Charles Vane’s pirate career lasted for three years, a relatively long career among pirates, and started a “reign of terror” of sorts. If Blackbeard is the most famous pirate of the Golden Age, Charles Vane was arguably the cruelest. After a ferocious battle, Blackbeard was finally killed (it took 5 bullets and 20 sword slashes), and his severed head was hung on the ship’s bowsprit as a warning to other pirates. He thus sent a small force of sailors, led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard, to capture the pirate. The Governor of Virginia received news that Blackbeard was planning on retiring in close proximity to him, which as you can imagine, worried him immensely. And according to one contemporary source, he once offered his newlywed 16 year old wife Mary Ormond to his crewmembers to have their way with her. He was not above killing his crewmembers at any hint of mutiny and would resort to brutal punishment to penalize any resistance, all in order to preserve his fearsome reputation. That is not to say that Blackbeard was an upstanding citizen. Contrary to our image of Blackbeard as a murderous and tyrannical leader, there really is no account of him ever harming those he captured. He did things like lighting two fuses under his hat that billowed smoke, thus giving the impression that clouds of smoke were coming out of his beard. Blackbeard was more of a shrewd leader than a murderous pirate, and avoided armed conflict whenever he could, relying instead on his fearsome reputation to elicit the desired response from his victims. He certainly was a much feared pirate in his time, but what’s interesting is that his fearsome reputation was manufactured by Blackbeard himself. He is in part responsible for our image of pirates as fearsome, bloodthirsty tyrants. Blackbeard (real name Edward Teach) is arguably the most famous pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy, and serves as a poster boy for the era.
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