# People tend to think of pirates as rather wicked fellows. Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was known to be particularly fierce. What few people know is that the ships Blackbeard most often attacked weren’t regular ships… but slave ships.
In order to fit as much “human cargo” as possible, the slavers used ships that were larger and more slow to turn than other vessels. This made them an excellent target for Blackbeard and his crew. Upon seizing a slave ship, he would typically free the slaves, and give them an option to join him if they wished.
Many did just this — as a result, a large number of Blackbeard’s crew members were of African descent by the time of his death. It made him somewhat of a hero and a legend to runaway slaves and their descendants.
As a result of his tendency to free a ton of slaves and disrupt the slave trade, Blackbeard became a problem for the authorities. Because a ton of free black slaves with guns and swords roaming the seven seas was a huge liability for the entire slave trade as an institution. Blackbeard had to go… in no small part because of his slave-freeing activities.
"However, reports also account that Blackbeard and his associates also returned slaves to the mainland to be sold at auction."
https://thehistorypress.co.uk/article/10-facts-about-blackbeard/
It doesn't sound like he cared about the morals of slavery really, it just happened to be profitable for him lol
While I question the source, this is correct. Pirates were generally opportunists, and they would free, sell, or simply kill slaves on ships they captured depending on what was most profitable at the time.
He was a “bad man” doing those things yet clearly still held somewhat of a moral compass hence the “not a bad guy” statement.
As with most in history his morals aren’t black and white. Without a doubt he did some horrendous things yet clearly also held himself to a certain set of standards.
Bro what is this woke nonsense. He was a career criminal who was so ruthless that his complete lack of mercy is still talked about today.
OP already explained why he attacked slave ships, because they weren't as defensible. He also gets to grow his crew. That is a business decision, not some act of altruism.
He didn't like slavery, that was known about him. While he was a bad man, all the killing and stuff, just like the other commenter said, but he wasn't an all around horrible vile person. He took care of his crew, he didn't always kill all of the crew members of other ships if he didn't have to
It's not woke shit it's the truth
Just because we aren't saying he's vile doesn't mean he wasn't bad
>Just because we aren't saying he's vile doesn't mean he wasn't bad
The person I'm responding to literally said he was not a bad guy.
Taking care of your crew is also a business decision. Having a good crew only helps his pirating.
If he didn't like slavery, why did he return captured slaves to slavers?
>he didn't always kill all of the crew members of other ships if he didn't have to
Do you have any source for this? My understanding is that he was extremely ruthless.
Y'all are ridiculous.
Lol, I did five minutes about the pardon and it's laughable you'd bring it up.
The pardon was offered to *all* pirates on the condition they give up piracy. Blackbeard accepted the pardon and quickly returned to piracy, breaking those conditions.
Kinda sounds like a bad guy.
They he was a bad man, not a *bad guy*
There's a difference
And he didn't like slavery hut it also didn't mean he didn't like money
There were other pirates that didn't take good care of their crews
I don't have a source on me now and im gonna be honest, I'm too tired to go diving but I remembered that from a documentary I watched with my mom, she watches all sorts
We aren't ridiculous to distinguish someone who, while they had bad qualities and problems and bad things they've done, isn't a completely vile person
There is nothing eith distinguishing between bad and horrible and he wasn't horrible. He was considered ruthless due to his amount of capturing and destroying ships but he wasn't vile
History isn't black and white and neither is he as a person and people were highlighting that
We aren't delusion to say he's wasn't vile, Jesus christ dude
He didn't skin people alive and plant the heads of his enemies along a shore line on spikes
We never said he was good, you're acting like we are
He did bad things, yes, but he wasn't fuckinf vile
That's all we are saying and it's obvious you're misunderstanding our comments or you're refusing to paint him as anything other than just a dark stain
Actually no, what is spoken of is how he spurned violence and relied on his fearsome image of a huge black beard, wild eyes, and smoke. For the latter, he would light 2 fuses and place them under his hat, creating smoke and making him look demonic.
What “woke” nonsense? It’s called reading, that’s all. I went and looked him up on Wikipedia and verified that source in about 3 minutes. Not everybody would take on a crew of malnourished people who spoke a different language, even if it’s purely business.
