Fifteen people per Dead Man's Chest

Queen Anne's Revenge- the only real sailing ship from the series of films "Pirates Caribbean» , the pirate's flagship Edward Teach(Edward Teach or Edward Thatch) nicknamed Blackbeard(Blackbeard).

The sailboat was built in 1710 in Great Britain, when in 1713 it was bought by the Spanish fleet, the ship bore the proud name "Concorde" (La Concorde) and was a three-masted vessel, supposedly thirty-six by eight meters in size, with a displacement of three hundred tons, armed with twenty-six cannons. No precise information about appearance and the structure of the sailboat, no illustrations were found. The only image of the sailing ship is in the monograph by J. Boudriot. After the Spaniards, the ship was bought by the French. And for several years, Concorde has been transporting slaves in the Caribbean. In 1717, the sailing ship was captured by pirates under the leadership of Blackbeard.

Edward Drummont(Edward Drummond), that was actually the name of Teach, was an Englishman, was born presumably in the 80s of the seventeenth century. During the war between England and France, the so-called "War of Queen Anne", he was a privateer and robbed French and Spanish ships in Caribbean with Benjamin Hornigold. He received his nickname for a reason, since he really had a luxurious black beard, into which he weaved black ribbons. He did everything to match the image of the most creepy pirate in the Caribbean. It was about him that the song was composed "Fifteen Men per Dead Man's Chest"- that was the name of a small island in the Caribbean, where he landed 15 people from his team, for an organized riot, leaving them only rum and sabers, in the hope that, having drunk, they would go crazy and cut each other.

The Concorde team surrendered Blackbeard virtually no fight. Two small sloops captured an almost three-ton ship. So great was the glory of Blackbeard among the sailors of the Caribbean. What is noteworthy, the pirates did not kill the crew of the sailing ship, but simply dropped everyone on the nearest island, leaving them one of their sloops.

Renamed Concorde to Queen Anne's Revenge and made it his flagship. The ship was partially rebuilt and its armament increased to forty cannons. The number of the ship's pirate crew was up to 150 people.

In two years Blackbeard robbed about forty ships, and now led the whole flotilla of pirate ships (another famous ship of Edward Teach - "Adventure").

The most famous of Teach's pranks was the blockade of the entrance to Charleston, South Carolina, in May 1718. And already in June of the same year Queen Anne's Revenge ran aground and then sank in Topsel Bay off the coast of North Carolina (the area of ​​what is now Beaufort Bay).
According to some sources Blackbeard suffered a shipwreck, trying to hide from pursuers, according to another version (which is more likely), the ship was deliberately sunk, since the pirate no longer needed this sailing ship, widely known among sailors. He himself was killed on November 22, 1718 by the English lieutenant Robert Maynard, who was specially hired for this by the governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood.

Since then about adventures Blackbeard and its famous sailing ship are legendary, its prototype is in the works of Daniel Defoe and Robert Stevenson. But the pirate and the ship got the greatest fame thanks to the film

It so happened that more than two centuries later, exactly on the day of Teach's death, on November 22, 1996, Intersol divers in Beaufort Bay (North Carolina) found an anchor leg sticking out of the silt.

After the examination, it became known that the anchor belonged to the legendary sailing ship Queen Anne's Revenge... The search continued, and the collection of the North Carolina Maritime Museum was replenished with many exhibits from the famous sailing ship. These are several cannons, weapons, a ship's bell (dated 1709), a large number of cannonballs, and navigational instruments. In the spring of 2012, work began on lifting the wreck of the ship.

Around the pirate activity, which was widely developed in the Middle Ages, there are many legends: which of them is true and which is fiction - let historians understand. But it should be noted, despite the fact that many details of the pirate life still remain unknown, some evidence of the deeds of the gentlemen of fortune was still found. And one of them is the ship of the legendary pirate (Edward Teach), which was called "Queen Anne's Revenge".

The beginning of the history of the great flagship

The flagship ship was built back in 1710. It was originally called the Concorde. And at first the Spaniards used it. However, soon the ship was bought by the French, and its last owner, who gave the ship worldwide fame, was Edward Teach, a cruel pirate who terrified sailors with his name alone.

