1 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,480 [dramatic swashbuckling music] 2 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,240 [narrator] In 1717, 3 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,360 the seas of the Caribbean are ruled by the Flying Gang. 4 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,000 [cannon fire echoing] 5 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,160 -[narrator] Black Sam Bellamy. -Hoist the black flag! 6 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:28,400 [narrator] Edward Thatch. 7 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,320 Signal Hornigold, ask him if we're gonna attack, now, now, now! 8 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:33,040 [narrator] And Benjamin Hornigold. 9 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:35,960 -[pirates cheer] -Nassau! The new Pirate Republic. 10 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:38,680 [narrator] From their base in the Bahamas, 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,040 these pirates steal a fortune 12 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,840 from the wealthiest empires in Europe… 13 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:45,080 Last chance! 14 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:46,720 Where are the jewels? 15 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:49,360 Hornigold! You're the Captain! Stop him! Oh! 16 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,400 [narrator] …and disrupt the lucrative slave trade. 17 00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:53,440 [man grunts] 18 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:57,040 [narrator] But now a storm is brewing in England. 19 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,040 Bloody pirates! Pirates of the seas… 20 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,160 That is a beast with teeth. 21 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:07,320 [narrator] The final straw is the capture 22 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,480 of the heavily-armed slave ship, the Whydah. 23 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:14,560 Pirates are hitting Britain's merchants where it hurts: 24 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:16,080 their pockets. 25 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,400 I want them dead! 26 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,520 [narrator] Enter the pirate terminator. 27 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:27,040 Gentlemen! Captain Woodes Rogers. 28 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:32,080 [narrator] He is on a mission to destroy the Flying Gang of the Caribbean. 29 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:36,360 [dramatic swashbuckling music] 30 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:46,560 [gulls crying] 31 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:51,440 [somber music] 32 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:58,840 [approaching footsteps] 33 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,400 [somber music] 34 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,160 Five hundred slaves for nothing! 35 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:22,800 A fortune lost, 36 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,520 and some scum pirate laughing in my face. 37 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:29,760 You're not alone. 38 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,440 The British South Sea Company's lost two more ships. 39 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:37,520 Letters have arrived from Jamaica, Boston, Charleston… 40 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:40,640 Pirates are decimating trade. 41 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:43,920 As the Pirate Republic was gaining in strength, 42 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,000 the concerns within the Empire, and certainly back in London, 43 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:49,680 were growing as well. 44 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,760 Because the pirates were starting to destabilize not only commerce, 45 00:02:53,840 --> 00:02:57,640 but the security of the colonies themselves. 46 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:03,480 [Fox] There was a fear that the slave trade would become untenable, 47 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,360 if the pirate menace wasn't dealt with. 48 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,480 Because they were so powerful in the Caribbean. 49 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:13,680 And there was no alternative route. You couldn't just go round the pirates. 50 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,400 And there are more disturbing reports that you should be aware of. 51 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:22,320 More disturbing than the theft of my slaves? 52 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,400 It appears that the Whydah was, in part, 53 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:28,720 captured with the assistance of slaves. 54 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,840 Slaves that had been set free. 55 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:35,360 What? 56 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:38,400 Impossible! 57 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,120 Not according to the communiques I have received. 58 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:46,360 There have been several recorded instances of slaves being employed by pirate crews, 59 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:49,360 freely and willingly, it would seem. 60 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:52,200 And it is said that Nassau 61 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,280 is becoming a haven for runaway Negroes. 62 00:03:56,240 --> 00:04:00,200 Governors complained that the effect of 63 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,800 the rise of piracy in Nassau was causing unrest 64 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,480 among the slave plantations in the Caribbean. 65 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,600 [Woodward] Many of these islands, the slave population outnumbered 66 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,360 the European population by many times. 67 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:16,440 So, the fear that there would be a slave insurrection, 68 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:19,960 or that the slaves would feel like they had a future or a possibly… 69 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:22,200 Hope was a dangerous thing to these places. 70 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:26,920 White men consorting with savages? 71 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:30,600 Putting ideas into their heads! 72 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:34,960 I will talk to the King. 73 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:37,400 I will summon parliament. 74 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:44,240 I will give you everything you need, Rogers. 75 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,680 But you stamp this cancer out! 76 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,480 Humphry Morice was a Member of Parliament. 