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But countless books, plays and movies-from Treasure Island to Pirates of the Caribbean-would later bring a romanticized version of that era squarely into the public eye. The so-called Golden Age of Piracy, of which Blackbeard was a major part, would only last a few more years. Legend holds that he received 20 stab wounds and five gunshot wounds before finally succumbing. After laying low for a few months in North Carolina, Blackbeard was killed in battle with the British Navy. With that extra firepower he then blockaded the port of Charleston, South Carolina, until the town’s residents met his demands for a large chest of medicine. In November 1717 he captured a French slave ship, later renamed the Queen Anne’s Revenge, and refitted it with 40 guns. Blackbeardīorn Edward Teach, Blackbeard intimidated enemies by coiling smoking fuses into his long, braided facial hair and by slinging multiple pistols and daggers across his chest. He was then tried and executed, and his decaying body was displayed from the banks of the River Thames as a warning to other pirates. Having run afoul of the powerful British East India Company, Kidd was arrested before making it back to England. A massive defection left him with a skeleton crew for the journey home, which included a stop at New York’s Gardiners Island to bury treasure. But he soon turned pirate himself, capturing vessels such as the Quedagh Merchant and killing a subordinate with a wooden bucket.
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Once a respected privateer, Captain William Kidd set sail in 1696 with the assignment of hunting down pirates in the Indian Ocean. How Military Service Teams Dominated College Football During World War II Captain Kidd
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