In 1717, the Concorde followed its usual route, carrying a crew of French slave traders. Suddenly, two light and fast pirate sloops appeared on the horizon, on board of which the pirates were vigilantly looking out for their new victim.

There is an opinion that the French were quite capable of smashing the ships of the gentlemen of fortune, flimsy in comparison with the Concorde, to pieces. But each of the crew members had heard about Teach's tough temper and exorbitant cruelty, so no one wanted to get into battle with the most formidable pirate of that time. At the first order of Blackbeard, the French sailors laid down their arms, after which the ship was captured.

Queen Anne's Revenge

The Concorde flagship was renamed Qeen Anne’s Revenge immediately after Blackbeard took over, placing his crew of notorious thugs on the ship. It should be noted that the ship was simply huge in comparison with most of the ships that plowed the waters of the world's oceans at that time.

Queen Anne's Revenge had three masts and was 36 meters long and 8 meters wide. Edward Teach put a lot of effort into improving his new houseboat and placed 40 artillery pieces on board. Such power was unheard of even for the Spanish navy, and the ship's capacity was 150 men who served in Blackbeard's command.

In just one year after the seizure of the Concorde, Teach captured 4 more ships in the newly renamed ship. Under the command of Blackbeard, who led his escort from the captain's bridge of Queen Anne's Revenge, he carried out about 35 robbery attacks, of which not all were carried out at sea.

IN last years Life Teach actively "worked" on land, and at the beginning of 1718 he even carried out a blockade of Charleston. In early summer, the ship ran aground near North Carolina. But there is an opinion that Blackbeard deliberately led him into shallow water - by that time "Queen Anne's Revenge" was too recognizable to make sudden raids on it.

The sunken flagship, on which the legendary pirate sailed, was discovered in early 2012. And today, active work is underway to raise his remains from the seabed.

In November 1717 Edward Teach nicknamed Blackbeard captured a French slave trade ship off the coast of Saint Vincent and made it his flagship. The ship was originally called (Concorde) and was a 14-gun French merchant ship with a displacement of more than 200 tons. By this time, the vessel had successfully made three voyages to the shores of Guinea.

Blackbeard named its flagship (Queen Anne's Revenge), probably as a memory of military service during the reign of Queen Anne. Teach gave Pierre Doss, Captain of the Concorde, his sloop and, in addition, all his slaves, with whom he safely reached Martinique.

When the pirates hijacked the ship, it was a three-masted ship with straight sails. In keeping with pirate tradition, Teach redesigned the ship for practical reasons. He cut through additional cannon ports and added 26 more to the 14 available guns. Apparently, he needed an additional gun platform and, unlike most pirate ships, Teach did not touch the quarterdeck, on which he managed to squeeze about 10 guns. Finally, Blackbeard cut off the tank, thus revealing the cannons that were there. Apparently, to create additional firepower, the pirates installed swivel cannons on the quarterdeck along the plane, the exact number of which is unknown. From archaeological finds, it should be concluded that there were at least four cannons on each side. With 40 cannons on board, Teach received some of the strongest ships in American waters and was able to make full use of his ship's capabilities. The only one a pirate ship, larger than Teach's ship, was a ship Royal fortune (Royal fortune) Bartholomew Roberts... The owners of the ships recruited too few crews for merchant ships, saving on sailor salaries and provisions. For example, on board a 180-ton ship that died off the coast of Florida in 1700 Henrietta Mary (Henrietta marie), engaged in the transportation of slaves, the crew consisted of only 20 people, and his armament consisted of eight 3/4-pounder guns. As a rule, pirate ships had an overwhelming numerical superiority over any merchant crew. Even a small pirate sloop with a crew of 30 could board a large merchant ship. And when meeting with a ship of the type , the merchant ship had no chance of escape. Large pirate flagships required a large crew. In the Royal Navy of Her Majesty at the beginning of the 18th century, a 40 or 50-gun ship of the 4th rank had a crew of 250 people. The crew of one gun consisted of 6/8 people. Even if we take into account that the ship fired only from one side at a time, it becomes clear that only individual sailors controlled the ship in battle. For pirates, this ratio was approximately the same, and in addition to the gunners, the crew also included members of the boarding squad. Merchant ship captain, survivor of the attack Blackbeard in December 1718, in his report he informed the colonial authorities: The pirate ship was a ship of French slave traders, its armament consists of 36 cannons, the ship's crew is very numerous, apparently, three hundred. The pirates, apparently, do not experience a shortage of provisions.

