of at least three lies she told them. The first, she likely told them that he retired from a prosperous trade, what she neglected to mention was that trade was high seas piracy. The second, she told them his name was Drummond, but when he was a pirate, he went by Teach. The third, she led them to believe that they could point their swords at him, and live to tell the tale. Teach slowly rises and reveals his full armament of pistols, before telling them that that was less than the truth. He quickly shoots the three brothers. Tom lives long enough to crawl to the door before expiring. Teach then orders the Merchant Captain to begin their journey to Nassau. Blackbeard eventually arrives in Nassau late at night, and asks a man by the docks where he can find Vane[4].

Social i

Teach finds Vane in his tent on the beach. At first, Teach makes it seem like he is there for revenge, accosting Vane at sword-point, and revealing how he had long resented Vane for his betrayal, but he embraces his former protege, telling Vane that he forgives him for betraying him for Eleanor. The two walk through town, and Teach explains how over the course of eight years and his nine wives, he would constantly be reminded of Nassau. When he received the news that Richard Guthrie was dead and Eleanor imprisoned, he took it as a sign that he should end his retirement. Vane remarks that both Guthries are dead, and when Teach says he heard that Eleanor's trial was supposed to drag on for months, Vane repeats that they are both dead. Vane elaborates that what happened between him and Eleanor as well as their role in forcing Teach out was in the past, and that he hopes Teach wasn't waiting all this time for an apology. Teach, amused, replies that he viewed the story as him having to choose between killing Vane or walking away and letting him live. Teach then notices the Spanish Man O' War, noting that it was likely the one Flint used to sack Charles Town, and asks who commands it in Flint's absence. Vane explains that he has partners, who provide a stipend to the crews on the beach so they will join the defense of the island should the need arise. Teach then asks to meet Vane's partners.

Teach and Vane sit down with Jack Rackham at the Governor's Mansion to discuss their plans to defend Nassau from potential threats. Teach is less than impressed at Rackham's status as a partner, because he remembers Rackham as a scrawny crew member. However, Vane comes to his defense, telling Blackbeard that Rackham captured the Urca gold and has been using it to bolster Nassau's defenses. Rackham then explains how difficult it is to form an organized defense of the island due to Nassau's lack of a defined identity, but the stipends create an obligation to follow their command in the event of a threat, while Flint would command the fleet and Vane the militia on land. Teach then asks Rackham why he wants to defend Nassau, and he answers that he wants to continue the legacy that Avery, Teach, Jennings, Hornigold and Bellamy began in Nassau. At that moment, they are interrupted by Ellers and a Pirate Recruit, who ask to join Blackbeard's Crew. Teach scoffs at their polite request, recalling how in his day, in order to join a crew two candidates had to fight with their bare fists for a spot. He goes on to excoriate Jack for giving Nassau prosperity, which in turn has removed the element of strife that made it so strong. Now, Nassau and its crews have become weak and are decaying. Teach finishes by saying that he had hoped to go back on the Account and sail at the head of a fleet alongside Vane, whom he thought worthy of doing so, but now he wonders if he was right. At that moment, Ellers returns, bloodied but victorious, and Teach leaves with him[2].

After learning of the impending arrival of Governor Woodes Rogers, who is accompanied by a fleet of eight ships, Rackham and Vane continue with their plan to defend Nassau. They call for a meeting of all the notable pirate captains in Nassau. They come up with a plan to pool all their ships and crews and create a massive show of force to deter the British, with a fleet guarding the bay and a militia on the beach. However, with the fort not yet finished, and their only true navel strategist Captain Flint missing, some are resigned to defeat, with Throckmorton being the most vocal in his doubts. Jack tries to rally the assembled captains, telling them that if they do not commit to contributing to the island's defense then he will appeal directly to their crews, as well as promising that Flint will return when he hears of the news. Blackbeard then arrives with the news that Flint is dead, having gone down in a storm that he was chased into by Benjamin Hornigold, the leading edge of the British invasion. However, he offers to step in and coordinate the pirate fleet.

