Benjamin Hornigold seize other vessels with impunity. Hornigold's second-in-command during this period was Edward Teach, who would later be better known as the pirate Blackbeard. When Hornigold took command of the "Ranger", he delegated the captaincy of his earlier sloop to Teach. In the spring of 1717 the two pirate captains seized three merchant ships in quick succession, one carrying 120 barrels of flour bound for Havana, another a Bermudian sloop with a cargo of spirits and the third a Portuguese ship travelling from Madeira with a cargo of white wine. In March 1717, Hornigold attacked an armed merchant vessel sent to
Edward Neville (pirate) by stealth early the next morning. The defenders were caught unawares and the pirates quickly captured the town, looting it for two days and taking three Spanish ships with them before withdrawing. Future Governor William Beeston noted their return to Jamaica in October 1678, where they were pardoned for their privateering and free to spend their booty. Spanish Provincial Governor was removed from office for failing to defend Campeche, though he was later reinstated. In retaliation he ordered Spanish forces (privateer and pirate Juan Corso among them) to capture or drive off English logwood cutters in his territory. An “Edward