77 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,360 He was also one of the early governors of the Bank of England. 78 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,760 So, he was a very prominent person in British society. 79 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,440 Woodes Rogers is the real deal. 80 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:16,200 He is an experienced, very tough seaman who's as salty as they come. 81 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:18,800 He was one of the few people 82 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:21,360 to have circumnavigated the globe. 83 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:23,720 [Fox] When he walked into a room, 84 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,640 you could see, before he even opened his mouth, 85 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:29,480 that here was a man who knew danger, 86 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,920 who knew excitement, who knew adventure. 87 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,480 During his privateering voyage around the world, 88 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:38,560 he'd been shot in the face with a musket. 89 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,000 [Choundas] Teeth fall out, skitter all over the deck, 90 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,600 and he swallows something hard, and he doesn't know what it is. 91 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:47,120 But two months later, 92 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,200 the doctor discovers that Woodes Rogers swallowed his own jawbone. 93 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:54,080 [somber music] 94 00:05:55,360 --> 00:06:00,440 Woodes Rogers' plan was to drive the pirates out of the Bahamas, 95 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:06,280 to install himself as the governor, to restore law and order to the colonies. 96 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,400 [somber violin music] 97 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,680 [narrator] But the problem is about to get a whole lot worse. 98 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:23,440 Edward Thatch and Black Caesar are planning their next move. 99 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:27,520 Their leader, Benjamin Hornigold, 100 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,800 has so far been loyal to the English 101 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:33,080 and not attacked their merchant ships. 102 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:35,720 The men have been talking. 103 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:38,640 -They have-- -[Hornigold grunts] 104 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:42,800 [burps] 105 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:45,360 [narrator] But he's had a change of heart. 106 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,280 So, like, worst that I've been thinking. 107 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:51,440 [sighs deeply] 108 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,600 You can tell your crew that we're not laying off English shipping anymore. 109 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:01,120 Are you serious? 110 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:05,960 There'll be no wanton destruction. 111 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:08,120 No killing. 112 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:11,360 But from now on, 113 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:14,120 we're taking what we can. 114 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:19,080 [male historian] For more than 100 years, English pirates had attacked 115 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,360 what were traditionally enemies of England, 116 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:23,520 either Spanish or Portuguese ships. 117 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:28,000 By the 17-teens, for really the first time, 118 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,880 English pirates actively engaged English shipping. 119 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:33,480 [waves splashing] 120 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,400 [narrator] Hornigold's decision is a game-changer. 121 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,360 His gang quickly seizes a mighty English ship, 122 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:42,000 the Bonnet. 123 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:44,400 Hornigold makes it his flagship. 124 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:49,560 [cannon fire echoing] 125 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:52,240 And then Thatch trades up, too, 126 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,680 when he spots another heavily-armed merchant ship. 127 00:07:58,480 --> 00:07:59,640 [Thatch] Hold her steady! 128 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:04,360 Telescope, quick! 129 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:10,000 She's English. 130 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:11,320 Good size, too. 131 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:13,920 Come here, lad, come here! 132 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:18,320 Signal Hornigold, ask him if we're gonna attack, now, now, now! 133 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:22,520 [Thatch] Come on, Benjamin. Come on, Benjamin. 134 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:24,400 Come on, come on, come on! 135 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:26,280 [pirate] Hornigold says we can attack! 136 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,240 [Thatch] Benjamin Hornigold, you beautiful bastard! 137 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,760 -Load your cannons! -[pirate] Cannon full! 138 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:33,720 Prime your weapons! 139 00:08:35,680 --> 00:08:37,560 [loud splash] 140 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:39,440 [men shouting] 141 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:49,160 [door splintering open] 142 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:54,240 [laughs] 143 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,760 -[pirates laughing and cheering] -[pirate] Look at that! 144 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:02,360 [narrator] The ship is overflowing with the profits of slavery. 145 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,760 -[pirate] Where's the captain? -[shouts] This is a British ship! 146 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:09,440 And you are violating international treaties! 147 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:15,640 The Navy will be informed, and you will all be imprisoned. 148 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:18,000 [pirate] Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh. 149 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:23,880 You don't think we know you stole this yourself? 150 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,040 It's the wage of an African life. 151 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:31,080 [somber music] 152 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:34,760 Tell me, how can we steal from you, 153 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:37,040 what you stole from us? 154 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:39,800 [coins clinking] 155 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:49,560 [Fox] One surprising fact about pirates is that many of the crews contained 156 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,520 large numbers of former African slaves. 