Apropos of nothing in particular. Just an interesting read.

Something unthinkable happened during the summer of 1718. Edward Teach, the infamous pirate known as Blackbeard, decided to give up piracy—at least ostensibly—in exchange for a royal pardon from the governor of North Carolina absolving him and his men of all wrongdoing.

Edward Teach - the pirate Blackbeard
Barbanera (Blackbeard) the nickname of pirate Edward Teach (1680 -1718)

This was a great deal for the pirates, whose wrongdoing was extensive. But Blackbeard’s lawfulness—and his life—didn’t last long.

Just a few months prior, Blackbeard and his small pirate flotilla had blockaded Charleston, South Carolina, for close to a week. He plundered ships, took hostages and “struck a great terror to the whole Province of Carolina,” according to the pseudonymous author Captain Charles Johnson.

Read the rest at the Smithsonian Magazine.