Blackbeard? He was just a pussycat – Edinburgh Evening News.
It’s a story about Blackbeard being a nice guy. Well, that’s a part or it. Actually it’s mostly about a bunch of Scots hung as pirates even though they weren’t. Or something like that. I’ve read it twice now, and I still can’t make sense of it. Maybe it’s just a weird article. Or more than likely, it’s that I’ve not yet had any caffeine today, which is difficult, you know? It’s like, I can’t think, I can barely walk, and there’s a kitten chewing on my foot for some reason.
It could be true, as many historians note that there is no “real” record of Teach actually killing anyone. Combine this with his past affiliation with Captain Hornigold. A story was written how Hornigold pursued a ship, boarded and asked for all the merchants hats. He then (politely) explained how they all got drunk the night before and tossed their hats overboard. After claiming the glorious booty of hats, they peacefully left.
Terror is more effective then cruelty and Teach’s beard blazing is a sign that he was more interested in scaring then killing. Just my opinion on the matter. Why risk death when you can just make people surrender on sight as they quiver in their boots?