157 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:58,160 Some of those men, we know, were free. 158 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:01,720 [captain] I recognize you. 159 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:05,920 You're Benjamin Hornigold! 160 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:08,400 You realize this is treason! 161 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:13,200 What sort of Englishman attacks his own country, 162 00:10:14,680 --> 00:10:16,480 and consorts with apes? 163 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:20,560 [foreboding music] 164 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:22,280 Apes? 165 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:26,920 Hold him. 166 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:31,760 What are you doing? 167 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:36,080 Hornigold, you're the captain, stop him! Oh, oh, oh! 168 00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:40,560 [captain grunts, gags] 169 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:47,280 What you eat, you shit. 170 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:50,320 [pirates laugh] 171 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:04,400 [narrator] Hornigold agonizes over his disloyalty to the English Crown. 172 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:09,440 But Black Sam Bellamy has no such qualms. 173 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:15,160 That is a beast with teeth! 174 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:19,560 [narrator] Bellamy has just taken the greatest English merchant ship of the age, 175 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:22,800 a slave trader called the Whydah. 176 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:25,520 The things we could do with a ship like that. 177 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:27,920 [narrator] It makes Bellamy unstoppable. 178 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:29,320 [pirate] Fire! 179 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:31,040 [cannon fire echoing] 180 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:36,080 [hull creaking] 181 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:39,160 [waves splashing] 182 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:42,560 [Choundas] Sam Bellamy and Paulsgrave Williams, 183 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:45,320 intercept a sloop captained by a man named Beer. 184 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,000 Beer is brought aboard the Whydah. 185 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,040 Bellamy and Williams have made the decision. 186 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:54,120 Beer seems like a decent fellow. 187 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,280 After they finished plundering, they were gonna give him his sloop back. 188 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,880 But the companies disagree. 189 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:06,320 So, the men have voted. 190 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:08,080 Voted? 191 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:10,360 I'm sorry. Your ship's to be burned. 192 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:12,000 But you-- 193 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:18,640 Williams and Bellamy's men overrule the captain's determination 194 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:21,160 and the company, in pirate life, rules. 195 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:23,520 Don't you have any control over your men? 196 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:26,680 Don't you have any loyalty toward the Crown, man? 197 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:28,400 Which Crown? 198 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:32,640 I mean, Quintor, he's Dutch. 199 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,160 And Julia's Mexican-Indian, Eric's Danish, Williams, he's a Scot. 200 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:38,120 [Williams] Mm. 201 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:39,400 And might I add, 202 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:43,160 fuck that sausage-eating ass-wipe King George. [spits] 203 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,440 [pirates laugh] 204 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:48,240 You're a disgrace! 205 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:51,240 All of you, gutter trash, cowards! 206 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:54,520 Captain Beer is important in the history of piracy, 207 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:57,480 no so much for what he did, but for what he heard. 208 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:02,160 One of the most famous speeches ever delivered by a pirate. 209 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,240 I'm sorry we have to sink your ship, 210 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:06,560 but this is all on you. 211 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:09,560 Men like you, 212 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,680 you lay down and you let the rich walk all over you. 213 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:16,120 They call us villains. 214 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:18,600 But there's really only one difference. 215 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:23,280 The rich rob the poor under cover of law. 216 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,000 We plunder the rich by our own courage. 217 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:30,440 Isn't it better to be one of us 218 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:32,840 than to sneak after them 219 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:34,920 for your work? 220 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:38,920 My conscience would never allow me to break the law of God and man. 221 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,000 Your conscience? [sniffs] 222 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:42,040 Well, 223 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:45,280 here's what my conscience tells me. 224 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:51,600 I'm a free prince, and I have just as much right 225 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:54,320 to wage war on the whole world, 226 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:57,480 as someone with a hundred sail of ships at sea, 227 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:00,560 or an army of 100,000 in the field. 228 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:04,600 Farewell, Captain. 229 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:11,160 In his speech to Captain Beer, 230 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:15,720 Bellamy basically lays out the credo of the, you know, 231 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,320 pirates as social revolutionaries. 