He and Vane go upstairs to speak privately, and Tech promises to lead the fleet in expelling the British, but Vane must join him in leaving Nassau for good afterwards. Teach believes that this allows Vane the best of both worlds, keeping his word to his friends and being free of the burden that is Nassau. Vane reminds Teach that he is committed to Nassau, which Teach says is his burden, as it has forced him to be a slaveholder and beg for support, adding that none of the captains in the parlor would lift a finger to help him. Vane reminds Teach that Jack would and has, but Teach dismisses Jack as surviving like a dog and cleaving to those stronger than he. Teach then admits that the reason he wants Vane as a partner is because he has been unable to have a son, but he still wants to leave something behind in his image. He then asks Vane if he agrees to the deal, which he does.

When Governor Woodes Rogers and his fleet are spotted, the Breathless Scout brings the news to Teach in the fort. He leads his men in manning the Pirate Fleet guarding the mouth of the harbor, while Rackham and Vane command the fort's garrison and Captain Throckmorton and Jacob Garrett lead the men assembled on the beach. This halts the British approach. However, Rogers sends Hornigold to read his address to the pirates on the beach. As Hornigold's boat passes Blackbeard's ship, Ellers asks Teach why they are letting him pass, and Teach explains that if they were to fire on Hornigold, the half of Nassau that remembers him as the founder of Nassau would begin fighting the other half. On the shore, Hornigold offers pardons to all pirates, save Vane, upon whose death or capture a £10,000 bounty is placed. Most of the pirates on the beach accept, leaving the only holdouts to be the Colonial Dawn Crew in the fort and the men on the fleet [5].

Teach and his men remain on the fleet, however between Rogers's fleet blockading the harbor and the pirates on the beach having surrendered, they have no way of resupply or egress. Jack, Anne and Vane plot an escape from the fort, which is surrounded by bounty seekers. However Jack and Anne do not trust Teach, so when they blow up the fort's powder magazine, they go their separate ways.When Vane tries to fight his way to the docks, he is eventually outnumbered in an alleyway. Fortuitously, Blackbeard appears, and the two combine to fight their way to Blackbeard’s ship. Once aboard ship, the two try to brainstorm ways to escape the blockade. Vane asks if they can slip through the east channel, but Teach informs him that they placed a frigate around Hog Island, which would rake any ship that emerged. With no way to challenge the British directly, Teach promises he's working on something to even the odds, but wants to show Vane something first. He asks Reuben, who has a Spyglass trained on the British flagship the Delicia, if "she" is on deck. He has Reuben give Vane the glass, and explains that there was a good reason he was the only one excluded from the pardon,

That night, with English fleet blockading the harbour, Teach and Vane plan send a fire-ship straight at their line. As they prepare Charles Vane's schooner for the role, Teach asks Vane if he has ever done this before and he answers he has not. Teach remarks that Eleanor deserves some credit for managing to escape her death sentence and turning the whole world against Vane, but asks that if, in his anger towards her, whether Vane will prioritize killing her or the escape of the fleet. Vane replies that Eleanor was on deck to provoke him into making a mistake. and he says that the escape of the fleet is most important. Teach is surprised that Vane is able to see past his anger for the greater end and asks how that happened. Vane grimly replies that Eleanor taught him that lesson. Vane then sails his schooner at the British line before setting it on fire, and he and his men jump into a longboat and row back to the fleet. The schooner collides with the Willing Mind, igniting it, and the rest of Rogers’s fleet break their formation, allowing Blackbeard and the fleet to sail away[6].

As they sail to Ocracoke Island, Teach approaches Vane on deck and tells him about his fourth wife, Constance, who had many superstitions. Although it has been six years since they were married, the superstitions stayed with Teach, and he still abides by them. Vane asks what he is talking about and Teach explains that women have the power to leave their marks on a man, and it is much harder to dispose of the marks than the woman. Vane asks Teach if he thinks having second thoughts about leaving Nassau is the mark Eleanor left on him, and Teach replies that he knows it is. However, Teach asks if Vane can abide by the truth they both know that makes them so similar, that they are like lions, which keep no den for the whole savanna belongs to them. Vane says that when he talked like that, everyone thought he was crazy. At that moment, Reuben spots a nearby Spanish Merchant Ship. Teach gives the order to pursue, and Vane recalls the unofficial rule of avoiding Spanish ships to avoid reprisals against Nassau, and Teach remarks that it is good they don't have to worry about that anymore.

