Golden Age of Piracy: Top 10 Countdown
This is the first installment of a series focusing upon the ten most successful pirates (as determined by the estimated total value of their combined hauls) of the Golden Age of Piracy (generally considered to have ended with the killing of Barthlomew “Black Bart” Roberts in February of 1722).
# 10. Blackbeard (c. 1680 – 22 November 1718)
At the time of his death on 22 November 1718 in Ocracoke Inlet, Blackbeard was arguably the most notorious and best-known of all of his outlaw brethren.
But is that fame justified by the profit margin of his operations? Just how much did Edward Drummond/Teach/Thatch/Blackbeard heist in his career?
Actually, Blackbeard was a relatively small-time pirate in comparison with his “comrades-in-arms”; he is generally considered to be only the tenth-richest of the nefarious buccaneers of his day.
True, he operated his own ships for only a year (November 1717 – November 1718), and was thus very successful on a “daily profit” basis (he captured 30 ships for an average of one every twelve days) but his overall take pales in comparison to some of his lesser-known counterparts.
Based upon Blackbeard’s personal ledger and associated official records, his accumulated takes would total out to a mere $12.5 million in today’s dollars. Some argue that his statement in which he said his “real treasure lay in a location known only to him and the devil” possibly indicates that his books were not necessarily accurate. However, there is no real evidence that he ever purposely separated himself from any substantial amount of his loot in such a manner as burying or otherwise hiding it in some way.
Thus, his somewhat inflated legacy notwithstanding, Blackbeard can only be cited as the tenth-most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy.
