Talk:Blackbeard

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I've made some edits to reflect how much of this article is poorly sourced (more needs to be done, especially with the death section). Folks, contemporary colorful news and literary accounts are not sourcing. Not from that time period. All that historians have been able to conclude about Blackbeard was that he was really good at using PR to intimidate you. They actually haven't been able to document him actually killing anyone.

Contents 1 Massive edit 2 Buried treasure 3 Kiera Nightly? 4 Blackbeard's Flagship 5 other beards 6 Paul Burchill 7 disambiguation 8 Song about blackbeard/edward Teach 9 References? 10 WHAT?!?!?!?!?! 11 Polite and understated man, wasn't he? 12 Removal of link to outfit called Blackbeard's Cruises 13 Blackbeard's Ghost 14 The "Swimming Body" 15 His wives 16 His Birth 17 Confusing entry 18 Blackbeard's flag not his flag? 19 Someone has put in a lot of erronous info in this article.

[edit] Massive edit

Okay, so some yardape replaced the article with a single one-liner. Reverted it back Almighty Tallest

[edit] Buried treasure

This article on Blackbeard states that he buried his treasue along banks of rivers, but the article on "buried treasure" states that William Kidd was the only pirate known to have buried his treasure. So maybe stories of blackbeard's buried treasure were just that - stories.

[edit] Kiera Nightly?

the caption under the picture of Blackbeard...no doubt this is a ruse?

[edit] Blackbeard's Flagship

Blackbeard's Flagship (Archaeological Institute of America) Adraeus 00:10, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] other beards

Blackbeard have also appeared in fiction in the cartoons Xiaolin Showdown and Duck Dodgers.

[edit] Paul Burchill

It says here that this man is his descendant, yet the page on that person mentions nothing about it. Especially since the guy is a professional wrestler who used the pirate theme, isn't it likely that it's utter BS? 65.35.93.97 08:01, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] disambiguation

It just needs to be made. Blackbeard (Marshall D. Teach)

[edit] Song about blackbeard/edward Teach

There is a song about Blackbeard called "The Gruesome Death of Edward Teach" by the band Scissorfight It is really good

[edit] References?

Some of this article, especially the portion just prior to Blackbeard's death, with respect to things he said, etc., sounds like hearsay. Are there any references? --XSG 15:21, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] WHAT?!?!?!?!?!

What is this article? Its not funny, its stupid. I mean, "ARRGGGGGGG, I EAT YOUR SOULS!!!!!"

I hate people that do this on Wikipedia, because some of us work so hard to make articles then some random loser posts things like this. How about someone makes it so only people with accounts can edit?

When you say "some of us", are you referring to the folks who don't bother to sign their comments with ~~~~? —XSG 19:44, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Polite and understated man, wasn't he?

"Damn ye, ye yellow ___ ___ ___! I'm a better man than all ye milksops put together"

Funny, I didn't realize it was Wiki policy to censor articles down to a PG rating. I've Googled for the original quote and found nothing but this article, so I'd advise that someone more knowledgable than I either fill in the alleged quote, or snip it out altogether. Honestly, though! 82.166.53.176 18:59, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Removal of link to outfit called Blackbeard's Cruises

Somebody named "BalthCat" (for whom I can't find contact information) deleted my link to an outside scuba diving outfit called Blackbeard's Cruises, then reported the erasure of my comments as "spam deletion."

Honestly, I have no idea why this is considered a big deal. There factually is a cruise company by this name. Are we all to pretend there is no such thing as the free market? I suppose I could write a separate article on the cruise company, but seems like that might be deleted too.

For the record, I am not affiliated with said company, but have greatly enjoyed my time patronizing it. Don't understand why I'm not allowed to report it's a popular option for scuba divers.

Responded on talk. - BalthCat 03:07, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Blackbeard's Ghost

I am reverting out this section because it is both unsourced and legendary. Legends about historical figures need context and reliable research. I reproduce the section here to see if anyone can provide sources and proper exposition. Robert A.West (Talk) 19:48, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

The ghost is said to walk the shores of the Outer Banks looking for his head. Often there are sitings of the headless pirate walking up and down the coast. Sometimes he is carrying a lanturn, so any siting of a strange light on the Outer Banks is referred to as Teach's light. Some witnesses who have seen the ghost say that they hear the sound of heavy boots walking across the beach, and every once and a while someone says that they heard a voice on the beach ask the question, "Where is my head?" Also, the ghost is said to swim in Ocracoke Inlet searching for his head. According to legend, the ghost of Blackbeard does not wish to see his partner the Devil, without his head on his shoulders. People say that Blackbeard is afraid that the Devil won't recognize him without it. As for where his head really is, when Maynard returned to Virginia, Blackbeard's head was set on a pole for many years. This was the practice of the day, because it was used to warn pirates of what was going to happen if they were caught. The head was then taken down from the pole. The skull was hollowed out and then covered in silver by a local silversmith. It was said to have been used as a punchbowl or cup. Then there was a message written into the silver across the forhead of the skull in Latin. The skull has been lost over the years. Several silver covered skulls have been found, but none of them can be proven to be Blackbeard's. To this day, the skull is still lost.