232 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,840 Imagine what it was like for an enslaved person 233 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:24,480 in the 18th century to bear witness 234 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,000 to someone challenging authority… 235 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:30,400 [somber music] 236 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:34,560 …and describing himself as his own free prince. 237 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:38,440 [birds chirping] 238 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,640 [waves splashing] 239 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:49,680 [gulls crying] 240 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:52,560 This is good. 241 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:56,760 So, where do we go next? 242 00:14:58,280 --> 00:14:59,280 To Eastham. 243 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:01,160 It's time I saw Mary. 244 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:04,920 We should've let that ship go. 245 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:08,520 Yeah, but what could you do, huh? 246 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:10,200 Democracy rules. 247 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:13,280 Have a drink. 248 00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:17,160 Just think, 249 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,040 in a few days you'll be back in Eastham, 250 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,920 the richest pirate that ever set sail. 251 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,960 And you'll have your Mary there to meet you with booty of her own. 252 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:28,480 [Bellamy chuckles] 253 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,240 I should go back to the Mary Anne 254 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,360 before the crew start causing mischief. 255 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:42,200 Enough with the long face, Sam. 256 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,240 We are rich, and you're going home. 257 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:48,400 [gulls crying] 258 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,280 [somber piano music] 259 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:58,240 [Williams sighs] 260 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:00,360 Looks like a fog is coming in. 261 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,760 [narrator] The weather threatens to delay Bellamy getting home 262 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:08,920 to the woman he became a pirate for… 263 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,280 Mary Hallett. 264 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:16,240 [somber piano music continues] 265 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:29,400 [thunder rumbling, lightning crashing] 266 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:31,720 [sobbing] 267 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:36,080 [narrator] An unmarried mother, she's been cast out by her family. 268 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:37,040 [sobbing] No. 269 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:41,680 Mary Hallett is found with a dead infant in her arms, her own infant, in a barn. 270 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:42,960 I didn't kill her. 271 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,000 [whispering] I didn't kill her. I didn't kill her. 272 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:48,400 I didn't kill her. 273 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:53,480 At the time, the only thing worse than having a baby outside of wedlock 274 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:54,640 was losing one. 275 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:56,080 I didn't kill her. 276 00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:57,920 [policeman] Mary Hallett. 277 00:16:58,000 --> 00:16:59,680 -You're under arrest. -No. 278 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:02,680 -Come with me. -I didn't… 279 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:06,240 [Cale] She was suspected of having killed the child herself. 280 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:09,160 Father, please don't. 281 00:17:10,120 --> 00:17:12,680 [somber violin music] 282 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,440 [man] Mary Hallett, you are accused before God 283 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:24,040 of the heinous crime of infanticide. 284 00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:27,720 Cotton Mather was a very prominent person in Massachusetts society. 285 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:30,120 He was a Puritan preacher. 286 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:34,080 He was very well-known for his very strict religious views. 287 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:38,080 [sobs] A curse on you, Sam. You didn't come. 288 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,080 Begin the punishment. 289 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,440 -[whip cracking] -[whimpering] 290 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:46,560 [screaming and whimpering] 291 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:51,000 [Hallett sobbing] 292 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:52,920 Mary was publicly flogged, 293 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,120 she was imprisoned, and she was eventually driven out of town. 294 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,400 [somber music] 295 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:01,960 [narrator] Sailors are a superstitious lot. 296 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:08,400 Salt over your shoulder keeps the devil at bay. 297 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,440 Rats leaving a ship, time to disembark. 298 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:15,880 Whistling on board whistles up a storm. 299 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:19,120 And that was the real enemy… 300 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:20,720 [thunder rumbles, cracks] 301 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:22,000 …the weather. 302 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:27,120 Upset the gods, 303 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,360 you'll surely be dragged to the ocean floor. 304 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:34,880 [ship creaking] 305 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:43,560 [Bellamy] Paulsgrave! 306 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:46,120 Paulsgrave! 307 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,440 [sighs] 308 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:54,360 [somber music] 309 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:58,120 It's okay, lad. We'll meet up with Paulsgrave in the morning, 310 00:18:58,200 --> 00:18:59,560 once we've cleared this fog. 311 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:01,840 Loose sail. 312 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,280 Steer us northeasterly. 313 00:19:04,360 --> 00:19:06,680 See if we can get out from under this blanket. 