"When I grow up, I
want to be a fireman!" "I want to
be an
astronaut!" "I want to be a cowboy!"
These three desires are common dream occupations of all
children
around the world. How can we blame them? They seem like
they would be
very fun, adventurous, and unpredictable jobs. Embarrassingly
enough,
some of us just don't grow out of our dream occupations. But, I
left
out one of the top childhood dream jobs: "I want to be a pirate!"
Every boy has
dressed up like a pirate for at least one Halloween. Sometimes, I
wish
I could go back a few years and dress up with my eye patch, wooden
leg, and some
loot from my most recent treasure
hunt!
Pirates are a famous theme in American legends. You can
see pirates in popular films such as the "Pirates
of
the Caribbean,"
and in children's movies, like "Hook."
Pirates are a part of our world's history. Some stories
about pirates are fictional, but many stories contain some truth behind
their adventures. Many pirate legends have been created by adding
fictional information to one of their real adventures.
Several pirate legends have even become famous around American culture!
In this Storybook, you
will read about a historical
pirate, Blackbeard. Blackbeard is arguably the most famous pirate
in America's history. Many people have written stories about
Blackbeard's life, and his adventurous pirating career. I
will retell some of these legends about Blackbeard the pirate in this
Storybook, but before I do this, I must tell you a little bit about
Blackbeard's life.
Blackbeard's real name
was Edward Teach. He was a
very large man who terrified many people. His notorious pirating
career took place in the Caribbean
Sea.
Blackbeard was born
around 1680 in Bristol, England.
He began his career as a ordinary crewman on a ship commanded by
Captain Benjamin Hornigold.
Hornigold took Teach under his wing. When they captured a French
slave ship named "Concord," Hornigold made Teach the captain of that
ship. Teach decided to renamed his ship "Queen Anne's Revenge."
Edward Teach acquired the alias
"Blackbeard"
because of his very large beard. Blackbeard had headquarters in
the
Bahamas and the Carolinas.
Blackbeard attacked
ships in the Caribbean
and all up and down the
Atlantic coast. He and his
crew
would take every valuable they could find, leaving nothing
behind. These attacks were getting to be a major problem for the
Governor of Virginia,
as he sent out many men to hunt Blackbeard down.
The Governor's men
chased Blackbeard down and cornered
him off the
coast of Ocrakoke, Virginia. There is a legend that has been told
that Blackbeard
was
shot and stabbed more than twenty-five times before he actually
died.
Blackbeard was a tremendously strong, rebellious, and adventurous
pirate who terrorized many seas including the Caribbean.
In this Storybook
I will retell four great
legends of Blackbeard. We will listen to Blackbeard's grandson,
Longbeard, tell his version of these amazing stories. His
grandson will take us on a journey through Blackbeard's final battle,
his ghost that haunts the
sea, the first time he shot a shipmate, and his lost treasure that
still remains at the bottom of the sea.
Back to Storybook Coverpage