Blackbeard and Vane capture the Spanish ship after a fierce fight on deck. Teach, Ellers and Reuben search belowdecks for any survivors and come across a locked cabin. Reuben breaks down the door with a battering ram, and inside they find a Spanish Intelligence Officer burning documents, and he promptly kills himself upon discovery. The three with Vane then begin sorting through the documents, and Ellers finds notes that mention Vane, Nassau, and a dossier on Governor Rogers and mentions of an invasion. Vane asks if there is anything of value in the documents, and Teach says only if they have an interest in invading Nassau, which they do not. Ellers asks how the Spanish know so much about Rogers, and Teach says they probably have a spy within Rogers’s entourage. The fleet eventually continues their journey to Ocracoke[7].

At Ocracoke, the crews spend their time drinking and carousing with prostitutes. Teach reunites with his old lover, Netta. Afterwards they have sex, Netta tells him that he is still handsome, and he calls her a gifted liar. Netta tells him how he put her services in great demand when he was a pirate, but when he retired, her business dried up. She remarks that it is always the little people who get hurt when the market turns. She then asks him what Charles Vane is doing at Ocracoke. She reminds him of how angry and disappointed he was after Vane's betrayal, and his proclamation that only God made sons. Teach replies that things are different now, for they don't need to last long. He explains that there is a piece of Spanish shrapnel in his chest. He says that every once in a while it migrates, and gets closer to finally killing him. He compares it to the ticking of a clock, and says that the ticking has grown louder in his ears lately. Netta then asks if Charles knows about it. However, they are then informed that Flint has arrived.

ET JF 2

Flint explains what he has been through and Teach is amazed that he has survived the storm, starvation and capture by the Maroons. Flint that he is present to rally the fleet and reclaim Nassau while Rogers is still on shaky footing and establishing himself. He believes that they can use the fleet to choke off the island and make resupply near impossible, weakening Rogers until they can topple him. Teach talks about his history as a pirate, sailing and feuding with Ben Hornigold, Henry Avery and Sam Bellamy, remarking that they all knew what they were. He then recalls Flint, then a young Navy officer, arriving and telling them that everything they were doing was wrong and they should all follow his lead, and now Flint is back and doing the same. Flint insists that Teach let Nassau go well before its time, while Teach argues that it was past its time, and that the fleet and its crews are all that remain of it. Flint insists that he has come to see the oaths fulfilled, and that it is up to Vane to decide whether or not to resume their pact, believing that if he did the men would follow him. Vane replies that Nassau is dead, and Flint did not see how the men on the beach betrayed them in an instant. Vane says that they are finally free of Nassau, and sees no reason to change that. Teach also refuses to step aside lightly and allow Flint to pry away defectors from the fleet. . To decide the matter, Flint and Teach choose to duel.

The two begin with pistols, and at the Referee Pirate's signal, they fire. Flint's shot knocks Teach to the ground, but only grazed his face. The two then charge each other with swords. Eventually, Teach's superior strength and Flint's fatigue cause Teach to have the upper hand, landing a cut on Flint's shoulder. Teach then disarms Flint and knocks him down, but before he can deal Flint a mortal blow, Vane steps in, having finally decided his loyalty. Vane fights off Teach to the point that Teach lays down his sword and angrily orders them both off his island[8]. Weeks later, Blackbeard and his fleet are still encamped on Ocracoke Island, when news reaches them that Charles Vane has been hanged in Nassau. Ellers brings the news to Teach first, asking what he wants to do about it[9].

Revenge leadership

(From left to right) Ellers, Teach, Reuben, Jack and Anne.

Teach leads his fleet to the Maroon Island to confront Flint, but instead finds Rackham, and asks where Flint is. Rackham then explains that Flint is being attacked by the entirety of Rogers's fleet and that he hopes Teach has come to join the fight to reclaim Nassau, but believes he is present for something else. Teach explains that Vane was hanged in the square of the town he helped build, and that Rogers thought he could do so without consequences, but failed to account for Teach. Jack remarks that British law may have sentenced Vane, but they both know Eleanor was behind it, however there is no victory over her without a victory at the island. Teach then agrees to help them defeat the British. As they sail towards the British fleet flying British colors, he remarks that he and Flint agreed on very little, but one of those things was that they never understood why Vane invested so much time and energy in Rackham, but supposes that Flint has come to see some capacity in Rackham after all. Rackham tries to continue his sentence, hoping that Teach has come to see the same, but awkwardly realizes that there was no more to the thought. They then receive a signal from the British flagship, and Teach orders that someone fetch him his log, which has the proper signals to respond. Rackham instead advises that they raise the Black in order to convince the British commander that they are incompetent and lull him into a false sense of security, remarking that to be underestimated is an incredible gift.