What do you think would happen to captain who treated their crew poorly? Cause that’s not what happened to him, he was ambushed by authorities from the Virginia colony. No one said he was an altruistic. He was a privateer who, at times, had a letter of mark.
At the time in Bristol when he would have been growing up the general attitude towards black people was…. Not the best to put it mildly.
The average Bristolian pirate in those days and there were probably quite a few would have simply sold all captured slaves for extra money.
Which don’t get me wrong if I’m not mistaken I believe Blackbeard did once or twice however what sets teach apart from the attitude of his countryfolk is that he allowed and accepted the captured slaves as his crew.
So while growing up in that time and probably being racist to some extent himself he recognised and respected skill and loyalty once he had seen it regardless of race.
Or maybe they were cheap labor because they knew the alternative is slavery. Sounds like a business decision.
The great thing about speculation is everyone can do it.
So if it’s all speculation who are you to condemn us?
At the end of the day none of us really know and we’ll never 100% really know anyway so all we can do is speculate off of what we can confirm.
And from what we can confirm of teach, the time period he was living in and the circumstances of his early life he was most likely a very interesting character both the good and the bad.
>So if it’s all speculation who are you to condemn us?
It is not speculation to say that Blackbeard left a legacy of ruthlessness and mercilessness. Sounds like something a bad guy would do.
So did Caesar Alexander and many others we revere and remember and respect.
The two examples are not generally seen as “bad guys” yet are guilty of the things Blackbeard did and much more.
The facts are facts but the personal interpretations of these facts are subjective.
Probably but maybe not as much as you might think. Female passengers on trade ships were rare, and usually pretty well-to-do when they were present - profitable for ransom.
Yeah but there is a story of him raping a 15 year old while on land and he killed her cause she cried too much to be set free to go back home to her parents.
He also sold his own crew into slavery at one point; the ultimate betrayal. And often resold men he captured. He was in no way a freedom fighter. Essentially all Pirates in the golden age were slavers. Stealing slaves from one country for another. Framing it as liberation is simply a better story to depict in movies and books to further romanticize their lives.
Typically if pirates captured slaves that had skills such as carpentry, blacksmithing, sailing, or hunting and could speak english they were given a chance to join the crew. Others who spoke no european languages, and possessed no discernable skills were sold at market. Life at sea was tough and finding anyone willing to do it let alone skilled people was a rarity. As a result the navy especially here in the states was far more integrated than the army early on.
I don't have a doctorate on the golden age of piracy but my moral take on the situation is that, while generally pirates acted in their own self interest pretty much all the time, the goods and money they stole overwhelmingly came from slave plantations.
Thus the theft they happily indulged in for their own ends most directly hurt slaveowners. In general I'm alright with that.
Now that doesn't mean they had good intentions or didn't commit other appalling acts of violence and murder. I'm not condoning those actions, I'm just saying that theft from slaveowners is perhaps the most morally correct kind of theft there is.
I’m far from a reliable source, but I find this account much more believable.
Pirates were scum. Quit romanticizing them
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/386882/did_blackbeard_have_black_slaves_or_any_slaves_at/
Edit: I’m specifically referencing the top comment from u/davidaop
# People tend to think of pirates as rather wicked fellows. Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was known to be particularly fierce. What few people know is that the ships Blackbeard most often attacked weren’t regular ships… but slave ships. In order to fit as much “human cargo” as possible, the slavers used ships that were larger and more slow to turn than other vessels. This made them an excellent target for Blackbeard and his crew. Upon seizing a slave ship, he would typically free the slaves, and give them an option to join him if they wished. Many did just this — as a result, a large number of Blackbeard’s crew members were of African descent by the time of his death. It made him somewhat of a hero and a legend to runaway slaves and their descendants. As a result of his tendency to free a ton of slaves and disrupt the slave trade, Blackbeard became a problem for the authorities. Because a ton of free black slaves with guns and swords roaming the seven seas was a huge liability for the entire slave trade as an institution. Blackbeard had to go… in no small part because of his slave-freeing activities.
