Blackbeard Blackbeard Edward Teach or Edward Thatch ( – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he may have been a sailor on privateer ships during Queen Anne's War before settling on the Bahamian island of New Providence, a base for Captain Benjamin Hornigold, whose crew Teach joined around 1716. Hornigold placed him in command of a sloop that he had captured, and the two engaged in numerous acts of piracy. Their numbers were
Edward Miller (pirate) Edward Miller (pirate) Edward Miller (fl 1718-1720) was an English pirate active in the Caribbean. King George offered a full pardon in September 1717 to all pirates who surrendered within twelve months. Captain Vincent Pearse sailed the "HMS Phoenix" to New Providence to deliver the offer. Over 200 pirates surrendered to him in March 1718, including Miller. Miller had returned to piracy by 1720. Authorities in New York accused him of piracy early that year, after which he sailed to Nassau. Royal Navy Captain Edward Vernon had been stationed in the area at the time and noted that an English