Edward Teach was born in Bristol in approximately 1680. he went to sea as a young man and soon became a pirate and a fearless (courageous = senza paura) captain.
He was a giant of a man with his beard twisted (= girata) into plaits (= trecce) and burning fuses smoked in his hair(= sulle estremità dei capelli c’erano micce fumanti). He was a terrifying sight with his bright crimson (red) coat and it was not long before he became known as Blackbeard.
In his ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard and his pirate gang attacked ships and towns along the coast of north America . They captured many ships and once held the town of Charleston to ransom (= riscatto)!
After two years of plundering (= saccheggi) Blackbeard felt he had enough treasure. King George of England granted (= promise) him a royal pardon, but he made Blackbeard promise to stop attacking his ships. Blackbeard did not keep his promise and began to attack ships and plantations again. The king was very angry and sent his navy to hunt him down.
In 1718 they found him hiding in his ship at Ocracoke Island in North Carolina . Creeping up on the revenge (= con un crescente desiderio di vendetta) the king’s ships attacked and a terrible battle began. During the figh Blackberad was shot 5 times and suffered 20 sword wounds (= ferite) before he died. To prove that he was dead Blackberad’s head was cut of his body.
Legends tells us that when his headless corpse was thrown (= gettato) overboard (= fuori dalla nave) it swam around the ship several times before finally vanishing. His reign of terror lasted for only 2 years, but everyone remembers the pirate Blackbeard!
Curiosity: Blackbeard was said to have had 14 wives.