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How War Demobilization Fueled Piracy
- Pirates resurged after Queen Anne's War when unemployed privateers like Benjamin Hornigold turned to piracy.
- The 1713 end of wartime privateering left skilled sailors idle, fueling the rise of organized groups like the Flying Gang in Nassau.
Blackbeard's Rapid Rise And The Queen Anne's Revenge
- Edward Thatch (Blackbeard) rose quickly in Hornigold's Flying Gang, gaining his own ship and crew before seizing the French La Concorde and renaming her Queen Anne's Revenge.
- Thatch captured the Betty, sank her after drinking her wine, and by late 1717 had become the most feared pirate in the Atlantic.
Blockade Of Charles Town Demonstrated Strategic Boldness
- Blackbeard escalated from raiding ships to blockading Charles Town in May 1718, taking about 80 hostages and demanding medicine.
- Stationing ships at the harbor mouth exploited the town's single-waterway bottleneck and halted commerce for nearly a week.