Editing Blackbeard (section)

==Modern view==
{{See also|Blackbeard in popular culture}}
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{{Quote box |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=center | quote = We normally think about pirates as sort of blood-lusting, that they want to slash somebody to pieces. [It's probably more likely that] a pirate, just like a normal person, would probably rather not have killed someone, but pirates knew that if that person resisted them and they didn't do something about it, their reputation and thus their brand name would be impaired. So you can imagine a pirate rather reluctantly engaging in this behavior as a way of preserving that reputation. | source = Peter Leeson<ref name="Leeson">{{Citation | last = Matson | first = John | title = What Would Blackbeard Do? Why Piracy Pays | url = http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=pirates-rational-choice&page=2 | publisher = scientificamerican.com | page = 2 | date = 26 November 2008 | access-date = 20 February 2010 | archive-date = 27 January 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120127191944/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=pirates-rational-choice&page=2 | url-status = live }}</ref> | align = right | width = 33%}}
Official views on pirates were sometimes quite different from those held by contemporary authors, who often described their subjects as despicable rogues of the sea.  Privateers who became pirates were generally considered by the English government to be reserve naval forces, and were sometimes given active encouragement; as far back as 1581 [[Francis Drake]] was knighted by [[Elizabeth I|Queen Elizabeth]], when he returned to England from a round-the-world expedition with plunder worth an estimated £1,500,000.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lee|1974|p=5}}</ref> Royal pardons were regularly issued, usually when England was on the verge of war, and the public's opinion of pirates was often favourable, some considering them akin to patrons.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lee|1974|p=168}}</ref> Economist [[Peter Leeson]] believes that pirates were generally shrewd businessmen, far removed from the modern, romanticised view of them as barbarians.<ref name="Leeson"/> After Woodes Rogers' 1718 landing at New Providence and his ending of the [[Republic of Pirates|pirate republic]], piracy in the West Indies fell into terminal decline.  With no easily accessible outlet to fence their stolen goods, pirates were reduced to a subsistence livelihood, and following almost a century of naval warfare between the British, French and Spanish—during which sailors could find easy employment—lone privateers found themselves outnumbered by the powerful ships employed by the [[British Empire]] to defend its merchant fleets.  The popularity of the slave trade helped bring to an end the frontier condition of the West Indies, and in these circumstances, piracy was no longer able to flourish as it once did.<ref>{{Harvnb|Woodbury|1951|pp=201–208}}</ref>

Since the end of the [[Golden Age of Piracy]], Teach and his exploits have become the stuff of lore, inspiring books, films and even amusement park rides.  Much of what is known about him can be sourced to Charles Johnson's ''[[A General Historie of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates]]'', published in Britain in 1724.<ref>{{Harvnb|Woodard|2007|p=325}}</ref> A recognised authority on the pirates of his time, Johnson's descriptions of such figures as [[Anne Bonny]] and [[Mary Read]] were for years required reading for those interested in the subject.<ref name="Leepp89"/> Readers were titillated by his stories and a second edition was quickly published, though author Angus Konstam suspects that Johnson's entry on Blackbeard was "coloured a little to make a more sensational story."{{refn|Amongst many questionable "facts" in Johnson's account is the encounter between Teach and {{HMS|Scarborough|1711|6}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Konstam|2007|p=90}}</ref> Neither the log of the ''Scarborough'' nor the letters of its captain mention such an encounter; historian Colin Woodard believes that Johnson confused and conflated two actual events: the ''Scarborough''{{'}}s battle against John Martel's band and Blackbeard's close encounter with another warship, {{HMS|Seaford|1697|6}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|Woodard|2007|pp=222–223}}</ref>|group="nb"}}  ''A General Historie'', though, is generally considered to be a reliable source.<ref name="Konstamp4">{{Harvnb|Konstam|2007|p=4}}</ref><ref name="Konstampp12">{{Harvnb|Konstam|2007|pp=1–2}}</ref> Johnson may have been an assumed alias.  As Johnson's accounts have been corroborated in personal and official dispatches, Lee (1974) considers that whoever he was, he had some access to official correspondence.<ref name="Leepp89">{{Harvnb|Lee|1974|pp=8–9}}</ref> Konstam speculates further, suggesting that Johnson may have been the English playwright [[Charles Johnson (writer)|Charles Johnson]], the British publisher [[Charles Rivington]], or the writer [[Daniel Defoe]].<ref name="Konstampp12"/> In his 1951 work ''The Great Days of Piracy'', author George Woodbury wrote that Johnson is "obviously a pseudonym", continuing "one cannot help suspecting that he may have been a pirate himself."<ref>{{Harvnb|Woodbury|1951|p=198}}</ref>