314 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:12,720 [Woodward] So, as Bellamy's flotilla was sailing along 315 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,400 the leeward shore of the outer Cape, 316 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:19,280 a terrible storm approached at the worst possible timing. 317 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:23,480 -[thunder rumbling] -[waves crashing] 318 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:26,360 -[ships creaking] -[sailors shouting] 319 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:31,360 What Bellamy's hoping will happen 320 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:35,040 is that he'll be able to out-pace the storm, maybe maneuver round it. 321 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:39,840 [narrator] Bellamy's Whydah, with 160 souls on board, 322 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:41,960 and a ton of treasure, 323 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:45,320 is being driven towards the shore of Cape Cod. 324 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:48,040 Fierce waves started striking the ship. 325 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,040 -[waves crashing] -[men shouting] 326 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:54,360 Pretty soon it was clear they were not going to make it around the Cape. 327 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:57,520 [dramatic music] 328 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:00,040 I'm scared. I don't want to drown. 329 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:02,480 [Bellamy] Hold on tight, lad. 330 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,120 [pirates shouting] 331 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:06,840 [thunder crashes] 332 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:09,120 [men shouting] 333 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:12,720 [deafening splash] 334 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,720 [somber music] 335 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:27,440 By morning, when any residents of the outer Cape 336 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:30,920 came out to see what had happened during the storm, 337 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:36,320 the beach was strewn with the bodies of almost all of the Whydah's crew and men. 338 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,040 [Cale] Anyone that found a wrecked pirate ship, 339 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:47,200 must've felt like they won the lottery. 340 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:49,160 Most of the time, these are going to be filled 341 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:50,760 with all different kinds of things. 342 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:54,000 So, we're not only talking about gold, but also things that have 343 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:55,720 pretty serious monetary value. 344 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,680 Ivory tusks, jewels, anything you could think of. 345 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:10,920 Of 160 people aboard the Whydah when it crashed, 346 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:15,600 only two of them survived and made it to shore to survive the night. 347 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:19,200 [somber music] 348 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:23,400 Bellamy was not among them. 349 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:26,880 [ravens cawing] 350 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,920 [Woodward] The sadder moments is archaeology has shown, 351 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,320 that the nine-year-old cabin boy, John King, 352 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,760 was drowned still wearing the shoes and silk stockings 353 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:39,560 his mother had dressed him in before he decided to volunteer 354 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:41,680 to join the pirate crew months earlier. 355 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,680 [gulls crying] 356 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,600 [narrator] At the age of 28, Black Sam's story is over. 357 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,880 [somber, dramatic music] 358 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:56,480 In just over a year, he becomes the richest pirate in history. 359 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,360 He does it all for the love of a woman. 360 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,560 But he never sees Mary again. 361 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:06,760 She loses her mind… 362 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:08,360 -[lightning cracks] -[screams] 363 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:12,040 …and becomes known as the Witch of Eastham. 364 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:17,400 [gulls crying] 365 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,480 The few survivors from Bellamy's fleet 366 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:21,480 make it into town, 367 00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:24,080 where they drown their sorrows. 368 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:26,720 [Woodward] But the eight pirates aboard the Mary Anne 369 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:30,160 only got as far as the tavern in Eastham when the local justice of the peace 370 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,200 had headed them off, knowing that this was one of the few places 371 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:37,680 where strangers from abroad might acquire horses to escape. 372 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:41,560 And instead, they would leave the Cape in irons. 373 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:45,280 [somber music] 374 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:48,880 [waves splashing] 375 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,640 [narrator] As for the Flying Gang back in Nassau, 376 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,560 Black Sam's death cuts them deep. 377 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,320 Word didn't reach Nassau until a few weeks later 378 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,520 as to what had happened to the Whydah and that it had crashed ashore. 379 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:07,880 But when it did, it would've been electrifying news. 380 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:15,640 It's all my fault. 381 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,560 I persuaded him to carry on raiding when we could have retired. 382 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:25,560 We'd never seen that much gold. 383 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:27,920 We were rich. 384 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:31,800 And now he's dead, and… 385 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:34,840 that is on me. 386 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:38,200 There's nothing you could've done. 387 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,600 Just thank the gods you missed the storm and made it home. 388 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:56,760 [narrator] Captain Henry Jennings leads a rival pirate gang. 389 00:23:56,840 --> 00:23:57,720 May I? 390 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:06,280 I'm sorry about Bellamy. 