Customer Reviews

Blackbeard the Pirate: A Reappraisal of His Life and Times

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Over the years Edward Teach, more commonly known as Blackbeard, has become more legend than man. A process that I think would have pleased Teach very much for he was as much a showman as a pirate. That is a part of his character that is richly brought out in this book. Unfortunately, there is really little for Mr. Lee to work with since real hard evidence of Teach's activities is scarce. Pirates after all were criminals and weren't exactly known for keeping records of their thefts.

Lee I suppose did the best he could with the evidence he had to work with but this already short book would have been much better if it had been even shorter. The parts of the book that deal with Teach are excellent but there is far too much dead weight in this book. For example, some of the politics of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina have to be dealt with to understand why the Governor of Virginia invaded North Carolina to capture or kill Blackbeard. The author however, included much more of the era's politics than was necessary. This led to parts of the book being almost mind numbingly dull and the parts of the book dealing with the genealogy of some of the colonial first families were as tedious to read as almost anything I have seen. Being a lawyer, the author has also sprinkled his text with Latin legal terms with no explanation of their meaning. If I were to ever learn Latin that would not bother me I suppose but as I speak no Latin this practice annoys me no end.

Overall, the reader will get a fairly good feeling for Blackbeard and his times. Be warned however, parts of this book will bore you to tears. Instead of the politics and genealogy, a good chapter on the treasure hunters who have sought Blackbeard's probably non-existent buried loot would have been nice.

This book, while a bit dry in writing style, is a decent history. However, it is not a decent history of Blackbeard, himself. While the author makes some nice points about Blackbeard and the creation of his image, the main focus of the book is the political struggle that led up to the attack on the "retired" Blackbeard and the fallout from that action. If political intrigue between Virginia and North Carolina during this period is your interest you may enjoy this book. If you are looking for a history of Blackbeard, the man, look elsewhere.

"Have you heard of Teach the Rover, / And his Knavery on the Main; / How of Gold he was a Lover, / How he lov'd all ill got Gain."

His name is that of the world's most disreputable pirates. His final years in and around North Carolina and Virginia bring a certain romantic twist to the colonial history of New England.

Robert E. Lee's purpose in writing this book was to quell the exaggerated lore behind the captain. He does so gallantly, without making references to incorrect legends (which could serve to confuse the reader). His research and references are excellent and explained in the preface.

Lee commences from the beginning, and the introduction to Blackbeard suggests it was sea faring fate for the boy. Lee admits information on the young Edward Teach is in short supply, but his reasoning behind the liminal inspirations make sense: Bristol, Teach's hometown, was a maritime village. Popular 17th century publications blazoned a world of extravagant adventure, filling landlubbers' heads with images of buccaneers brandishing firearms and blades; these were not unlike the effects of modern naval histories upon today's readers.

The exciting piratical escapades are not delayed for long. Within the first chapter, Lee will already dive into a 1717 attack by Blackbeard and his mentor, Hornigold. The plunder was enormous, and to this day it has yet to be recovered. These are the tales we all love to hear and read about that evoke a trembling thrill deep within us. There's still treasure to be had!

As Blackbeard matures and grows in the deviant (but sometimes necessary) career, Lee finds less and less records to recount. His explanation: Teach came from a well-to-do family and would not keep records of his travels/attacks/plunders lest his ancestry is traced and his family's name tarnished. One of the most exciting chapters is, naturally, the conquest for Blackbeard's body.

The reader must take care to note the subtitle of the book: A Reappraisal of His Life and Times. In truth, Blackbeard does not fill the pages of this book; rather, the 250 pages depend on a textbook-like account of Virginia's and the Carolina's histories that were briefly defiled or abetted by Blackbeard's presence. There is a lot of politics to sift through and, while it reads like a legal thriller at times, the reader should not be fooled by the book's self-description as an "exciting swashbuckler." That said, the way Blackbeard's crew (especially his quartermaster) is brought to justice, or pardoned, is as twisted as any fiction.

Pirates are a brotherhood that seem curiously strange and most intriguing to pretty much anyone alive. Why did they do what they did? Why did Blackbeard become Blackbeard? In his preface, Robert E. Lee doesn't try to explicate these outlaws. Rather, he asks the reader to not "judge the historical figures of a past age by the moral standards of the present." Instead, the reader will see just how these men were judged when in their own element.