Peaks of success Blackbeard reached in May 1718 when he managed to blockade the port of Charleston on the coast of South Carolina. Local residents reported: The squadron, commanded by Teach himself, consisted of a 40-gun ship and three sloops. The total number of crews exceeded 400 people.

The next month, he led to Topsail Bay, now the city of Beaufort (North Carolina) is located here. Here his flagship ran aground.

In 1997, archaeological work began at the site of the ship's wreck. The wreckage is at a depth of 7 meters. At the moment, scientists have found the remains of the ship itself, naval artillery (21 guns) and ship accessories. Discovered guns are made in different countries, although the majority are English-made barrels. The archaeological team hopes to continue the work. Musket bullets, cannonballs and small arms recovered at the crash site indicate that the ship was exceptionally well armed. A ship's bell dating from 1705, a lead syringe and other finds were found at the site of the ship's wreck.

Recent archaeological research allows us to confidently assert about naval artillery. Most of the guns from the pirate ships were British made, cast in Wheeldon, Sussex. Among the guns, 5 were cast in other countries, primarily in France. All non-English cannons were cast iron. Bronze cannons were rare and expensive by that time. The reliability of cast iron cannons increased significantly in the second half of the 17th century, so bronze cannons began to fall out of use. If there were bronze cannons on the ship, they were placed in the area of ​​the ship's compass so that large masses of iron would not interfere with the operation of the device. In addition to cannons, the arsenals of pirate ships were bursting with a variety of small arms, gunpowder and hand grenades.

The image of the ship is actively used in modern films about the pirate era, for example, in the fourth part Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides .

Reconstruction of the ship

1. Aft lantern. 2. Flag of Blackbeard. 3. Mizzen-ray. 4. Rhea. 5. Mizzen mast. 6. Mainmast. 7. Utah deck. 8. Quarterdeck. 9. Minion (4 pounds). 10. Additional gun port. 11. Swivel cannon (1 lb). 12. 8-pounder cannon. 13. Saker (6 lbs). 14. Deck beams. 15. Waist. 16. Main gun port. 17. Cut off tank. 18. Foremast. 19. Sprint Marseille. 20. Bowsprit. 21. Place of the bow figure (lost in the storm even before the capture of the ship by pirates). 22. Cat-beam. 23. Nose. 24. Anchor (one of three). 25. Rope bay. 26. Ratchet. 27. Kubrick of the crew. 28. Cockpit hatch. 29. Ballast (stones and spare gun barrels). 30. Water supplies. 31. Hold (archaeologists have found traces of golden sand here). 32. Ammunition locker. 33. Cruite camera. 34. Pump. 35. Ladder. 36. Ratchet. 37. Rum storage and arsenal. 38. Warehouse for dried food. 39. Captain's cabin. 40. Blackbeard's cabin. 41. Stern windows. 42. Stern gallery.