[edit] The "Swimming Body"

There are varying accounts of what happened to Blackbeard's body after he was decapitated (that it "swam" or "floated" around the ship a number of times - two, three, seven, etc.). As this is purely legend, rather unlikely, and a solid source is doubtful, I removed it. Any thoughts on the matter? Arx Fortis 02:48, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

There is nothing wrong with reporting, myths and legends, provided that they are attested by reliable sources as legends and reported as such. Now, is this story a real, circulating legend, or a tongue-in-cheek tall tale? Absent sources, we can't tell which one. Robert A.West (Talk) 03:35, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

It was referenced in the A&E biopic Blackbeard's Reign of Terror. - RoyBoy ⁸⁰⁰ 03:57, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

The point here is that even the legends don't mesh. In the past week the History Channel contradicted itself with one show's "expert" saying it floated around twice; another show's expert said it swam around three times. I found a 3rd reference that states it was seven times. The story is not even consistent enough to form a definitive "legend." If someone wants to add it back, that's fine, but it should include the fact that there are varying versions, none of which are corroborated by any of the accounts of the people who where there (including Robert Maynard). Arx Fortis 04:15, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

A&E has a reputation for spicing bios up a little bit, and most of them are not available on DVD, which makes verification chancey in any case. It's a cute point, though, so I would not oppose a properly referenced version. Robert A.West (Talk) 04:36, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

I think it is worth putting back in with an addition that points out sources vary. We aren't likely to get contemporary written references for this.Yomangani 09:44, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

I just reverted yet another of the swimming body claims that says "his head was screaming and cursing" while the body swam around the ship. This "legend" just varies too widely to be included in the article. There are no credible sources for this....and the different versions don't even agree with each other. I say we leave it out. Thoughts? Arx Fortis 22:52, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

Claim that the sources Vary about what happened. the myth is one of the biggest known stories about Blackbeard and that story is better known to many more than Maynard. keep the myth, and say that some stories tell about how the head screamed. every book on pirates with more than three pages on blackbeard (that i've seen anyway) has this myth.

Technobabble1 (you didn't sign your post), while repeating a rumor, legend, etc. over and over again does not in and of itself make it truth, if you want to enter this information into the article, that's fine. However, cite your source (see WP:CITE). That will serve to disuade confusion over the widely varying accounts and will make it less likely it would be removed. Arx Fortis 23:04, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

I'm grateful for your acceptance. however my problem with your conditions is this I learned this legend around a campfire in cub-scouts i have forgotten the name of said storyteller who informed me of the legend. --Technobabble1 23:39, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

...and that's how legends come to vary from telling to telling. In your previous post you state "every book on pirates with more than three pages on blackbeard (that i've seen anyway) has this myth."....find one of those books and cite it. Arx Fortis 03:31, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Oh yeah i forgot that, i forget what i say or write far too often. my mistake. --Technobabble1 16:48, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] His wives

"Blackbeard had over a dozen wives, most of which were common-law marriages." - Is this a documented fact, or is it part of the mythology surrounding Blackbeard? --Grumpy444grumpy 06:49, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

The answer is probably yes. It is well known that Blackbeard would go into town, get drunk, and find a woman. He would usually marry her in a day, then get up and leave the day after that. With Blackbeard's last wife, he married her and moved in with her house in Bath NC. He stayed there a few weeks but then he returned to piracy. There is another story that after getting married to one of his wifes, Blackbeard would take them to his ship and kill them, but that's probably not true. He would just leave them where he found them. At most it is said that Blackbeard had 14 wives My source for this was "Blackbeard The Pirate." by Robert E. Lee. Bcody 13:32, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] His Birth

I have found no evidence that Blackbeard was born in 1680. Last I checked the year of his birth and place of his birth was unkown. The article also says that he was BELIEVED to have been born in 1680, and since that's not actual fact it should be changed to 16??. I would like to see some proove that he was born in 1680, if there is none then I think the date of his birth should be changed to 16??. Bcody 13:18, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

I concur. It should be changed back. Arx Fortis 23:21, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Here's a secondary source confirming his d.o.b.: Blackbeard: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean (doesn't anyone ever check the reference heading?) ˉˉ^anetode╦╩ 09:39, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Confusing entry

I've moved this entry here because I'm not sure what exactly the intent of it is, in order to fix it.

* in Chapter 3, Captain Teach, Alias Blackbeard from A General Historie of the most Notorious Pirates 1726 Captain Charles Johnson ( possibly Attributed to Defoe) a Facsimilie Edition, PIRATES printed 2000, Creation books ISBN 1-871592-36-4 this book relates the lives of many 17th and 18th century Privateers as written by a contemporary 3rd party witness. Considered by some to be the best early source of pirate stories and myths.

Is it supposed to be in the fictional references section, or should it (as "Historie" might imply) be a real reference? - BalthCat 22:13, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Blackbeard's flag not his flag?

The most recent change to this entry claims that Blackbeard's flag is erroneously attributed to Blackbeard. The text:

Blackbeard's flag, showing a skeleton, probably a similar figure to the devil, holding an hourglass and threatening a bleeding heart with a spear.

Was replaced by:

A flag often erroneously attributed to Blackbeard.

This change was made by User:MosheA with a comment linking to [1].

On that page it states:

Blackbeard is known to have flown the "deaths head"; Johnson's History of the Pirates shows his ship flying the skull and crossbones only. All other flags attributed to Blackbeard are fictional.

Mike Maggelet, 16 October 2005

I did a small amount of Googling and couldn't come up with anything to substantiate that sentence. Most of the world seems to believe that this is indeed Blackbeard's flag. It would be nice to substantiate this change more, revert it, or to not present this claim as truth.

[edit] Someone has put in a lot of erronous info in this article.

Some idiot has put in a number of "jokes" in this article. Adding long jonh silver, calling 911 and a few words about him taking you hostage if you read the article. Not that cool for something that's on the main page. Blackbeard

AND the main page also has a photo of JFK with next to it some text about Blackbeard so it looks like Blackbeard had his photo taken and looked like JFK and didn't have a beard.