The two fleets then form up in lines and exchange cannon fire, Anne Bonny leads a boarding party swimming unnoticed to capture one of the English ships, while Teach steers his ship toward the British flagship. Anne and her men then open fire on the rest of the fleet, forcing them to retreat. The victory may have convinced Teach to respect Rackham. After the ground forces are also routed by Flint and his men, Teach, Rackham, Flint, Silver and Madi sit down to discuss their next steps[10].

Season Four

After their victory on the Maroon Island, Blackbeard and the alliance of pirates set their sights on retaking Nassau. As the Revenge approaches the harbor, Jack Rackham asks to give a speech. As Rackham speaks, reminding the men that today they retake Nassau and avenge Charles Vane, Teach glibly remarks to Anne that he understands why she's the quiet one in the relationship. However, what was supposed to be an invasion of overwhelming force, only ends in disaster. Woodes Rogers continues to demonstrate his cunning; before the approach, he intentionally sank ships as a hidden blockade. Most of pirate fleet run aground on the underwater wrecks, within range of Nassau’s cannons, and bloody carnage quickly ensues. The only ship not caught is Blackbeard’s, which exchanges fire with Fort Nassau, taking damage to the rig in the process. They are forced to make a tactical retreat to draw Woodes’ fleet away from the survivors.

They head north with Woodes Rogers' Three Sloops on their tail. Knowing that between the damage to the Revenge's rig and the agility of the sloops compared to the man of war, they have no way of maneuvering a broadside on them, Teach orders the guns hauled in and for the crew to prepare to repel boarders. Anne Bonny is tentative about this plan, and Teach says he thought she was the one without fear. Anne replies that it isn't fear to want to do a difficult thing intelligently. As they watch Jack arm himself for the fight, Teach tells Bonny that Jack wants the upcoming fight, and to "let him have it." The Redcoat's ships come alongside and they board.  A vicious fight ensues, but Blackbeard and his crew manage to turn and defeat the pursuing British sloops, and return to blockade Nassau port with the intent of killing Eleanor. On the way there, he has his men execute a number of captured soldiers[11].

Eps402-1

He sends a message to the shore in the form of a ship full of hanging corpses, and demands one thing, Eleanor Guthrie at the end of his sword, or he will continue the blockade and execute the remaining 61 prisoners. Skeptical that Rogers will comply, Blackbeard then orders Anne Bonny to lead a vanguard into town from the west to kidnap Eleanor, instead of pursing the Governor’s ship which is preparing to sail. Bonny replies that there isn't a good way in from the west, and Jack suggests approaching form the lagoon. Teach says to just get it done and retreats to his cabin.

However, Bonny confides to Jack Rackham that she has no more room in her heart for vengeance. It’s up to Rackham to relay these sentiments back to Blackbeard.  Teach tells a story about his time sailing with Vane. He tells Jack the story involving the massive bird they encountered while careening, and how a young Vane answered "dinner" when asked about his thoughts on its meaning. Rackham  then eloquently persuades him by invoking their mutual fondness of the late Charles Vane; Vane always focused on the best move to achieve their ultimate goal. Right now, the best move is to kill Rogers and end the war rather than focusing on revenge against Eleanor. They are then surprised by cannon fire from the fort, and Reuben informs him that Rogers is fleeing under cover of the fort's guns. Teach orders that they raise the anchor and set a course to pursue Rogers[1]

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At sea, Blackbeard is closing in on the Governor’s ship. After a lengthy chase, Rogers misses his tack, allowing Teach to catch up to him. Teach briefs Jack on the plan. After opening with volleys of cannon fire, Teach and Bonny will lead the vanguard aboard the Lion in longboats. Before leaving, Teach asks Rackham if he has ever captured a ship the size of the Revenge. When Rackham answers no, he asks again, to which Rackham answers "sure," which Teach deems satisfactory.After raking the ship with cannon fire, Blackbeard leads the boarding party. Once aboard, something doesn’t feel right and with good reason. Rogers springs his trap and a bloody battle ensues. Teach fights his way to Rogers and engages him in a duel. The two are evenly matched, with Teach being larger and stronger, while Rogers is younger and faster. However, Teach is disarmed and surrounded and the unthinkable happens; Blackbeard is captured, held at gunpoint by half a dozen Redcoats. Rackham and the crew aboard the Revenge watch helplessly from afar, and raise the white flag.