[[File:Pirate Flag of Blackbeard (Edward Teach).svg|left|thumb|Teach was known to use black flags with death heads and "bloody flags"<ref name=mf/> which were meant to intimidate his enemies.<ref name="Konstam 2007 176–177">{{Harvnb|Konstam|2007|pp=176–177}}</ref> Nevertheless, the [[Flag of Blackbeard|flag which is commonly attributed to Blackbeard]] (pictured),<ref name=mf/> depicting a horned skeleton spearing a heart, while toasting the devil,<ref name="Konstam 2007 176–177"/> was probably never actually used by him.<ref name=mf/> ]]

Despite his infamy, Teach was not the most successful of pirates. [[Henry Every]] retired a rich man, and [[Bartholomew Roberts]] took an estimated five times the amount Teach stole.<ref>{{Harvnb|Konstam|2007|p=viii}}</ref> Treasure hunters have long busied themselves searching for any trace of his rumoured hoard of gold and silver, but nothing found in the numerous sites explored along the east coast of the US has ever been connected to him.  Some tales suggest that pirates often killed a prisoner on the spot where they buried their loot, and Teach is no exception in these stories,<ref>{{Citation | last = Ross | first = I. | title = Blackbeard | publisher = United States Naval Institute Proceedings | date = October 1974 | pages=72–74}}</ref> but that no finds have come to light is not exceptional; buried pirate treasure is often considered a modern myth for which almost no supporting evidence exists.  The available records include nothing to suggest that the burial of treasure was a common practice, except in the imaginations of the writers of fictional accounts such as ''[[Treasure Island]]''.  Such hoards would necessitate a wealthy owner, and their supposed existence ignores the command structure of a pirate vessel, in which the crew served for a share of the profit.<ref>{{Harvnb|Woodbury|1951|pp=131–133}}</ref> The only pirate ever known to bury treasure was [[William Kidd]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Konstam|2007|p=285}}</ref> The only treasure so far recovered from Teach's exploits is that taken from the wreckage of what is presumed to be the ''Queen Anne's Revenge'', which was found in 1996 by Intersal Inc., a private research firm.<ref>{{citation|title=QAR Discovered|url=http://www.lat3440.com/index.php/qar|publisher=Intersal, Inc.|access-date=30 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717033512/http://www.lat3440.com/index.php/qar|archive-date=17 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | title = In Shipwreck Linked to Pirate, State Sees a Tourism Treasure | work= The New York Times | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/09/us/in-shipwreck-linked-to-pirate-state-sees-a-tourism-treasure.html | date = 9 November 1997 | access-date = 21 April 2010 | page = 134 | archive-date = 4 April 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200404040425/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/11/09/us/in-shipwreck-linked-to-pirate-state-sees-a-tourism-treasure.html | url-status = live }}</ref> As of 2013 around 280,000 artefacts had been recovered from the wreck site,<ref>{{citation|title=A Motherlode Raised from Blackbeard's Pirate Ship |url=https://popular-archaeology.com/article/a-motherlode-raised-from-blackbeard-s-pirate-ship/ |access-date=27 July 2024 |work=Popular Archaeology |date=29 October 2013}}</ref> a selection of which is on public display at the [[North Carolina Maritime Museum]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Konstam|2007|p=288}}</ref>

Various [[Credulity|superstitious]] tales exist of Teach's ghost.  Unexplained lights at sea are often referred to as "Teach's light", and some recitals claim that the notorious pirate now roams the afterlife searching for his head, for fear that his friends, and the Devil, will not recognise him.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lee|1974|p=174}}</ref> A North Carolinian tale holds that Teach's skull was used as the basis for a silver drinking chalice; a local judge even claimed to have drunk from it one night in the 1930s.<ref>{{Harvnb|Whedbee|1989|pp=32–33}}</ref>

The name of Blackbeard has been attached to many local attractions, such as Charleston's Blackbeard's Cove.<ref>{{Citation | title = Blackbeard's Cove | url = http://www.blackbeardscove.net/ | publisher = blackbeardscove.net | year = 2007 | access-date = 21 April 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20010420183104/http://www.blackbeardscove.net/ | archive-date = 20 April 2001}}</ref> His name and persona have also featured heavily in literature.  He is the main subject of Matilda Douglas's fictional 1835 work ''Blackbeard: A page from the colonial history of Philadelphia''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Douglas|1835|p=34}}</ref>