391 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:10,280 He was unusually clever for a man of his 392 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:11,520 upbringing. 393 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:14,440 Most common sailors can't be trusted 394 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:16,920 with anything more than a mop and a shit cloth. 395 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:20,480 Isn't that right, Vane? 396 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:26,520 I have news. 397 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:29,400 A trader just in from Boston. 398 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:34,000 Apparently, they have eight of Bellamy's men in the cells there. 399 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:37,640 They've passed sentence. 400 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:43,120 Execution by hanging. 401 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,760 If they so as much as scratch one of 'em, 402 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:55,920 so help me God, I'll raze Boston to the ground. 403 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:02,640 Anyway, I thought you'd want to know. 404 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:13,000 [Jennings] To Bellamy. 405 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:16,160 God rest his soul. 406 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:20,080 [Jennings chugging pint] 407 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:27,000 [sniffs] Here. 408 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:31,640 Next one's on me. 409 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:37,920 Why couldn't he have drowned? 410 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,320 The devil takes care of his own, Teddy. 411 00:25:47,560 --> 00:25:49,600 [somber music] 412 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:54,200 -[blow striking flesh] -[man groaning] 413 00:25:55,280 --> 00:26:00,080 Cotton Mather was keen to stamp out the evils of piracy, 414 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:03,960 the ungodly criminal ways that these pirates had. 415 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:07,480 [pirate groans] 416 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:13,640 [pirate] Urgh! 417 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:14,880 [Mather] Enough. 418 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,600 The end is coming for you. 419 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,280 [narrator] Bellamy's men are strung up like butchered cattle, 420 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:33,080 in the largest hanging of pirates in Boston's history. 421 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:45,800 What is it? 422 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:48,160 [sniffs] 423 00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:51,920 Sam, he knew a lot, yeah. 424 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:57,240 And he was the smartest and luckiest of all of us, you know that? 425 00:26:59,000 --> 00:26:59,960 [sighs] 426 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:02,480 No man… 427 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:05,200 can beat the sea. 428 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:07,840 The sea, the Navy, any other bastard, 429 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:10,960 it's only a matter of time before they get ya. 430 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:16,440 From here, 431 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,440 we work faster and harder, more than any man ever has. 432 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:23,840 We terrify ships. 433 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,160 We load the holds with gold. 434 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,000 And then we vanish… 435 00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:33,160 before the devil gets us. 436 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:38,840 Nobody beats the devil. 437 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:42,640 Mm. 438 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:54,360 What if you become the devil? 439 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:04,800 [narrator] Thatch is planning the mother of all revenge, 440 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:07,040 but he needs more firepower. 441 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,320 [waves splashing] 442 00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:19,960 [narrator] Opportunity beckons when an unlikely pirate turns up in Nassau. 443 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,440 His name is Stede Bonnet. 444 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,200 Pardon my French, but 445 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:28,200 what the fuck happened to you? 446 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:31,440 [narrator] The hapless Bonnet has just taken a beating 447 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:33,320 from a Spanish warship. 448 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:39,040 Thatch was casting about, looking for a bigger, stronger vessel 449 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:41,880 than the one he already had, and Bonnet brought him one. 450 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,200 It's a fine looking ship you've got there, Mr. Bonnet. 451 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:46,360 Could be a terror 452 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:48,840 in the right hands. 453 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:51,520 [narrator] Known as the Gentleman Pirate, 454 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:56,280 Bonnet is from a wealthy family and has had his own ship built: 455 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:57,920 the Revenge. 456 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:06,120 I would still be captain? 457 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:09,400 Of course. 458 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:11,880 Edward here will be overseeing things for you. 459 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:14,840 But you can trust him with your life. 460 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:17,200 Loyal as they come is our Edward. 461 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:23,920 What do you say? 462 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,320 [Fox] It was ideal for Thatch. 463 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:28,960 Bonnet needed somebody to take over, 464 00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:32,680 sort of show him the ropes, to show him how to be a pirate. 465 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:36,120 And there was Thatch, so it was an ideal solution for both of them. 466 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,200 Did you see the ship's name? 467 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:40,480 The Revenge. 