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Rogers has Blackbeard strung up by the ankles over the side of the ship. Right before going over the side, Teach defiantly smiles at Rogers. While the crew look on, Blackbeard is callously keelhauled, dragging him under the ship covered with razor sharp barnacles. After the first pass, he’s bloodied and scraped. The second pass sees Blackbeard apparently dead, as his entire body is flayed, but not so; he coughs up sea water. Everyone looks on as Blackbeard’s brutalised body is dragged from the water for a third time; miraculously still alive and defiant to the end. Woodes grand moment has been ruined, and he petulantly shoots him in the head at point blank range as Teach tries to rise. Lieutenant Kendrick then proceeds to cut off Teach's head[12]

Later, Rogers sails to Havana to enlist Spanish aid in driving the pirates out of Nassau, which had fallen to the pirates in his absence. To prove to the Spanish authorities that he does not care about eh ongoing war between their two empires and his only goal is ending piracy, he presents them with Teach's head[13]

After taking over the Lion from the skeleton crew he left on it, Jack Rackham arrives in Nassau. Flint explains that he made a bargain with Eleanor Guthrie to exchange the cache of Urca de Lima gems for Fort Nassau, allowing for the safe departure of all of Rogers' remaining allies from the island. Rackham replies that he has seen Rogers' bloodlust, and that he won't agree to it. Jack cites the fact that despite being outnumbered, Rogers defeated Edward Teach in battle through sheer force of will[14]

Personality

Edward "Blackbeard" Teach’s piratical career is so notorious that the mere mention of his name strikes terror in honest men and pirates alike. He is an extremely dangerous fighter and an excellent tactician. Though all pirates use pistols, most carry one or two, he carries a brace of four of them. He also only respects captains with strength, like Vane and Flint, with no respect for the wits and cunning of Rackham. In addition to his immense strength, he is also a skilled tactician, rivaling even Flint.

He feels like Vane is the son he's never had, and bears him no ill will for his betrayal. He originally walked away from Nassau, because he would have been forced to kill him. Despite his seeming strength, he is dying from a piece of shrapnel in his chest, which is part of his reason for reconnecting with Vane. He doesn't say a word when he learns of Vane's death, but the look in his eyes shows his fury. He remains defiant to the end; even after being keelhauled three times, he spits blood in Woodes Rogers' face.

Memorable Quotes

By Teach

"For years, I've laid my head down at night, and no matter where I was, there was an odor would arrive at my nose... Brine and hides and pitch and shit. The perfume of this place."

- Teach to Vane in XX.

"Strife is good. Strife makes a man strong. For if a man is capable of confronting death daily, functioning in the face of it, there's no telling what else that man can do, and a man whose limits cannot be known is a very hard man to defeat in battle."

Teach to Vane and Rackham in XX.

"A little Spanish shrapnel. It went in here when I was not much older than him. Once in a while it migrates, ticks closer to reaching its terminus and striking its chime. Grim little timepiece whose ticking has grown louder to my ears of late."

- Teach to Netta in XXIV.

"So we have one fleet and two men claiming it. There is only one way I know of to resolve that. Pistols, then swords." 

- Teach to Flint in XXIV.

"Charles is dead. The governor in Nassau hung him in the square. On the island I helped build, he thought he could do that and face no consequences. He failed to account for me."

- Teach to Rackham in XXVIII.

"And just after he joined my crew... I spent two weeks careening on this shit island with no name. I knew right away he was different than the others. He was so like me when I was a younger man. And that he and I somehow were fated to matter to one another. I was consumed with the question of whether our similarities would be a blessing or a curse. So, whilst the others were careening, a number of us were inland by a spring. The sun climbs up over the top of the trees... in just a way that it shines off the pool... lighting up all around us. In that moment, a bird lands on the water... massive, snow-white beast, big as a boar. To this day, I've never seen anything like it. Between the sun and the size of it, it just felt... meaningful. The answer to a question I did not yet know how to ask. I told him that there were men in the east who would have seen in that bird the darkest of all omens, bringer of death. But then, there are other men near Clifton... my... my mother's home... who would've called it a sign of great fortune, an indication from the heavens that someone up there favored our endeavor together. And I asked him what he thought it meant. 'Dinner.'"