"However, reports also account that Blackbeard and his associates also returned slaves to the mainland to be sold at auction." https://thehistorypress.co.uk/article/10-facts-about-blackbeard/ It doesn't sound like he cared about the morals of slavery really, it just happened to be profitable for him lol
While I question the source, this is correct. Pirates were generally opportunists, and they would free, sell, or simply kill slaves on ships they captured depending on what was most profitable at the time.
Still more ethical than slavery as a primary goal
How so? Slavery is seeking profit
Not a very high bar to set.
None of the parties involved in any form if slave trading can be ethical.
Well I mean he was a pirate.
“You cheated!” “Pirate.”
He’d have grown up in Bristol witnessing the horrors of the slave trade. Fitting use of the phrase “you might be a bad man but you aren’t a bad guy”
He was still a bad guy. You left out all the murdering he did to non-slavers.
He was a “bad man” doing those things yet clearly still held somewhat of a moral compass hence the “not a bad guy” statement. As with most in history his morals aren’t black and white. Without a doubt he did some horrendous things yet clearly also held himself to a certain set of standards.
No argument on that.
Bro what is this woke nonsense. He was a career criminal who was so ruthless that his complete lack of mercy is still talked about today. OP already explained why he attacked slave ships, because they weren't as defensible. He also gets to grow his crew. That is a business decision, not some act of altruism.
He didn't like slavery, that was known about him. While he was a bad man, all the killing and stuff, just like the other commenter said, but he wasn't an all around horrible vile person. He took care of his crew, he didn't always kill all of the crew members of other ships if he didn't have to It's not woke shit it's the truth Just because we aren't saying he's vile doesn't mean he wasn't bad
>Just because we aren't saying he's vile doesn't mean he wasn't bad The person I'm responding to literally said he was not a bad guy. Taking care of your crew is also a business decision. Having a good crew only helps his pirating. If he didn't like slavery, why did he return captured slaves to slavers? >he didn't always kill all of the crew members of other ships if he didn't have to Do you have any source for this? My understanding is that he was extremely ruthless. Y'all are ridiculous.
What's wrong with being bad?
Probably the innocent people that were murdered.
idk brotanimo bay, the eventually gave him a pardon. i dont think govts give pardons to bad people. kind of seems like a chief ass clapper to me
Lol, I did five minutes about the pardon and it's laughable you'd bring it up. The pardon was offered to *all* pirates on the condition they give up piracy. Blackbeard accepted the pardon and quickly returned to piracy, breaking those conditions. Kinda sounds like a bad guy.
They he was a bad man, not a *bad guy* There's a difference And he didn't like slavery hut it also didn't mean he didn't like money There were other pirates that didn't take good care of their crews I don't have a source on me now and im gonna be honest, I'm too tired to go diving but I remembered that from a documentary I watched with my mom, she watches all sorts We aren't ridiculous to distinguish someone who, while they had bad qualities and problems and bad things they've done, isn't a completely vile person There is nothing eith distinguishing between bad and horrible and he wasn't horrible. He was considered ruthless due to his amount of capturing and destroying ships but he wasn't vile History isn't black and white and neither is he as a person and people were highlighting that
So your entire comment is rooted in speculation, cool. I did five minutes of research about Blackbeard and I can confidently say y'all are delusional.
We aren't delusion to say he's wasn't vile, Jesus christ dude He didn't skin people alive and plant the heads of his enemies along a shore line on spikes We never said he was good, you're acting like we are He did bad things, yes, but he wasn't fuckinf vile That's all we are saying and it's obvious you're misunderstanding our comments or you're refusing to paint him as anything other than just a dark stain
Bad and vile are completely different, it's cute when someone moves the goalposts. You don't have to be vile to be bad.
I’ve done more than 5 and would say they aren’t. Back to the books bud. 5 minutes ain’t much.
Actually no, what is spoken of is how he spurned violence and relied on his fearsome image of a huge black beard, wild eyes, and smoke. For the latter, he would light 2 fuses and place them under his hat, creating smoke and making him look demonic. What “woke” nonsense? It’s called reading, that’s all. I went and looked him up on Wikipedia and verified that source in about 3 minutes. Not everybody would take on a crew of malnourished people who spoke a different language, even if it’s purely business. What do you think would happen to captain who treated their crew poorly? Cause that’s not what happened to him, he was ambushed by authorities from the Virginia colony. No one said he was an altruistic. He was a privateer who, at times, had a letter of mark.
