Blackbeard- The Birth of America

by Samuel Marquis

  He took a breath of the morning air and sighed contentedly. Spring had come to Virginia and with it the pleasant perfume of irises, peonies, and other perennials, Carolina sweet shrub, flowering dogwood, oak-leaved hydrangea, and red buckeye. The sun shone down resplendently and a periwinkle-blue sky loomed overhead. He was comfortable in his red velvet tail jacket, knee breeches, and buckled black leather shoes as he started for the front entrance.

  “You’ve nearly bankrupted the colony to build the damned thing, but I have to admit it is a beauty.”

  He turned to see his principal adversary, Philip Ludwell the Younger, staring at him pugnaciously beneath his brand-new tricorn hat. He looked at his watch: 09:08 hours. He had hoped to avoid getting into an argument with Ludwell or his belligerent cronies until this afternoon’s Assembly session, when he knew it couldn’t be avoided.

  “Yes, it is wonderful. I am so glad you approve, Philip.”

  “I don’t approve and you shouldn’t have built it in the first place. Not at the taxpayers’ expense.”

  “Well, it’s almost finished now and I’m paying for much of the landscaping and perimeter walls from my own pocket. Even that should be satisfactory to the great Philip the Younger.”

  “Don’t call me that. I don’t like that name.”

  “And I don’t like being called a proverbial skunk. Now what is your business here today, Mr. Ludwell. I trust that we can carry on in a civil fashion from this point forward.”

  “Further complaints have been made to His Majesty regarding your many abuses of power. I came by to see if there was anything I should add to the list before this afternoon’s plenary session.”

  “That is ridiculous. You’re just trying to lure me into a trap on the off chance I might say something compromising that you can later use against me.”

  Ludwell grinned with grudging approval at the observation. “At least you’re a clever adversary, I’ll give ye that. I don’t know how you and I could possibly go on like this if you were a complete dullard. But mark my words, you will not remain in your post for long if you do not stand down on this issue of erecting courts of oyer and terminer. You, sir, are a tyrant, and we will stand no more of it.”

  “Is that so? I think you’re forgetting one thing: the power to erect courts rests with the Crown—which here in Virginia is me, Mr. Ludwell—and the governor can appoint commissions to investigate any matter with or exclusive of the Council.”

  “The issue here is whether you have grossly exceeded your authority—on behalf of selfish motives.”

  “No, the issue here is whether the governor or his Council should be paramount in the public affairs of Virginia. And on that score, Mr. Ludwell, the Board of Trade backed by the Crown has made its position well known to all here in the colonies. You may have defeated me and forced me to repeal the Indian and Tobacco Acts, but you do not control me as you would a puppet. Much to your consternation.”

  “You need to come down off your high and mighty perch and listen to the voice of the people.”

  “You, the voice of the people? Your only reason for existence—and that of the Council and Burgesses as well—is to line your own pockets, to acquire as many Negroes and sell as much low-quality tobacco as possible, and to exploit the poor Indians. All you care about is profit so don’t blather on all holier-than-thou to me like Reverend Blair.”

  “A man needs to know when to stand down.”

  “Like a slave, is that it?”

  Ludwell scanned the area, casting his gaze in the direction of the more than a dozen slaves tending to the gardens, performing construction and carpentry activities, tilling soil, hauling supplies, and clearing brush and objects at the Palace Green and immediately surrounding areas. “You should know,” he said. “You seem to have more slaves than anyone else in Williamsburg.”

  “And I treat them well.”

  “They’re still slaves, Lieutenant Governor. Ye couldn’t possibly treat them that well.”

  Feeling his anger building up, he began walking for the ornamental iron gates. “I believe we’re done here, Philip. If you can’t be civil, there is really no reason to continue this discussion.”