121. Triangle (3)

Everybody knows about Bermuda Triangle... From time to time, someone disappears there. Mulder believes that the reason for this phenomenon lies in the narrowing of the time bands. Thus, the disappeared objects do not move in space, but in time. The Lonely Arrows seem to stick to this idea too. They follow this region through Google-map (if such a resource already took place in 1998). And now, in real time, they see that the satellite has recorded in the Triangle the ocean liner "Queen Anne", which went missing in 1939. They throw off the coordinates to Mulder, who unauthorizedly gets off work, flies to Florida, there he hires a boat and rushes to the place of appearance of "Queen Anne". The Lone Shooters are watching the boat via satellite. But then a storm broke out ... and Mulder was out of touch.
Further, the action develops in two parallel realities. Mulder was hauled out of the shattered boat by the Queen Anne's sailors. He is happy: not because he was rescued from the depths of the sea, but that he saw guests from the past. However, as it turned out, this is he - a guest from the future. Everywhere - September 1939, and all radio stations are talking about the recently erupted war, which does not yet promise to become a world war: the Russians, in collusion with Hitler, are raking apart Poland among themselves, and the rest of the countries are silently watching this. But hatred for the Nazis among ordinary people has already formed. “And why do they hate us Germans so much? - the fascists are perplexed, landing on board the "Queen Anne" (this question is now increasingly asked by Russian tourists) - we are not at war with Great Britain? "
But the Germans are here on business: they are looking for Professor Thor Hammer, who can invent the atomic bomb. And the fascists are somehow strange: the chief navigator-Fuhrer is a spitting image of the Cigarette-Smoking Man, his deputy looks like Skinner, and the Cigarette-Smoking's lackey looks like an FBI agent, his son. But Mulder meets Scully among the passengers. She performs a secret mission to protect the professor.
While Mulder tries to persuade the crew to go to America so that the story continues on its own and the Germans don't get an egghead to make a bomb for them, the real Scully, in 1998, is trying to find the coordinates of Mulder's boat wreck and the suddenly appeared Queen Anne. After many troubles, she gets them - Skinner helps her.
Scully with the Lone Gunmen makes it to the spot, and indeed sees an ocean liner. Lights are on, but no voices are heard. They board the Queen Anne. This is a ghost ship: everything is brand new, but no one is alive. All life is in a parallel reality. There, in 1939, the crew escaped from the closed hold and attacked a detachment of the Nazis. The passengers provided the sailors with warm and efficient support. As everyone fought in the restaurant, Mulder and a passenger who looked like Scully ran across the decks, followed by SS men. One was about to catch up, but a German, similar to Skinner, who turned out to be a spy, shot him. In the end, Mulder decides to get off the Queen Anne and jumps overboard. Before the jump, he kisses the passenger and gets punched in the face by her.
Time is reconnecting. Fox, unconscious, is dragged aboard by the Lone Gunners. Mulder wakes up in 1998 and begins to talk about his adventures. And he confesses his love for Scully. Fox is destined to be considered a nutcase: he was considered crazy in 1939, and in modern times too. Scully didn't even answer the declaration of love and left. But Mulder's cheek, which was slapped in the face, still aches pleasantly.

Edward Teach
(c. 1680-1718).

Edward Teach(Edward Teach) - English pirate who hunted in the waters North America and the West Indies in 1716-1718. Also known by the nickname Blackbeard... He was one of the most notorious figures in the history of sea robbery. He became the hero of American folklore, numerous novels and films. Legends about the treasures buried by him still excite the imagination of seekers of pirate treasures.

The date and place of birth of this robber has not yet been clarified. Most authors believe that he was born in Bristol around 1680, went to sea in early age and during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713) served on the ships of the corsairs. There is also a version that Teach was a native of North Carolina, and the Jamaican chronicler Charles Leslie wrote in 1740 that Blackbeard was born in Jamaica "to very respectable parents" and that his brother was the captain of an artillery train.

If Teach was a corsair during the War of the Spanish Succession, then after its end he could, like many other corsairs, be unemployed. Johnson assures that Blackbeard did not engage in piracy until 1716, and this can be accepted. His name is found in the documents of the British Admiralty only since 1716. Having settled on New Providence Island, the main pirate base in the Atlantic, Teach joined the leader of the Bahamian pirates, Benjamin Hornigold, who in December 1716 placed the sloop he had captured as a prize under his command. In March 1717, Captain Matthew Munson, visiting the Bahamas, learned about the presence of 5 pirate captains in New Providence, including Edward Teach; the latter commanded 6 cannon sloop and about 70 thugs.

The Capture of the Pirate Blackbeard, 1718, by Jean Leon Jerome Ferris.

In New Providence, Teach and Hornigold met the aspiring pirate Steed Bonnet, whose sloop, Rivenge, Blackbeard took under his command. In September, they sailed north from the Bahamas to Delaware Bay, where they hijacked 11 ships, including a ship from Havana with 120 barrels of flour and a sloop from Bermuda, skipper Thurbar, from which they collected several gallons of wine. On September 29, 1717, Rivenge robbed the sloop Betty with a cargo of Madeira wine.

Later, pirates captured the ships "Spofford" and "Sea Nymphs" from Philadelphia, and on October 22, the sloops "Robert" and "Good Intent" were robbed, from which the robbers took food. With the cold weather approaching, Teach finally turned south and sailed from the shores of North America to the Caribbean.

