Historians and archeologists have it that Edward Teach alias Blackbeard was one of the sea pirates who had large sea vessels. Queen Anne’s Revenge, as Bond & Constance (2000) put it was a real pirate ship. The ship was well built and equipped with high-end guns that it threatened other sailors. This ship was a source of confidence to Blackbeard. Blackbeard was a huge man with black beards and an ugly look. According to Bond & Constance, the glimpse of Blackbeard was meant to scare and cowardice sea sailors that he plundered. Teach was not a cruel or murderous man. Probably that's why he did not hurt the captives at South Carolina when he was seeking for chest medicine for his crews. The act of threatening a governor for the sake of his crew was an indication that he cared for them. On the other hand, Defoe (1726), compares the pirate Blackbeard to a devil. Defoe (1726) talks of a man who appeared in the Queen Anne’s Revenge who other crew members could not identify but Defoe refers to him as the devil himself. These two accounts of Blackbeard conflicts with each other.
Defoe (1726) insinuates to Blackbeard working with Britain's top officials behind the scenes. This is evident in Defoe's record that Blackbeard tore and destroyed some letters from the governor when Lieutenant Maynard attacked him. His connection and interactions with the governor are not recorded in the archeological records.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The conflicting views of Defoe and recent archeologists could be attributed to the conflict between primary and secondary data. Primary data may differ from secondary data due to distortion of evidence. People giving the primary data could also exaggerate hence distorting the full information. Secondary data collection applies a more scientific method which is systematic and looks at facts. Thus in case the primary evidence differs from secondary evidence, students should use the secondary data.
To learn and understand the history of pirates either source is valuable. However, secondary data provide a more valuable source that can be relied upon by students.
References
Bond, C. (2000). A Fury from Hell or Was He?. Smithsonian , 30 (11), 62-71.
Defoe, D. (1726). A General History of the Pyrates: From Their First Rise and Settlement in the Island of Providence, to the Present Time. With the Remarkable Actions and Adventures of the Two Female Pyrates Mary Read and Anne Bonny... To which is Added, a Short Abstract of the Statute and Civil Law, in Relation to Pyracy (Vol. 1). Printed for, and sold by T. Woodward.