  “I’m afraid I’m just getting started. There is a common theme here, Mr. Lieutenant Governor, that me and my colleagues want to make sure you understand. We want you less—not more—involved in colonial affairs. And yet, I have recently learned that you have been busy laying the groundwork for an offensive against pirates in Virginia waters—and apparently anywhere else you see fit.”

  “What of it? As colonial governor, I am the commander of local militia and all naval forces in this colony. As a matter of fact, my commission specifically gives me the right to execute everything which doth and of right ought to belong to the governor.”

  “I’m afraid me and my associates don’t view piracy with the same jaundiced eye you do.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Mr. Perry, myself, and the other members of the gentry do not mind English pirates, so long as they prey only on vessels of other nations or simply take provisions as needed. Indeed, privateers are often good for our business and help bring in low-priced goods to diversify our assets.”

  “That is seditious talk, especially coming from someone who represents one of Virginia’s finest families.”

  “Seditious or not, one man’s so-called pirate is another man’s much-needed smuggler.”

  “Is that so? I was of the impression that piracy was uniformly bad for trade and, therefore, only hurt your pocket.”

  “It is true that of late there have been far too many British victims of English pirates, especially on the Virginia coast where my good friend Mr. Perry and I conduct our business. But not all sea rovers need be lumped into the category of murderous cutthroats and barbarians in order to fulfill the greedy prerogatives of ye governorship.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Pirate incursions make you appear weak and incapable of protecting the colony’s merchants. That is one reason why you want to rein in the pirates. But your main reason is you want to profit.”

  “As I laid out earlier in the week, if the violated owners can prove the property stolen by the pirates is theirs, the produce must be paid to them according to His Majesty’s treaties, allowing a usual salvage to those who rescued them from the pirates. If no claimer appears, the same comes to the King, but no doubt his Majesty will think fit to reward the officers of his ships and others concerned in so considerable a service as the destruction of pirates.”

  “That is just another example of your overreach and precisely why you are always butting heads with us. Under your approach, the onus is on the wronged shipowners to make the case for ownership to the Virginian authorities, not for you the governor to try to seek out the original owners. You just want to keep the money and control of the restitution process for yourself.”

  “My foremost goal is protection of the colony.”

  “No, your foremost priority is to distract the Council and House of Burgesses from your own failing administration. That’s why anti-piracy has become a singular obsession for you, your closest associates, and a few hirelings.”

  “How dare ye talk to me like that. I am a gentleman, but even a gentleman has limits to his patience.”

  “The only reason you have yet to be locked up for exceeding your authority in this regard is because this obsession of yours reflects the most fervent wishes of the Board of Trade and the Admiralty, both of whom you are so eager to flatter.”

  “And you have become so blinded by the prospect of removing me from my post, you are no longer fit for public office. Your intransigence knows no bounds.”

  “You have to accept the fact that most of the civilian residents of this colony and our Carolina friends to the south are not as committed to eradicating the sea rovers as you are.”

  “Thanks to the Boston News-Letter, that is changing. Now even your stubborn provincial townspeople and yeomen
are changing their views.”

  “Those articles are mostly propaganda. They exaggerate the actual attacks on British shipping to ensure that the pirates are cast in an evil light. They stopped being factual accounts of the sea robberies more than six months ago.”

  “Are you saying that newspaper-inspired anti-pirate attitudes are on the rise and we are being led to the trough by tellers of tall tales?”

  “No, but the accuracy of the supposedly factual details can no longer be trusted.”

  “Well, the newspapers may not be able to be trusted, but Captain Ellis Brand of the HMS Lyme protecting our waters most certainly can be.”

  “Is that who you’re getting your information from?”

  “That is none of your business. All you need to know is that as governor, I have control over the Admiralty.”

  “In Virginia’s coastal waters—and nowhere else.”

  “That is up for me to decide.”

  “No, sir, it is not—and once again, this is yet another example of you overestimating your authority. You think I have been tough on you this morning—just wait until we’re in session this afternoon. I believe you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do, Mr. Lieutenant Governor.”