On 17 November, the 14-gun French slave ship Concorde (200 tons) from Nantes was attacked 100 miles south of Martinique by two pirate ships. Pierre Doss was the captain of the Concorde. According to the French, on one pirate sailing ship there were 12 cannons and 120 crew members, on the second, 40-ton Bermuda sloop, there were 8 guns and 30 people. After a heated battle, the Concorde was captured by Teach's men, who took it to Bequia Island, renamed Queen Anne's Revenge (Queen Anne's Revenge) and increased the number of guns on board to 40. Captain Doss was given a Bermuda sloop and almost all black slaves with whom he arrived safely in Martinique.

On 5 December, Captain Teach boarded the English sloop Margaret south of Puerto Rico, sailing from St. Christopher Island under the command of skipper Henry Bostock. Before being released ashore, Bostock had spent eight hours aboard the Queen Ann's Rivenge and had the opportunity to take a close look at the pirate leader. According to him, "Captain Tech [Teach] was a tall, thin man with a very black beard, which he wore very long."

Shortly before December 19, Teach and Bonnet broke up. The latter set off towards the Gulf of Honduras, where, apparently, pirated until the spring of 1718. Meanwhile, Teach, cruising in the area of ​​St. Vincent Island, captured the Great Allen, a large English ship. Having cleared its holds, the pirates landed all the prisoners on the coast of St. Vincent, and the prize itself was set on fire. Throughout the winter, the pirates hunted in the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico, but the details of their cruising are unknown.

In March 1718, Blackbeard set out for the Gulf of Honduras and met Steed Bonnet's Rivenge again on the way. Teach joined him, but a few days later, when he saw that Bonnet knew nothing about maritime business, with the consent of his men, appointed his assistant Richards as commander of the Rivenge. He took the major aboard his ship.

On one of the islands in the Turneff group, pirates replenished their supplies of fresh water. At this time, the sails of an unknown sloop appeared at sea. Captain Richards immediately weighed anchor and, raising the black flag on the mast, went out to meet him. The stranger surrendered without a fight. It turned out that it was an 80-ton sloop "Adventure" from Jamaica, under the command of the skipper David Harriott. The pirates took the prisoners aboard the Queen Annes Rivenge, and Israel Hands, the navigator of Teach's ship, was chosen as the captain of the prize.

On April 9, the pirates set sail and headed deep into the Gulf of Honduras, where they robbed several merchant ships. After that, the robbers went to Turkil Island, and then to Grand Cayman, where they seized a turtle catcher ship. From the Caribbean, the pirate flotilla entered the Gulf of Mexico, rounded the western tip of Cuba and moved northward through the Florida Strait. Capturing 1 brigantine and 2 sloops along the way, the pirates set off for the coast of South Carolina, where they spent five or six days at the port of Charleston.

Edward Teach, nicknamed Blackbeard, old engraving.

From Charleston, Blackbeard went to North Carolina and entered Topsail Cove (now Beaufort Cove), where Queen Ann's Rivenge and then Adventure ran aground. It is believed that Teach and Hands did this deliberately, as they wanted to get rid of the extra people and take over most of the booty.

Two crews from the wrecked ships were forced to transfer to a small 8-gun Spanish sloop, and he, overloaded, headed for a small sandy island, lying three miles from the mainland. Here, after a quarrel, Blackbeard disembarked 17 sailors, and he himself with about 40 white men and 60 Africans went to the port of Bat Town, where he contacted Governor Eden. The latter convened a vice-admiralty court, which recognized the pirate sloop as legitimately taken by the Spanish prize.

In June 1718, Teach went to sea again and headed for Bermuda. On the way, the pirates met 2 or 3 English ships, but took from them only provisions and the supplies they needed. Later, his men were seen in Philadelphia, and in August of that year, the Governor of Pennsylvania issued an arrest warrant.

Teach returned to Bath Town with a party of 80 or 90 slaves captured from the French. This live product was immediately bought by the planters. After re-equipping the ship, Blackbeard announced that he was going on a "trade trip" to St. Thomas; however, it never came to trade. Near Bermuda, pirates stumbled upon 2 French ships, one of which was loaded with sugar and cocoa, and the other was empty. The ship, which had no cargo, Teach let go, transferring all the sailors from the loaded ship to it; the latter he brought to North Carolina.