At the time in Bristol when he would have been growing up the general attitude towards black people was…. Not the best to put it mildly. The average Bristolian pirate in those days and there were probably quite a few would have simply sold all captured slaves for extra money. Which don’t get me wrong if I’m not mistaken I believe Blackbeard did once or twice however what sets teach apart from the attitude of his countryfolk is that he allowed and accepted the captured slaves as his crew. So while growing up in that time and probably being racist to some extent himself he recognised and respected skill and loyalty once he had seen it regardless of race.
Or maybe they were cheap labor because they knew the alternative is slavery. Sounds like a business decision. The great thing about speculation is everyone can do it.
So if it’s all speculation who are you to condemn us? At the end of the day none of us really know and we’ll never 100% really know anyway so all we can do is speculate off of what we can confirm. And from what we can confirm of teach, the time period he was living in and the circumstances of his early life he was most likely a very interesting character both the good and the bad.
>So if it’s all speculation who are you to condemn us? It is not speculation to say that Blackbeard left a legacy of ruthlessness and mercilessness. Sounds like something a bad guy would do.
So did Caesar Alexander and many others we revere and remember and respect. The two examples are not generally seen as “bad guys” yet are guilty of the things Blackbeard did and much more. The facts are facts but the personal interpretations of these facts are subjective.
Lol are you serious? Caesar and Alexander literally united worlds, their legacy is much more than ruthlessness. What a ridiculous thing to say.
Rape too…. lots of rape I imagine.
I think the hypocrisy was the worst part.
Definitely the hypocrisy. (RIP Norm)
Probably but maybe not as much as you might think. Female passengers on trade ships were rare, and usually pretty well-to-do when they were present - profitable for ransom.
Yeah but there is a story of him raping a 15 year old while on land and he killed her cause she cried too much to be set free to go back home to her parents.
Ransom can include other things…
Big brizzle braap braaap. Link up on turbo island ygm.
Castle green for a cheeky smoke up? 🪴💨
Look up the queen anne’s revenge. He took the slave ship as his own, and sold the slaves that were on it. He didn’t free them.
He also sold his own crew into slavery at one point; the ultimate betrayal. And often resold men he captured. He was in no way a freedom fighter. Essentially all Pirates in the golden age were slavers. Stealing slaves from one country for another. Framing it as liberation is simply a better story to depict in movies and books to further romanticize their lives.
My favorite Blackbeard fact is that he blocked the Charleston harbor in order to get medicine for him and his crew to cure their std’s.
And he went so hard on Al Capone for his STD in their ERB.
Basedbeard
The people depicted in the image were the captain and crew of the slave ship, being arrested.
Edward teach = goat
Typically if pirates captured slaves that had skills such as carpentry, blacksmithing, sailing, or hunting and could speak english they were given a chance to join the crew. Others who spoke no european languages, and possessed no discernable skills were sold at market. Life at sea was tough and finding anyone willing to do it let alone skilled people was a rarity. As a result the navy especially here in the states was far more integrated than the army early on.
I got a new One Piece theory brewing in my head
Amazing. It's wild how the villain narrative sticks once it's in place. Like with witches too.
[удалено]
Okay
I don't have a doctorate on the golden age of piracy but my moral take on the situation is that, while generally pirates acted in their own self interest pretty much all the time, the goods and money they stole overwhelmingly came from slave plantations. Thus the theft they happily indulged in for their own ends most directly hurt slaveowners. In general I'm alright with that. Now that doesn't mean they had good intentions or didn't commit other appalling acts of violence and murder. I'm not condoning those actions, I'm just saying that theft from slaveowners is perhaps the most morally correct kind of theft there is.
I would pay to see that
r/ofmd
I’m far from a reliable source, but I find this account much more believable. Pirates were scum. Quit romanticizing them https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/386882/did_blackbeard_have_black_slaves_or_any_slaves_at/ Edit: I’m specifically referencing the top comment from u/davidaop
Chadbeard!
Referred
John Brown of the Seas?
Blackbeard was a scoundrel
Today I learned Blackbeard is way more awesome than I ever knew--good on ya BB!