Film renditions of his life include ''[[Blackbeard the Pirate]]'' (1952) starring [[West Country]] native [[Robert Newton]] whose exaggerated [[West Country English|West Country accent]] is credited with popularising the stereotypical "[[West Country English#Social stigma and future of the dialect|pirate voice]]",<ref>Parry, Dan (2006). ''Blackbeard: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean''. p. 174. National Maritime Museum</ref> ''[[Blackbeard's Ghost]]'' (1968), ''[[Blackbeard (2005 film)|Blackbeard: Terror at Sea]]'' (2005) and the 2006 [[Hallmark Channel]] miniseries ''[[Blackbeard (miniseries)|Blackbeard]]''. Parallels have also been drawn between Johnson's Blackbeard and the character of Captain [[Jack Sparrow]] in the 2003 adventure film ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Konstam|2007|pp=284–285}}</ref> Blackbeard is also portrayed as a central character in three TV series: by [[John Malkovich]] in [[Crossbones (TV series)|''Crossbones'']] (2014),<ref>{{citation|last1=Ostrow|first1=Joanne|title=John Malkovich is a bizarro Blackbeard in NBC's "Crossbones"|url=http://www.denverpost.com/2014/05/28/john-malkovich-is-a-bizarro-blackbeard-in-nbcs-crossbones/|access-date=24 October 2017|work=[[The Denver Post]]|date=28 May 2014|archive-date=23 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023063622/http://www.denverpost.com/2014/05/28/john-malkovich-is-a-bizarro-blackbeard-in-nbcs-crossbones/|url-status=live}}</ref> by [[Ray Stevenson (actor)|Ray Stevenson]] in seasons three and four of [[Black Sails (TV series)|''Black Sails'']] (2016–2017),<ref>{{citation|last1=Frielander|first1=Whitney|title='Divergent's' Ray Stevenson Joins Starz's 'Black Sails' as Blackbeard|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/black-sails-blackbeard-ray-stevenson-1201459131/|access-date=24 October 2017|work=Variety|date=24 March 2015|archive-date=15 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115060922/https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/black-sails-blackbeard-ray-stevenson-1201459131/|url-status=live}}</ref> and by [[Taika Waititi]] in ''[[Our Flag Means Death]]'' (2022).<ref>{{citation |last=Petski |first=Denise |date=15 September 2020 |title=HBO Max Orders Period Comedy 'Our Flag Means Death' From Taika Waititi & David Jenkins |url=https://deadline.com/2020/09/hbo-max-orders-period-comedy-our-flag-means-death-taika-waititi-david-jenkins-1234577122/ |accessdate=28 March 2022 |website=Deadline |archive-date=17 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917020439/https://deadline.com/2020/09/hbo-max-orders-period-comedy-our-flag-means-death-taika-waititi-david-jenkins-1234577122/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Hadadi |first=Roxana |date=24 March 2022 |title=What Makes a Taika Waititi TV Series a Taika Waititi TV Series? |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/taika-waititi-tv-series-our-flag-means-death.html |accessdate=28 March 2022 |website=Vulture |archive-date=27 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327153625/https://www.vulture.com/article/taika-waititi-tv-series-our-flag-means-death.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2013 and 2015, the state government of North Carolina uploaded Nautilus Productions videos of the wreck of the ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' to its website without permission. As a result, [[Nautilus Productions]], the company documenting the recovery since 1998, filed suit in federal court over [[copyright]] violations and the passage of "[[Blackbeard's Law]]" by the North Carolina [[North Carolina General Assembly|General Assembly]].<ref>{{citation |title=Allen v Cooper, et al. |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/18-877.html |website=Supreme Court of the United States |publisher=Supreme Court of the United States |access-date=22 June 2019 |archive-date=14 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114004118/https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=%2Fdocket%2Fdocketfiles%2Fhtml%2Fpublic%2F18-877.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Gresko |first1=Jessica |title=High court will hear copyright dispute involving pirate ship |url=https://www.apnews.com/bc8c92c2c8b449158537c356a44cf757 |access-date=22 June 2019 |publisher=Associated Press |date=3 June 2019 |archive-date=22 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622140039/https://www.apnews.com/bc8c92c2c8b449158537c356a44cf757 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Wolverton |first1=Paul |title=Pirate ship lawsuit from Fayetteville goes to Supreme Court on Tuesday |url=https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20191102/pirate-ship-lawsuit-from-fayetteville-goes-to-supreme-court-on-tuesday |access-date=2 November 2019 |work=Fayetteville Observer |date=2 November 2019 |archive-date=2 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102184420/https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20191102/pirate-ship-lawsuit-from-fayetteville-goes-to-supreme-court-on-tuesday |url-status=live }}</ref> Before posting the videos the General Assembly passed "Blackbeard's Law", N.C. Gen Stat §121-25(b), which stated, "All photographs, video recordings, or other documentary materials of a derelict vessel or shipwreck or its contents, relics, artifacts, or historic materials in the custody of any agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions shall be a public record pursuant to Chapter 132 of the General Statutes." On 5 November 2019, the [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]] heard oral arguments in ''[[Allen v. Cooper]]''.<ref>{{citation |last1=Murphy |first1=Brian |title=How Blackbeard's ship and a diver with an 'iron hand' ended up at the Supreme Court |url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article237019034.html |access-date=16 November 2019 |publisher=Charlotte Observer |date=5 November 2019 |archive-date=6 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106162759/https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article237019034.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Wolf |first1=Richard |title=Aarrr, matey! Supreme Court justices frown on state's public display of pirate ship's salvage operation |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/05/legendary-pirate-blackbeards-shipwreck-sails-supreme-court/4166346002/ |access-date=27 December 2019 |work=USA Today |date=5 November 2019 |archive-date=16 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216142711/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/05/legendary-pirate-blackbeards-shipwreck-sails-supreme-court/4166346002/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Livni |first1=Ephrat |title=A Supreme Court piracy case involving Blackbeard proves truth is stranger than fiction |url=https://qz.com/1742690/scotus-piracy-case-involving-blackbeard-is-stranger-than-fiction/ |access-date=27 December 2019 |publisher=Quartz |date=5 November 2019 |archive-date=11 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111185339/https://qz.com/1742690/scotus-piracy-case-involving-blackbeard-is-stranger-than-fiction/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Woolverton |first1=Paul |title=Supreme Court justices skeptical in Blackbeard pirate ship case from Fayetteville |url=https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20191105/supreme-court-justices-skeptical-in-blackbeard-pirate-ship-case-from-fayetteville |access-date=27 December 2019 |work=Fayetteville Observer |date=5 November 2019 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227151602/https://www.fayobserver.com/news/20191105/supreme-court-justices-skeptical-in-blackbeard-pirate-ship-case-from-fayetteville |url-status=live }}</ref> The Supreme Court subsequently ruled in the state's favor,<ref>{{citation |last=Totenberg |first=Nina |date=24 March 2020 |title=In Blackbeard Pirate Ship Case, Supreme Court Scuttles Copyright Claims |language=en |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/24/820381016/in-blackbeard-pirate-ship-case-supreme-court-scuttles-copyright-claims |url-status=live |access-date=22 November 2020 |archive-date=19 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019100450/https://www.npr.org/2020/03/24/820381016/in-blackbeard-pirate-ship-case-supreme-court-scuttles-copyright-claims }}</ref> and struck down the [[Copyright Remedy Clarification Act]], which Congress passed in 1989 to attempt to curb such infringements of copyright by states.<ref>{{citation |title=N.C. Gen Stat §121-25 |url=https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_121/GS_121-25.pdf |website=NCleg.gov |publisher=North Carolina |accessdate=19 June 2020 |archive-date=1 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601081214/https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_121/GS_121-25.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Adler |first1=Adam |title=Blackbeard Just Broke Copyright Law, and Now States Are the Pirates |url=https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/blackbeard-copyright-law-states-rights-north-carolina-supreme-court/ |accessdate=19 June 2020 |publisher=The Escapist |date=29 March 2020 |archive-date=22 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622091827/https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/blackbeard-copyright-law-states-rights-north-carolina-supreme-court/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