Meanwhile, the skippers of the sloops, often attacked by Blackbeard, held a consultation with the merchants and some of the planters and decided to put an end to the pirates. Since the governor of North Carolina was in tune with Teach, they sent a delegation to neighboring Virginia. Governor Alexander Spotswood there agreed that it was time to take more effective measures to eliminate piracy.

The hour came in November 1718, when informants reported that Blackbeard was in Okrakok Bay and was preparing to fortify the neighboring coast in order to turn it into a “second Madagascar”. Spotswood invited Captains Brand and Gordon, who commanded the warships Pearl (Pearl) and Lime (the latter were stationed on the James River), to the meeting. We agreed that for operations in shallow waters, the governor will hire 2 small sloops, the crews of which will be manned by sailors from warships and supplied with hand weapons and ammunition. The command was entrusted to Robert Maynard, first lieutenant of the Pearl.

On November 17, 1718, Lieutenant Maynard sailed from Kikkvetan, on the river. James is in Virginia, and on the evening of the 21st came to the mouth of Ocracoke Bay, where he saw a pirate sloop.

Seeing Maynard's sloops, Blackbeard prepared his ship for battle. He had 25 people on board, although he told the skippers of all the ships he met that he had 40 people in his crew.

Head of Edward Teach, nicknamed Blackbeard, at the end of the bowsprit.

The battle that broke out in Okrakok Bay was stubborn and bloody. “Blackbeard and the lieutenant fired a pistol at each other, which caused the pirate to be wounded,” wrote Charles Johnson, “and then fought with sabers until the lieutenant's saber, unfortunately, broke, so he was forced to retreat in order to cock the trigger, but the moment Blackbeard struck him with his boarding saber, one of Maynard's men inflicted a terrible wound on him in the neck and throat ...

Now they came close and fought for life and death - a lieutenant with twelve sailors against Blackbeard with fourteen - until the sea around the ship was stained with blood; Blackbeard was wounded in the corps from Lieutenant Maynard's pistol and yet did not retreat and fought with great fury until he received twenty-five wounds, five of them gunshot. Finally, having already fired several pistols and cocking another one, he fell down dead; by that time, eight more out of fourteen had died, and all the rest, very wounded, jumped overboard and asked for mercy ... "

After defeating the pirates, Lieutenant Maynard ordered Teach's head to be cut off and hung at the end of the bowsprit, after which he sailed to Bath Town to help his wounded sailors.

After the wounded had recovered sufficiently, Maynard sailed back to Virginia, with Blackbeard's head still hanging at the end of the bowsprit and 15 prisoners, of whom 13 were hanged. Maynard's men found 25 barrels of sugar, 11 barrels and 145 sacks of cocoa, a barrel of indigo, and a bale of cotton on pirate sloops and in a tent on the shores of Ocracok Bay. At the same time, what was confiscated from the governor of Eden and his secretary, and what was gained from the sale of the sloop, this amounted to 2500 pounds sterling. In addition, the members of the expedition received awards announced by the Governor of Virginia in his proclamation. All money was paid within three months and divided between the Lyme and Pearl teams.

According to legend, Teach's head was taken to the capital of Virginia and displayed on a pillory. Birds that feed on carrion killed it in a few days, after which the skull of the famous pirate turned into a hornet's nest.

From the book: V.K. Gubarev "100 Great Pirates".
Victor Gubarev - victor-gubarev.livejournal.com

In the history of piracy, fiction and truth are jumbled and often inseparable. That there is only one description of Teach's appearance, which has become a textbook in numerous biographies of this robber, as if he embodied all the evil of the pirate world. “The face of Captain Teach ... was completely covered with dense vegetation, which immediately caught the eye. This beard terrified America ... It was black in color, and the owner brought it to such a monstrous size that it seemed as if the hair was growing right out of the eyes. Teach used to braid her into little braids tied with ribbons ... and tuck them over her ears. During the battle, he hung on each shoulder a wide sling with three pairs of pistols in holsters and stuck fuses under his hat so that they dangled, almost touching his cheeks. His eyes were naturally fierce and wild. It is impossible to imagine a more creepy figure than this demon-possessed man, comparable only to a fury from hell ... "This vivid description belongs to the pen of one of the first historians of piracy, a mysterious writer, under the pseudonym Captain Charles Johnson, who created the book" General history robberies and murders perpetrated by the most famous pirates, as well as their morals, orders and management from their very beginning and their appearance on Providence Island in 1717 to this 1724 "(" General History of Piracy ").

