Were there pirates in South Carolina? Yes, there were! In the Spring of 1718 piracy became a major problem for Charles Town and its leaders because it was a direct challenge to good order and the rule of law, and it involved none other than Blackbeard, the notorious pirate, himself. During the colonial wars of the late 1600s and early 1700s France, Spain, and especially England, used privateers to fight many of their battles at sea. What is a privateer? Essentially, they are legal pirates. Because Royal Navies didn’t have thousands of ships stationed around the globe, when a war broke out between countries, they wouldn’t spend millions building new navies, rather, they gave private ship owners Royal permission to attack their enemy. Merchants and ship captains would form a group of investors, outfit a civilian ship to attack and capture enemy merchant ships, and go cruising the Spanish Main (that’s the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico). When they captured a ship they would take it back to Charles Town, have its cargo condemned by an official or a court (essentially saying it was lawfully stolen), and then auction it and probably the ship to the highest bidder. This made money for the merchants and captains and especially for the privateersmen, the crew of the ship, who all got a cut because sailors often didn’t make much money at all. Overnight fortunes were made but then disaster struck, peace broke out!
Once differences between the kings and queens of England, France and Spain were resolved there was no longer a need for privateers, but many of these sailors had tasted the good life and didn’t want to give it up, so the became pirates! Some kept doing what they had been doing. Some English pirates only attacked Spanish and French ships. Some made no distinction between countries; it was all fair game. Blackbeard was the latter, he didn’t care who he attacked, just as long as he got his plunder.
So, there he was in mid-May 1718 sailing near the bar, the sandbank, just off the mouth of Charles Town Harbor. He blockaded the port for a week, seizing prizes and hostages for ransom. This “struck a great Terror to the whole Province of Carolina.” Plundering eight or nine ships for supplies and gold, he held hostages, including Samuel Wragg, a councilman. Blackbeard threatened to murder the hostages, so Governor Robert Johnson agreed to a ransom of a valuable
chest of medicine. Blackbeard sailed away and, for a short time, lived the good life in North Carolina, but his actions caused the leaders of the South Carolina colony to decide to get rid of the pirates in the area and restore order. While they didn’t capture Blackbeard, they did capture Stede Bonnet, “the gentleman pirate”.
To find out the rest of the story come visit the “Pirates, Privateers and Buccaneers” exhibit that will be at the Dorchester Heritage Center from June 3 rd until July 25 th . Keep your eyes peeled matey for information about our free Fridays, programs for adults and kids, and to learn what happened to Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard (it doesn’t have a happy ending if you’re a pirate)!