As a result of the ruling Nautilus filed a motion for reconsideration in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McKlveen |first1=Gina |title=A North Carolina Filmmaker Continues to Challenge State Sovereign Immunity |url=https://ial.uk.com/a-north-carolina-filmmaker-continues-to-challenge-state-sovereign-immunity/ |access-date=24 March 2023 |publisher=Institute of Art & Law |date=28 October 2022}}</ref> On 18 August 2021 Judge [[Terrence Boyle]] granted the motion for reconsideration which North Carolina promptly appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reconsideration Granted |url=https://www.nautilusproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Doc.118.Reconsideration-granted.pdf |website=Nautilus Productions |access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref> The 4th Circuit denied the state's motion on 14 October 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=4th Circuit Recon |url=http://www.nautilusproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/4th-Circuit-Recon.pdf |website=Nautilus Productions |access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref> Nautilus then filed their second amended complaint on 8 February 2023 alleging 5th and 14th Amendment violations of Nautilus' constitutional rights, additional copyright violations, and claiming that North Carolina's "Blackbeard's Law" represents a [[Bill of Attainder]].<ref>{{cite web |title=PLAINTIFFS' SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT |url=https://ipwatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/134-main.pdf |website=IPWatchdog |publisher=IPWatchdog |access-date=24 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Greg |title=Fayetteville's Blackbeard shipwreck filmmaker fires back in new court case |url=https://www.cityviewnc.com/stories/fayettevilles-blackbeard-shipwreck-filmmaker-fires-back-in-new-court-case,29512 |access-date=24 March 2023 |publisher=CityView |date=14 February 2023}}</ref> Eight years after the passage of Blackbeard's Law, on 30 June 2023, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill repealing the law.<ref>{{cite web |title=AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO THE STATUTES GOVERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE DEPARTMENT |url=https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H168v6.pdf |website=ncleg.gov |publisher=North Carolina |access-date=21 July 2023}}</ref>
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