Blackbeard's ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" from the movie
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides".

Artifacts with pirate ship will reveal the secrets of Blackbeard.

In 2011, archaeologists began an operation to raise from the bottom of the Atlantic the remains of the ship Queen Anne's Revenge, on which the legendary pirate Edward Teach, nicknamed Blackbeard, sailed the seas.

From a ship that sank 300 years ago off the coast of North Carolina, they lifted a 900 kg cannon, as well as small dishes, jewelry and even shackles. The artifacts raised were first put on public display and then sent to the laboratory for analysis.

Also, a one and a half ton anchor was removed from the bottom. Now scientists have to work hard to restore the find. Thereafter, the anchor will be exhibited at the local museum; he will replenish the collection of exhibits, one way or another connected with the legend of "Blackbeard". The wreckage of the Queen Anne's Revenge was discovered back in 1996, but the anchor was only raised on May 27, 2011.

Scientists hope that the items found at the bottom will help to find out the truth about the British pirate. All archaeological work on the ship is scheduled to be completed by 2013.

Pirate Edward Teach traded in the Caribbean in the early 18th century. The heyday of his "activity" fell on the years 1716 - 1718.

According to historians, originally "Queen Anne's Revenge" belonged to the French slave owners. Now archaeologists hope that they will be able to lift two more anchors, which are firmly glued to the ship.

The ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" was undoubtedly used for sea ​​battle during the captain's bloody hunt. Earlier, archaeologists managed to lift over 220 thousand lead bullets and buckshot from the ship, as well as 25 cannons, many of which were loaded.

Anchor of the ship "Queen Anne's Revenge".

- The ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" sank in 1718. What is left of him now?

Wild-Ramsing: Of course, over the years, the ship's condition has deteriorated dramatically. The place where the ship sank looks like a field of ruins. There are very few wooden items left, mostly hard, rigid items made of iron, ceramics and stone. But because the iron has spent a lot of time in salt water, a crust has formed, which we call "coalescence." Objects lying next to the metal accreted to it. Thus we found pieces of sails, ropes, brass tools, pewter, small pieces of gold, and animal bones (pigs, cows that pirates ate).

- What other pirate things have you got from the bottom of the ocean?

Wild-Ramsing: The anchor was the main find, for which we started the expedition. Before that, it was possible to get some small objects: lead bullets for firearms, cannonballs. We met clumps of lead shot, nails and sand stuck together. We believe that this mixture was put into cannons in canvas bags and that they were homemade shells. They managed to find metal items for the officers' toilet, medical instruments, a wooden part of the stern of the ship, boards, frames, gold powder, wine bottles and crystal glasses and many other small things.

- Have you already decided what next artifact you will get from the bottom?

Wild-Ramsing: We don't know ... and that's the most exciting part of our job. We will explore the front of the ship, where the pirate crew lived and worked, and of course the galley. Who knows what we can find there.

- Where are all found artifacts stored?

Wild-Ramsing: An exhibition of all the artifacts and descriptions of our exploration recently opened at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in the Bay of North Carolina.

- The owner of the ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" was the famous pirate Blackbeard. What new did you manage to learn about this hero?

Wild-Ramsing: Our preliminary reports are mostly historical. Blackbeard was the captain on the ship "Queen Anne's Revenge", before the ship sank, he in a hurry took most of his personal belongings, but still something remained (the researchers call the hilt of his sword the most valuable of the surviving things of Blackbeard). There are also some discrepancies with history. For example, according to our version, the anchor was used to prevent the ship from running aground. But according to the official version, the captain himself ran the ship aground. Of course, we will not be able to find out the whole truth, but new assumptions and clues to correct answers will appear.

