Edward Teach Biography

Edward Teach (or Thatch) was Blackbeard the Pirate, an infamous prowler of the waters off the southeastern coast of the American colonies from around 1713 to 1718. Not much is known about his early life, but by 1717 he was well-known along the coast of the Carolinas. Recognized by his big, black beard and flamboyant clothing, Teach had a reputation for being a ruthless and successful pirate leader. He captured a French ship, La Concorde, in the Caribbean in 1717 and renamed it Queen Anne’s Revenge. With two other ships Blackbeard ravaged ships around the Caribbean and the American coast for several months, until Lt. Robert Maynard of the British Royal Navy defeated him in battle at Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina (22 November 1718).