{"id":21945,"date":"2018-06-01T08:58:16","date_gmt":"2018-06-01T12:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/?p=10437"},"modified":"2024-05-21T15:54:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T19:54:08","slug":"a-pirates-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/a-pirates-life\/","title":{"rendered":"A Pirate\u2019s Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
Above: <\/em>The Capture of the Pirate, Blackbeard, 1718, depicts a notorious battle in Ocracoke Bay. By Jean Leon Gerome Ferris\/Public Domain <\/em><\/p>\n Blackbeard was a paragon of a pirate. During the early 18th century<\/a>, he stalked the shipping lanes of the Atlantic and Caribbean. His ship was, perhaps, as notorious as his name.<\/p>\n In late 1717, Blackbeard commandeered a French vessel called La Concorde<\/em>, renaming it Queen Anne\u2019s Revenge<\/em>. After a spate of fruitful acquisitions of booty and crew, he set his sights on North Carolina.<\/p>\n It was the beginning of the end. Whether by design or bad luck, the Queen Anne\u2019s Revenge<\/em> ran aground in June 1718. Blackbeard ventured to Ocracoke, where he met his fate six months later.<\/p>\n This year marks the 300th anniversary<\/a> of Blackbeard\u2019s adventures along the N.C. coast. Pirate fans and scholars are marking the occasion with activities across the state.<\/p>\n \u201cCelebrating Blackbeard and the Golden Age of Piracy gives us an opportunity to talk about and celebrate North Carolina\u2019s maritime history in a fun and engaging way,\u201d says Michele Walker, a public information officer with the N.C. Department of Cultural and Natural Resources<\/a>, or DNCR.<\/p>\n A June symposium at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort<\/a> will offer a scholarly look at piracy in the state. An exhibit on the Queen Anne\u2019s Revenge<\/em> is on tour. And if you\u2019re headed to Ocracoke, you might notice Blackbeard flags waving from the ferries.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the state\u2019s QAR Conservation Lab<\/a> continues to make discoveries about the Queen Anne\u2019s Revenge<\/em>. \u201cThey found these little, bitty pieces of pape<\/a>r that turned out to be from a book,\u201d Walker says. \u201cIt\u2019s the first time we were ever able to actually document a specific book that may have been on a pirate ship from that era.\u201d<\/p>\n For more Blackbeard research and anniversary events, check out the DCNR\u2019s Pirate Portal<\/a>. For more about Sea Grant\u2019s history with the Queen Anne\u2019s Revenge Project, read this <\/a>Coastwatch<\/a><\/em> article<\/a>.<\/p>\n