Scientists have discovered curious finds while studying the remains of the sunken flagship of the pirate Edward Teach, Queen Anne's Revenge.
Who in childhood has not read the cult novel by Robert Stevenson "Treasure Island"? Meanwhile, Captain Edward Teach, nicknamed Blackbeard, is considered the prototype of the pirate Flint, he ruled the Caribbean for several years (presumably from 1714 to 1718) and went down in history as one of the most famous gentlemen of fortune. By the way, one of Teach's closest associates, senior assistant Israel Hands, was brought to Treasure Island under his real name (though Stevenson demoted him, “appointing” him as boatswain).
Background
Edward Teach began his career as a pirate captain in 1714, when he captured the French ship Concorde, which was transporting slaves. Teach renamed the ship as Queen Anne's Revenge and installed 40 cannons on board. Teach performed most of his "exploits" on this ship. These include, in particular, the blockade of Charleston - the capital of South Carolina. Blackbeard seized 9 ships in the harbor, took wealthy citizens hostage and lifted the siege of the port only after a huge ransom was sent. There is a legend that he buried most of the wealth on one of the islands, probably, Stevenson borrowed this story as a plot.
However, in June 1718, Teach's flagship ran aground off the coast of North Carolina. The pirates were forced to leave and transfer to the three remaining schooners. A few months later, Teach was tracked down by Lieutenant Maynard's search party. Blackbeard took an unequal battle (most of his team went to revel in a nearby town) and died. Subsequently, 5 gunshot and 25 saber wounds were counted on his body.
A part of the handle of a cold steel, found by scientists on board a raised vessel. PHOTO NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
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The cannon spoke
And now the story of the famous pirate has been continued in our days. In 1996, a private exploration company discovered Queen Anne's Revenge at the bottom, and scientists soon began work to raise the ship. While examining the barrel chamber of one of the cannon guns, restorers discovered a blackened dense lump of cloth scraps and scraps of paper, each the size of a small coin. The pirates probably used this material as a wad.
The restorers managed to return the original appearance to the scraps of paper. On 7 scraps out of 16, scientists were able to make out fragments of the printed text. They found the words "south", "fathom" and concluded that the pages had been torn from a book about sea or navigation.
“But we would hardly have found a clue if it were not for the key word,” restorer Kimberly Kenyon said in an interview with National Geographic magazine. - On one of the fragments we made out the word "Hilo". It is characteristic that it was typed in italics and most likely meant the name of a locality or settlement.
Captain Cook's book was published in 1712 - a couple of years before Edward Teach became captain of the ship Queen Anne's Revenge. PHOTO NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
Why did "Captain Flint" prefer adventure reading?
Armed with this clue, the archaeologists turned to Joanna Greene, a print history specialist at the University of Glasgow. It turned out that "Hilo" is the name of a Spanish settlement on the coast of Peru. The story of the plundering of this town by the British was described in the first edition of Captain Edward Cook's book Travels in the South Sea and Around the World, Completed in 1708, 1709, 1710 and 1711.
Captain Cook's book was published in 1712 - a couple of years before Edward Teach became captain of the ship Queen Anne's Revenge. She describes the expedition on which Cook went with the privateer Woods Rogers on the ships Duke and Duchess. Unlike pirates, privateers had a patent from the government, giving the right to rob enemy ships (pirates robbed both their own and others). Cook and Rogers captured several Spanish merchant ships, but most of all they became famous for rescuing the sailor Alexander Selkirk. He spent several years alone on the island of Juan Fernandez. This story made a lot of noise at the time, and based on it, Daniel Dafoe wrote the bestseller Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719 after the death of Edward Teach.
This study provided an insight into the personality of the real "Captain Flint". According to Kimberly Kenyon, the pirate commanders were literate people. In any case, they had to be able to read navigational charts and directions. The documents mention that the books were included in the list of property that pirates divided among themselves after the seizure of the ship. It is known that Edward Teach kept a diary, he appeared in the inventory of property after the defeat of the pirates by Lieutenant Maynard's team. And, most likely, it was he who read the book by Edward Cook. Adventure literature has always been a popular genre. However, this book had a special appeal. She also talked about how the British plundered Spanish ships and colonies (let's not forget that Great Britain and Spain were at war).
- In the XVII-XVIII centuries, the British swallowed such works in large quantities, - notes Kimberly Kenyon.
Bristol-born Edward Teach was fond of this kind of reading not only out of patriotic feelings. This book could serve as a source of useful knowledge for the pirate.
The anchor of the ship Queen Anne's Revenge. PHOTO NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
QUESTION - RIB
Why was Flint afraid of John Silver?
We learn from Stevenson's novel that John Silver was the Quartermaster on Flint's ship. The quartermaster is the person who is in charge of the food. But at the same time, Silver says a cryptic phrase about his relationship with Flint: “Some were afraid of Pew, others - of Flint. Flint himself was afraid of me. He was afraid of me and proud of me … His team was desperate … You know me, I won't brag, I am a good-natured and cheerful person, but when I was quartermaster, Flint's old pirates obeyed me like sheep. Wow, what discipline old John had on the ship!"
Why was Flint afraid of some sort of "rear man"? The writer Mikhail Weller explains this paradox with an incorrect translation. Translator Nikolai Chukovsky misinterpreted the word quartermaster. In fact, Lanky John was not the Quartermaster, but the Quartermaster - the senior in the quarterdeck. This is an elevation in one of the parts of the ship, from which boarding teams jumped aboard the attacked ship. In other words, John Silver was the commander of the capture group, the main thug on the pirate ship. That is why Flint was proud of him on the one hand and wary of him on the other.
YAROSLAV KOROBATOV
