Of the origins of Charles Vane, the rashest member of the Flying Gang, we know very little. Prior to going pirate in 1715 or 1716, he was living in Port Royal, Jamaica, although records of his trial indicate he was not from there. He joined the crew of the privateer Henry Jennings prior to his…

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Edward Thatch, the pirate who came to be known as Blackbeard, is believed to have been born around 1680 in the vicinity of Bristol, England’s second most important port. Historians have speculated that Thatch (also recorded as “Teach,” “Tache,” and “Thach”) may have not have been his real name, a theory bolstered by a review…

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