Editing Blackbeard (section)

===Enlargement of Teach's fleet===
Teach's movements between late 1717 and early 1718 are not known. He and Bonnet were probably responsible for an attack off [[Sint Eustatius]] in December 1717. Henry Bostock claimed to have heard the pirates say they would head toward the Spanish-controlled [[Samaná Bay]] in Hispaniola, but a cursory search revealed no pirate activity. Captain Hume of {{HMS|Scarborough|1711|6}} reported on 6 February that a "Pyrate Ship of 36&nbsp;Guns and 250&nbsp;men, and a Sloop of 10&nbsp;Guns and 100&nbsp;men were Said to be Cruizing amongst the Leeward Islands". Hume reinforced his crew with soldiers armed with [[musket]]s, and joined up with {{HMS|Seaford|1697|6}} to track the two ships, to no avail, though they discovered that the two ships had sunk a French vessel off [[Saint Kitts|St Christopher Island]], and reported also that they had last been seen "gone down the North side of Hispaniola". Although no confirmation exists that these two ships were controlled by Teach and Bonnet, author Angus Konstam believes it very likely they were.<ref>{{Harvnb|Konstam|2007|pp=124–126}}</ref>

<!-- Teach may have accepted a royal pardon in January 1718.{{refn|Owing to the use of the [[Julian Calendar]] by England, January 1717 would, after 1752, be written as January 1718.  All dates in this article are presented in the old-style calendar.|group="nb"}}  Pardons were often made when England was on the verge of war; the services of pirates were a valuable commodity at such times.  Teach may have understood this and surrendered to a pardon of 5 September 1717.  The proclamation offered rewards to those persons who captured pirates who refused to surrender, covered incidences{{verify spelling|date=September 2022|reason=''incidence'' is normally used only in the singular form, perhaps ''incidence'', ''incidents'',  or ''instances'' was intended}}
 of murder committed during acts of piracy and allowed those who had suffered the theft of their property the right to recover their goods—but only through legal channels.  Teach therefore would have been under no obligation to surrender his loot to the Crown.  According to Lee (1974), if Teach did surrender, ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' would likely have been anchored at [[Ocracoke Inlet]], from which place he would have travelled to [[Bath, North Carolina]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Lee|1974|pp=28–30}}</ref> -->
In March 1718, while taking on water at Turneffe Island east of [[Belize]], both ships spotted the Jamaican logwood-cutting sloop ''Adventure'' making for the harbour. She was stopped and her captain, [[David Herriot|Harriot]], invited to join the pirates. Harriot and his crew accepted the invitation, and Teach sent over a crew to sail ''Adventure'' making [[Israel Hands]] the captain.<ref>{{citation |last1=Downey |first1=Cristopher Byrd |title=Stede Bonnet: Charleston's Gentleman Pirate |date=2012 |page=44 |chapter=Blackbeard |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9781609495404}}</ref> They sailed for the [[Bay of Honduras]], where they added another ship and four sloops to their flotilla.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lee|1974|pp=30–33}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Konstam|2007|pp=127–128}}</ref> On 9 April Teach's enlarged fleet of ships looted and burnt ''Protestant Caesar''. His fleet then sailed to [[Grand Cayman]] where they captured a "small turtler".<ref>{{Harvnb|Lee|1974|pp=36–37}}</ref> Teach probably sailed toward Havana, where he may have captured a small Spanish vessel that had left the Cuban port. They then sailed to the wrecks of the [[1715 Treasure Fleet|1715 Spanish fleet]], off the eastern coast of [[Florida]]. There Teach disembarked the crew of the captured Spanish sloop, before proceeding north to the port of Charles Town, South Carolina, attacking three vessels along the way.<ref>{{Harvnb|Konstam|2007|p=130}}</ref>