Fresh from yesterday’s interview the author of The Privateer, Danielle Thorne, returns to Bart’s Bookshelf today, to tell us about The Queen Anne’s Revenge and her legendary captain, Blackbeard

It’s a beautiful day at sea. The sun is warm, the breeze whipping through the canvas sails. You hear the spotter’s cry and look over your shoulder. Fear slams you in the gut like a cannonball: You and your crew are being followed, and the menacing phantom behind you is flying no quarter.

This is no imaginary story. Two hundred and ninety-one years ago, a 200-ton wooden ship called The Queen Anne’s Revenge did just that. And her captain was the elusive Edward Teach. Pirates roamed the Caribbean and eastern seaboard of America during the Golden Age of Piracy, and the most famous of them all, Edward Teach, known as Blackbeard, has returned.

In 1996 Governor James Hunt of North Carolina announced that Blackbeard’s flagship had been discovered. A research firm searching Beaufort’s Inlet off the coast of North Carolina came across the heavily armed remains of a frigate in the presumed location of The Queen Anne. State underwater archeologists were called out and more than a decade later, the booty from Blackbeard’s most notorious prize has risen from the murky depths.

The Queen Anne was originally a French slave ship known as La Concorde. Easily captured by Blackbeard and his wily sloops off the coast of Martinique in 1717, the re-christened frigate became the flagship for the swelling party of pirates. They spent several months pillaging the Caribbean before turning toward the Carolinas. There, Blackbeard attempted to lay siege to the city of Charleston, and after a rather successful week, accepted a medicine chest in exchange for his prisoners.

Weeks later, around the 10th of June, 1818, The Queen Anne’s Revenge and her party ran aground attempting to enter Beaufort’s Inlet. Blackbeard and his crew had plenty of time to remove their valuables and he escaped with a few of his faithful crew to Ocracoke Island along the outer banks. As The Queen Anne settled into her watery grave, her captain escaped death for almost six more months. Robert Maynard, a Royal Navy Lieutenant, tracked him down and the officer and pirate dueled to the death aboard the naval sloop, Jane. Blackbeard was beheaded, and his head hung from the Jane’s bowsprit in celebration. A fitting end to a fearless and troublesome buccaneer.

So what has The Queen Anne revealed? State archaeologists working with the North Carolina Maritime Museum have spend the last ten years carefully dredging, sifting, cleaning and cataloging artifacts. Because of the wreck’s location, it is agreed that it will eventually disappear due to storms and currents, thus the careful resurfacing of the precious cargo. The list is impressive. Items range from glass bottles, pewter dinnerware, and parts of small firearms, to cannons, an anchor, and ballast. Clues such as syringes hint that the men were treating themselves, probably for syphilis, a common companion. Evidence of cattle, fish, and pig bones speak of a varied diet aboard ship at the time of her demise.

What is it about pirates that fill us with excitement? Tropical islands? Buried treasure? Or just the hum of the water passing alongside a seaworthy vessel? Even before Robert Louis Stevenson penned TREASURE ISLAND in 1883, man has always dreamed of adventure at sea. Disney’s 2003 film, “Pirates of the Caribbean” renewed public interest and affection for those scallywags, but the truth is, some of them were very dangerous men.

It’s believed that Blackbeard was a part of the Queen Anne’s War (1701) where he served as a privateer. This evidence shows that not all pirates started out as criminals. Many were drafted into the lifestyle by the point of the sword, having no choice when their ships were captured. It was these men, and those small boys that often paid for piracy with their lives.

This month sees the release of my pirating novel, THE PRIVATEER. My inspiration, those common jacks forced into piracy, made me question what kind of stories there were aboard these plundering ships. Did crew members ever escape and go on to live productive lives as good citizens? Did all pirates live like kings?

I found it convenient to place my hero, Julius Bertrand, aboard Blackbeard’s ship as a young boy. The timing was right and the situation plausible. Bertrand is my literary answer to what might have happened to young man with a pirate past. He accepts the pardon that Blackbeard rejected; the pardon offered by Governor Woodes Rogers of the Bahamas, and begins a new chapter in his life as a spy and privateer. Thus with this background, THE PRIVATEER begins.

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THE PRIVATEER brings humanity and emotion to theories about life during the Golden Age. The recovery of The Queen Anne brings all of the folktales and legends to life.

• You can find out more about The Queen Anne’s recovery at their website.
• You can view astounding footage documented by Nautilus Productions at their website.

If you missed it yesterday, don’t forget to check out, the fantastic interview Danielle gave Bart’s Bookshelf, yesterday.

After that, dive into a good book by purchasing THE PRIVATEER at http://www.awe-struck.net. You may just find the kind of pirate you’ve been looking for.

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