- Teach to Rackham in XXX.

About Teach

"That formation ensures that any approach in the harbor mouth will result in significant damage to our fleet. Apparently, Captain Teach is every bit the tactician they say he is."

Commodore Peter Chamberlain in XXI.

"Teach and his men will never take the pardons. His crew will be filled with fanatics."

- Eleanor Guthrie to Woodes Rogers in XXII.

"He's brilliant, you know? I've heard him underestimated on that score, perhaps owing to his physical strength. People finding it hard to accept the idea that one man can be two things, but I've seen it. He is brilliant."

- Rackham to Anne Bonny in XXXI.

Trivia

  • Edward Teach, known by his moniker Blackbeard, was a historical pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy. After getting his career started under Benjamin Hornigold's tutelage, he eventually struck out on his own. He commanded a small fleet from the Queen Anne's Revenge, a large French slave ship that he had captured. Among the pirates that sailed with him was Stede Bonnet. One of his more famous deeds was his Siege of Charles Town, where he blockaded the harbor and took many prominent citizens prisoner, holding them for ransom in exchange for medical supplies. In 1718, he received a pardon from Governor Charles Eden of North Carolina. Eden commissioned Teach as a privateer, which he used as an opportunity to return to piracy, while enriching himself and Governor Eden. Governor Alexander Spottswood of Virginia then sent Lieutenant Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy to hunt Blackbeard down. Maynard succeeded, killing Blackbeard near his favorite haunt of Ocracoke Island.
  • Blackbeard got his name due to braiding his beard with lighted tapers so as to appear more fearsome to his victims.
  • In real life, Blackbeard started his career as Benjamin Hornigold's second-in-command. In the show, this relationship is never mentioned, but Teach does mention that he sailed alongside Hornigold during the early days of the Pirate Republic.
  • Teach's alias is given as Drummond, which was rumored to be his actual surname, although there is little historical documentation to support this.
  • Teach's final wife in the show is named Mary, the same name as the woman he was rumored to have historically married after being pardoned.
  • In the show, he mentions having had nine wives, but the real Blackbeard may have as many as fifteen, so he still has six to go.
  • In the show, Teach mentions being from Clifton, a suburb of Bristol. In real life, Teach was assumed to hail from Bristol.
  • Teach is seen in the show commanding two ships, an unnamed tall ship, and the Spanish Man O' War, later renamed the Revenge after Vane's death. This is likely a reference to his famed flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, which had previously been a French slave ship briefly used by the Navy as a warship known as La Concorde. It could also be a reference to how he effectively took over command of Stede Bonnet's dissatisfied crew aboard Bonnet's own ship, the Revenge.
  • Evidence suggests that Blackbeard was finally killed by Lieutenant Robert Maynard, after he had been stabbed close to twenty times and shot five times. The series' death scene for him instead reflected a myth spread about his demise: that his beheaded corpse swam three times around the ship after it was tossed overboard, mirrored by the three times his body was keelhauled.
  • Israel Hands was famously the First Mate of Blackbeard in real life. As in the show, they famously had a falling out after Teach accidentally shot Hands in the knee while aiming for another crew member. He was captured after Teach's death, but received a pardon in exchange for testifying against the corrupt North Carolina officials that sanctioned Teach's return to piracy.
  • Teach is shown with a number of different tattoos. These include the symbol from his flag: a horned devil skeleton stabbing a heart with a spear and holding an hourglass on his right bicep, an hourglass on his right shoulder, and two triangular symbols on his abdomen that were inspired by traditional Tahitian tattoos.
  • In battle, Teach wields an English Tuck Sword and Queen Anne pistols (the same combination as his nemesis, Woodes Rogers). Beginning with his duel with Flint, Teach exchanges the tuck sword for a Scottish broadsword.

Appearances

Season Three
XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII.
XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII.
Season Four
XXIX. XXX. XXXI. XXXII. XXXIII.
XXXIV. XXXV. XXXVI. XXXVII. XXXVIII.

References


External Links

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