  “As are ye, Mr. Ludwell, when I make clear the extent of your seditious comments on my nice green lawn.”

  Ludwell grinned defiantly. “Your days are numbered.”

  Spotswood returned the challenge with a challenging expression of his own. “No, it is the pirates’ days that are numbered, Mr. Ludwell. Especially that black-bearded hooligan Edward Thache I keep hearing about. It is high time he and his crew paid a little visit to our Execution Dock. Then they’ll find out what happens to those who defy the Crown.”

  CHAPTER 36

  NASSAU

  MAY 5, 1718

  “SO, WHAT’S THE GOOD WORD, EDWARD? Have you made your plans regarding your future?”

  Thache took a gulp of his ale, sighed with satisfaction, and set down the pewter tankard on the table. He and his fellow pirate captain friend Paulsgrave Williams were seated beneath a sailcloth awning in Nassau’s leading open-air alehouse overlooking the sparkling harbor: the Blue Parrot. They had debated their futures at length over prodigious bottles of rum during an unusually raucous evening celebration, even by Nassau standards, shortly after he had shipped into port yesterday afternoon; but at that point he still hadn’t decided upon a plan. But today he knew. Despite his brutal hangover, he had made up his mind regarding his future and it involved leaving the Caribbean behind. Perhaps for good.

  “As a matter of fact, I have made my decision.”

  The middle-aged silversmith from a wealthy Rhode Island family—who had left behind a wife and two young children to go to sea with Samuel Bellamy— grinned devilishly. “And what would that be, Mr. Blackbeard the Pyrate?”

  Thache chuckled at the jovial sarcasm. “The commodore is heading north.”

  “Oh, commodore are we now? Blackbeard the commodore. I like it very much. Now what point of the compass would our esteemed commodore and his flotilla be heading? Would said commodore be in search of a fair maiden named Margaret of Marcus Hook by chance?”

  “That is definitely high on the priority list. That is, if she’ll still have me.”

  “That’s what a romantic like me likes to hear. You’re going to lose that fine lass if you don’t get your arse up there and ask her to marry ye.”

  “I know that.”

  “So you’re sailing north to see your sweetheart. You do remember what happened to our mutual friend Black Sam when he sailed north to see his dearly beloved, one Maria ‘Goody’ Hallett.”

  “Believe me, the coincidence has not been lost on me. I can only hope that I have better luck than our Sam.”

  Williams raised his tankard. “To Black Sam—God bless our beloved Robin Hood of the high seas. He was one of a kind.”

  Thache raised his ale. “Indeed he was. To Black Sam!”

  Williams echoed him and they tossed back their ale and quickly ordered two more from the young and attractive mullato bar maid. Thache couldn’t help but notice that the female population had not only grown in the past two years, but grown far more youthful and attractive. There were a particularly high number of West Indian, Negro, and mulatto women on the island that had managed to secure work as bar keeps and maids, seamstresses, bookkeepers, and laundresses, though sporting women and spouses still made up the largest percentage of female roles.

  “You’re not really sailing north just to see your beloved Margaret?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “So, you’ll be taking plenty of plunder and are not planning on taking the King’s pardon?”

  “No, I plan to take plenty of plunder and then accept the King’s pardon.”

  “Oh, you devil you. And where will you be doing your plundering and to which governor do you plan to request the King’s most gracious pardon?”

  “The crew voted to take one last crack at the Florida wrecks and then sail up the coast for the Carolinas and Delaware Capes. Once we’re north, a portion of us are planning on obtaining pardons from Governor Eden of North Carolina. My Bath County lads say he’s a man we can trust, and North Carolina has been so hard hit by Indians wars, Virginia’s restrictive tobacco legislation, and internal political bickering that she is in dire need of revenue. That’s where we come in. But first we need to take a dozen valuable prizes or so to make sure we can make a hefty contribution to the North Carolina office of customs. It will be a clean slate and new beginning mutually beneficial to both parties.”