- Is it possible to reconstruct the history of piracy in the Caribbean region based on these findings?

Wild-Ramsing: We are just getting to the idea of ​​what life was like as a pirate in the 18th century, we are beginning to learn more about the daily life of sea robbers: what they ate, what games with alcohol were popular among robbers, what dishonest tricks they used, when they wanted to cheat. But perhaps the jewel of the collection is weapons and ammunition, such as a Swedish pistol made in 1712, which was loaded with bullets and bolts, which speaks to the ingenuity of the pirates. During collisions with other ships, they sought to scare the crew and disarm them. They tried to catch the sailors by surprise, and not to sink the ship, as was the case in traditional naval battles. In addition, no one supplied them with ammunition, so they had to do with handy means, such as bolts.

- For most people, your research is especially interesting because of the popularity of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Has the film influenced your work and investor interest in the project?

Wild-Ramsing: Since the release of the film, many are literally mesmerized by pirates. Therefore, when we make another discovery, they show great interest from all over the world. And now even from Russia! After the release of the last episode, attention became more intent, because the character Blackbeard and the ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" appeared in the picture. And we are pleased to think that our search inspired Hollywood producers to include them in the film. Of course, we appreciate the promotion we got thanks to the fact that so many people watched the "pirates". This helped finance the project. In the 18th century, pirates were people who played an important role in the development of the New World.

Edward Teach (real name Edward Drummond), nicknamed Blackbeard, was a thunderstorm in the Caribbean. In the fourth decade of his life, he became famous for his successful attacks and robbery of merchant ships encountered on his way. In 1716 he joined Benjamin Ornigold's pirate crew in New Providence Harbor. Soon Blackbeard himself became a captain, having received "Queen Anne's Revenge" at his disposal.

In 1717, the authorities of the Bahamas announced a merciless fight against piracy, and the governor of Virginia announced a reward for the capture or murder of Teach and his team. The English lieutenant Robert Maynard took on the hunt for Blackbeard. By 1718 Teach's "squadron" consisted of several sloops and 300 "gentlemen of fortune". In November 1718, Captain Blackbeard, so nicknamed for his bushy beard, died during a boarding battle with Maynard's soldiers, who personally chopped off Teach's head and ordered it to be hung on the ship's yarn. Subsequently, Edward Teach, not without the help of historians and romanticized legends, became one of the most famous pirates... So the images of Blackbeard are seen in many works about pirates, for example, the character of the same name in the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and in the famous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson "Treasure Island".

May 28, 2011
Sources: rg.ru, vsekommentarii.com, utro.ru

Edward Teach, nicknamed Blackbeard.
Photo from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides".

Medical instruments were found on Blackbeard's ship.

In the course of work on the study of the ship "Queen Anne's Revenge", which belonged to famous pirate Medical instruments were found for Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard. Archaeologist Linda Carnes-McNaughton spoke about this in a talk with the Society for Historical Archeology.

Blackbeard's vessel, which ran aground off the coast of North Carolina and was abandoned by the crew, was discovered in 1996. Since then, underwater archaeologists have been researching it. In addition to guns, weapons and other items, they found many medical instruments. Among the finds are scissors and silver needles, a pestle and mortar for preparing medicine, vessels, two enemas, and a bloodletting device. The screwed clamps may have been part of an amputation fixation device. A metal syringe was also found, which was used in the only method of treating syphilis at that time by pumping a mercury compound into the urethra.

It is known from written sources that Edward Teach, having seized the French slave ship Concorde and turned it into his flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, dismissed the entire crew, but left three ship surgeons who were to treat the wounds and illnesses of Teach's crew.

Linda Carnes-McNaughton found the lists of the Concorde's crew and determined that these doctors were named Jean Dubois, Marc Bourneuf La Rochelle, and Claude Deshaier. Shortly thereafter, Queen Anne's Revenge and three other pirate ships blockaded the port of Charleston in South Carolina. Edward Teach took hostages from nine passing ships and informed the governor that if he did not receive ransom, he would burn the hijacked ships, execute the hostages and send their heads to the governor. The ransom that Teach eventually received included not only money, but also a large number of medicines. So the famous pirate managed not only to get professional doctors for the crew, but also to supply them with the necessary medicines.