Blackbeard The Pirate & Ocracoke

Blackbeard the Pirate

It was in Ocracoke waters, on November 22, 1718, that Blackbeard the Pirate met his end at the hands of Lt. Robert Maynard of His Majesty’s Royal Navy.

The full story includes suspected bribery and collusion at the highest levels of government and a questionable legal action to end Blackbeard’s career.

The shorter story takes place in colonial times, well before there was any federal authority to deal with piracy. Virginia was perhaps the richest of the British colonies in the Americas. Its neighbor to the south, North Carolina, among the poorest.

After rampaging through the Caribbean and the southern coast of the Americas, Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge was sunk off Beaufort, North Carolina in the summer of 1718. Escaping from capture, the pirate said he renounced his ways and settled into life in the town of Bath, just across Pamlico Sound from Ocracoke.

Regardless of any promises he may have made, Blackbeard continued his life of piracy. Governor Alexander Spotswood of Virginia wanted an end to the attacks on coastal shipping. North Carolina Governor Charles Eden had neither money nor forces to go after Blackbeard. There is also considerable evidence that Blackbeard was actively working with members of the province’s government to dispose of his goods, although it is doubtful that Gov. Eden was directly involved.

Spotswood took matters into his own hands and ordered Lt.. Robert Maynard of the British Royal Navy to capture or kill Blackbeard. It is doubtful if that was a legal order since neither Eden nor anyone in North Carolina had asked for help.

Confronting Blackbeard on November 18, a short but violent battle ensued with Lt. Maynard personally killing Blackbeard. He then beheaded the pirate, mounted the head on the spit of his ship and sailed for home.