One very cool thing is the inclusion of a lengthy poem, "The Downfall of Piracy" (excerpted above, from Appendix A), believed to have been written by a 12 year old Benjamin Franklin.

This book is very historical and full of facts and footnotes but that is its downfall. We don't get to see the real, personal man. It has alot of North Carolina politics and deals with some of the relations of England to the colonies but most people want to get to know the man intimately. It does tell of his death and the aftermath and goes into the legal fallout after Blackbeard's death, such as who had legal right to Blackbeard's loot. All in all I would rate it as average read.

I can't believe Dr. Lee's book is still in print. I bought it, a newly published book, from a small bookstore on St. Croix US Virgin Islands. It is dry for people who are looking for Errol Flynn swashbuckling or Pirates of the Caribbean's Curse of the Black Pearl. But Dr. Lee was Dean of the law school at Wake Forest University so was used to writing accurately after doing meticulous research. Over the years I have referred to this Blackbeard book many times, because I can vouch for its accuracy. Read The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo, a fictional book about a young slave girl who witnesses the Blockade of Charleston Harbor (South Carolina) by Blackbeard and his 400 men in 1718. It is for anyone ten to a hundred and ten!

As this book is more of an in-depth research paper concerning all things Blackbeard, it deals mostly with litigation and politics surrounding his life. That is what all the known public records deal with, and that is almost all that is in this book. The last 75 pages are footnotes. It's well-researched and interesting if you want that level of information.

Piracy in the 1600s was an accepted way of life; Queen Elizabeth allowed English pirates free rein against the Spanish, which added greatly to Spain's defeat. Edward Teach (Blackbeard) ruled over unruly seamen and struck terror in coastal towns in North Carolina (Bath, Edenton). He also had 14 wives! He was killed in Orakoke Inlet by Robert Maynard, who was sent by the governor of Virginia. It's an interesting story in our Colonial history, but Lee is not so compelling a writer. He relates the facts, but leaves out the human side.

This is a compact but entertaining book on the life of Blackbeard. Lee describes how being a pirate was not so notorious during Blackbeard's time when they were virtually raiders on commission. But Blackbeard seems to be the first that self promotes himself as a fearful pirate with a his unique for times long Blackbeard and during an attack of a ship he would curl lit fuses behind his ears to promote a frightful look of a bearded pirate with a frightening haze about his face. This is a man that once fired two pistols at the kneecaps of two fellow card players from under the table disabling one merely to ensure his reputation as a scoundrel. As Lee points out he was a rascal recognizing the value of his reputation which assisted him in closing off Charleston and holding it for ransom and he loaned his reputation to many ladies by making over 13 woman as his wife to provide them their own fearful reputation as Mrs. Blackbeard. Sad ending for the semi retired pirate and friend of the governor of N. C. who meets his demise when Governor Spotswood of Virginia organizes his death. Final interesting query, where is Balckbeard's head today after it one was hung on a pike in Hampton and allegedly used as a punch bowl in Williamsburg? Lee covers his life and notes he was an entrepreneur as well as a pirate. A great read while visiting Nags Head and the Outer Banks where he lurked in semi retirement.

Ny 11 year old son liked the book although he is fascinated with anything to do with Blackbeard

Robert E. Lee's book on the life and times of Blackbeard the Pirate is well researched and thoroughly footnoted. I highly recommend this work to anyone interested in a scholarly treatment of this period of Colonial North Carolina history during the Golden Age of Piracy. Unfortunately, the depth of Mr. Lee's treatment of the subject matter does not carry over to readability and what we have is essentially a work written by a very capable historical researcher for historical researchers. At times, Mr. Lee's book reads like a Doctoral Thesis where readability is compromised in the interest of historical detail so in some areas getting through the book can become rather tedious particularly in the detailed discussions of the political motivations of the various Colonial Governors and their supporters. The depth of these discussions is wonderful for developing a good understanding of the political motivations of the times but unfortunately the reader can easily become lost in the historical detail and most of it is only tangentially related to Blackbeard. Mr. Lee's book is not really intended for the casual reader nor is it intended for entertainment. It is a serious work that provides a wonderful window into the historical Blackbeard and the world in which he lived. I strongly recommend this work to anyone interested in developing a deeper understanding of just who was the historical figure Blackbeard and the external events that were shaping his times but any potential reader needs to be forewarned, the work is not really intended for the casual reader.