He was a real-life pirate of the Caribbean, who carefully cultivated a bloodthirsty reputation that struck fear through seafarers. Now, almost 300 years after Blackbeard's death, marine archaeologists have discovered a huge anchor and an arsenal of "improvised" ammunition from the wreck of his flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge.
New evidence about the terrifying and deadly tactics employed by Blackbeard is emerging from the diving expedition on the vessel’s presumed remains. The divers have discovered that weapons used by the pirate were not only intended to kill but were designed to strike terror into survivors and force them into a swift surrender.
The shipwreck lies in about 25ft of water just off the coast of the American state of North Carolina and the expedition to recover artefacts is being led by the state’s Department of Cultural Resources.
During the two-week exploration, the team aimed to recover a 1.4 ton (3,000lb) anchor from the ship, which they have now successfully raised.
They are also searching for three large “artefact conglomerates” – or “clusters” of metallic objects – which, as they have deteriorated, have stuck together. Once on the surface, the items can be separated up into their constituent parts and identified. The “conglomerates” – which cover areas of up to a metre and a half by a metre square of the sea bed – are thought to contain an unusual assortment of “improvised” missiles and weaponry used by the pirate to inflict both terror and casualties on enemy ships.
On earlier dives, the researchers have found evidence of a range of “makeshift” devices, such as canvas bags filled with a lethal mass of lead shot, nails, spikes and glass and then fired from the cannon, pouring a deadly hail of projectiles onto opponents. This type of bundled ammunition was known as “langrage” and was not used by Royal Navy ships, according to 18th-century documents.
The ship’s unusual arsenal already identified also includes nine-inch bolts, which were pushed down in the barrels of cannons and would by fired out by a cannonball loaded behind them, as well as “double-headed” cannonballs – where two are linked together by a bar or chain – and which produced a spinning effect when fired from cannon and were effective at bringing down rigging.
The researchers’ bid to bring the ordnance to the surface comes as Blackbeard himself is resurrected in the new film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which was released earlier this month. His ship is also depicted in the new film, in which the pirate is portrayed by British actor Ian McShane, while his fictional daughter, Angelica, is played by Penelope Cruz.
The leader of the expedition and deputy state archaeologist, Dr Mark Wilde-Ramsing, said: “This vessel is heavily armed but the crew are not using that many cannonballs. Mostly, they seem to have used these improvised missiles that can be used to take out the crew or disarm the other ship’s sails.
“These weapons would terrorise the enemy. It is all part of Blackbeard’s terror tactics. These are the sorts of things we hope we can find in these conglomerates. I think we will see more contrivances like that which will shed light on the kind of person he was.”
Angus Konstam, author of Piracy: The Complete History, said: “The improvised charges show a lot of ingenuity on the part of the pirates. These would have been anti-personal charges. They wouldn’t do much damage to a ship but would do a lot of damage to people in it. Their aim was to capture a ship by intimidation and leave it in pristine condition. They didn’t want to damage the ship or its cargo.”
During the expedition, which ends this week, the team are also fixing experimental zinc anodes to any large metal items they are not yet able to recover, including cannons.
The devices will conserve the artefacts before they can be brought to the surface by slowing, and possibly even reversing, the process of corrosion.
The wreck was first discovered in 1997 and the state government is now behind a scheme, similar in scale to the Mary Rose project, to excavate and recover items from the ship, before it is lost, as sand around the vessel is eroded away by storms.
A further recovery expedition is planned for the autumn.
Blackbeard is believed to have been born Edward Teach, or Edward Thatch, in Bristol, in 1680. He fought as a privateer for the British, attacking Spanish and French ships in the War of the Spanish Succession, before turning to piracy. His troop captured a French slave ship called La Concorde near the Caribbean island of St Vincent in November 1717 and renamed it Queen Anne’s Revenge. It became his flagship, sailing alongside three smaller sloops.
The ship ran aground on a sandbank about a mile from shore on June 10 1718, as Blackbeard’s flotilla of four vessels was heading for Beaufort Inlet, in the then British colony of North Carolina.
Blackbeard’s striking appearance and character has inspired many subsequent depictions of pirates. He is said to have had 14 wives, and would tie burning fuses into his long beard before battle to give himself a demonic appearance. His flag depicted a skeleton spearing a heart while toasting the devil.
It has been claimed that he deliberately cultivated a fearsome reputation so enemy sailors would not put up a fight, allowing him to seize vessels without the need for violence.
After the loss of his flagship, Blackbeard sought and was granted a pardon. But he continued to seize ships, and the Royal Navy were sent to track him down. He was killed in a battle in November 1718, after which his head was cut off and his body tossed overboard.
According to legend, his headless corpse swam around his ship five times before he finally died. His head was attached to the bowsprit of a Navy ship and his skull was later used as a punch bowl
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