  “But King George’s royal proclamation only allows for the pardoning of piracies committed before January 5 of this year. You have been quite busy since that time, have you not?”

  “But Governor Eden doesn’t know that.”

  “I have heard of this Eden. Some of the men in the other companies have said the same thing about him, that he is the best choice to ask for a pardon. Just bring plenty of gold dust, coin, and supplies and you should have little trouble winning him over, or so it is said.”

  “Aye verily, but I have also actually met him.”

  “You know his governorship? Why aren’t you the high and mighty one.”

  “Says the scion of one of the richest families of Rhode Island. But seriously, I had dinner at the home of customs inspector Tobias Knight and I met the governor there. Knight invited the captain of my ship at the time and me to a fine meal of ham and pudding. That was four years ago when I was sailing as mate out of Philadelphia and had just delivered a ship of armaments for the North Carolina militia. They were in a terrible fight with the Tuscarora at the time. I saw them several months later on a voyage to deliver more powder and weapons, farming implements, cocoa, and rice.”

  “So you know these North Carolina men? They’ll look favorably upon you?”

  “I don’t know about that. But they were grateful for us bringing muskets, sabers, and powder for their stores, as well as the items we delivered to their colony during my second visit. They will remember me.”

  “Having some familiarity with a man is one thing. But being able to sail up to his docks and deliver pouches filled with gold dust, casks of sugar, and bags of flour and cocoa will no doubt be far more persuasive.”

  “I would say both make a difference.”

  “You said you were going to take prizes on your way north to Bath Town. Are you planning on visiting Charles Town per chance?”

  “As a matter of fact, my plan is to blockade its port.”

  “Blockade? You’re going to blockade Charles Town?”

  He held his finger to his mouth. “Shush, not so loud. I haven’t told my crew yet of my intentions.”

  “You haven’t?”

  “No, and I don’t intend to until we get underway. I’ll tell you why all the secrecy in a moment, but needless to say blockading Charles Town can be done. Bonnet himself did it a year ago.”

  “The disgraced lubber blockaded the Sout
h Carolina capital?”

  “Aye, he’s the one that gave me the idea. You see, all commercial vessels entering the harbor are forced to travel over a shoal and through a narrow channel. Bonnet was able to blockade the port in the Revenge, but he had to confine himself to a hit-and-run operation. He fled the scene before the city’s residents came after him in their own sloops. But with my powerful fleet, I would have nothing to fear from the little armed sloops of Charles Town’s merchants.”

  “What about the Royal Navy?”

  “They have no permanent presence in the Carolinas, and even if a frigate happened to be in the harbor, it couldn’t stand up to the firepower of my Queen Anne’s Revenge and four consort sloops.”

  “By the devil’s teeth, you’ll bring the entire colony to its knees. Why you could even hold the town itself for ransom.”

  Thache leaned in towards his friend. “I’m doing it for different reasons than you think, Paul. Aye, it’s about profit and sticking it to the Crown—but there’s also another important reason to blockade the city. For me, it’s the main reason.”

  “What is it?”

  “My crew is in bad need of medical supplies.”

  “Medical supplies? What, you have an outbreak on your hands?”

  “It’s the pox.”

  “An outbreak of syphilis, is it?”

  He nodded solemnly. “Since the last time I saw ye, I have nearly fifty men that have come down with it, or have had it worsen to where it has become a real problem. If I don’t get them medical help, they’re going to die. Several are already mad as hatters—and getting worse every day. Some suffer only from rashes, fevers, sore throats, and bad headaches, but others be far worse. Some are disorientated and confused, others weak and irritable, still others are violently angry all the time. It’s driving me out of my mind and I’ve got to get them help. We had some mercury treatment devices—the doctors call them urethral syringes—from the La Concorde’s doctors and other prizes we’ve taken, but our supplies have run out. We need more devices and more of the mercury.”