468 00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:44,240 All hell is going to follow after her. 469 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:49,080 All we need is a devil to captain her. 470 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:52,600 [dramatic music] 471 00:29:57,760 --> 00:29:59,320 [cannon fire echoing] 472 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:01,480 Faster! Faster! 473 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:05,960 [narrator] Thatch wastes no time in taking his revenge on the British. 474 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:08,920 No ship out of Boston is now safe. 475 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:15,840 But Thatch runs his ship democratically and fairly. 476 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:20,920 [Thatch] We need a doctor. 477 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,040 One of our crew is very sick. 478 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:33,840 It's very important that the captain is shown to take every crew member seriously, 479 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,680 and to treat them with respect, and also to look after them, 480 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:38,400 because they're all in it together. 481 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:39,720 If you come forward, 482 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:42,120 you will be rewarded. 483 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:45,640 [waves splashing] 484 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:48,560 If, however, you're inclined to lie… 485 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,280 and perhaps you say you're a clerk or a watchmaker… 486 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:57,480 perhaps even an exotic dancer… 487 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:05,480 then perhaps I'll make my men strip you and ride you like a backdoor whore. 488 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:10,480 And when they've finished with ya, 489 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:14,960 there won't be nothing left for the little fishies. 490 00:31:25,240 --> 00:31:26,520 What's your name? 491 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:31,760 Dr. John Howell. 492 00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:34,640 Well, John Howell, we have one very sick crew member. 493 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:44,840 All this for a Negro? 494 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,280 This man is a very important member of my crew, 495 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:50,920 and as they all are. 496 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:55,600 Do you believe God created man in his own image doctor? 497 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:56,640 [Howell] Yes. 498 00:31:57,600 --> 00:31:59,240 And this Negro, 499 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:02,280 does he bleed red blood like we do? 500 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:03,440 [Howell] Yes. 501 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,720 And when you look at his insides, are they identical to the rest of us? 502 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:09,200 Yes. 503 00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:10,880 Well, then, 504 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:13,760 maybe God is a Black man. 505 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:16,560 Or maybe He is a She. 506 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:20,720 Or maybe we're all the same except some are stronger, 507 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:21,920 and some are weaker. 508 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:26,920 [pirate groans] 509 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:34,280 We may need to amputate. 510 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:35,720 I don't think so. 511 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:42,960 If you don't cure this man, it could mean I lose out on a small fortune, 512 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:46,120 and then possibly it could mean you lose out on your life. 513 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:49,880 When you're done with him, 514 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:52,000 come find me in my cabin. 515 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:56,160 There's another separate matter I'd like to discuss with ya. 516 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:04,720 [waves splashing] 517 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,520 [ship creaking] 518 00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:12,920 [Thatch exhales] 519 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:23,560 [seething] Come on, man, you're the doctor, diagnose me! 520 00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:29,080 [narrator] Thatch has symptoms of an illness which is the curse of sailors. 521 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:36,680 [exhales] 522 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:43,240 [pained grunt] 523 00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:46,000 Treponema pallidum. 524 00:33:46,080 --> 00:33:49,640 I know what it is, pox syphilis. Do you have any mercury? 525 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:51,880 No. 526 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:01,760 Blackbeard suffered from syphilis. I don't see how he could've avoided it. 527 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:05,280 I mean pirates, you know, they would spend their nights with women, 528 00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:07,200 who they'd either bought or married. 529 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:09,920 I believe that Blackbeard married quite a few women, 530 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:14,160 possibly as many as 14 in different ports all over the Caribbean. 531 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:17,640 [Cale] Syphilis was particularly brutal. 532 00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:21,600 Syphilis begins to eat at the soft tissues of a body. 533 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:25,840 People losing noses, pieces of their faces. 534 00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:31,600 If you tell anyone about this, 535 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:34,880 you'll be dead before me. 536 00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:39,240 And it will be very slow. 537 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:45,280 He would do anything he could to try to find that medicine, 538 00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:47,400 if he believed that it would cure him. 539 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:49,760 [narrator] But there was no cure. 540 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:52,960 Most victims went mad before dying. 541 00:34:55,920 --> 00:35:00,240 Bellamy's death has left Thatch hell-bent on vengeance. 542 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:02,920 He terrorizes British shipping. 543 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:06,280 The very foundations of the Empire are at stake. 544 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:08,960 [cannon fire echoing] 545 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:13,000 As the piracy outbreak started reaching its zenith, 546 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:15,280 it was becoming an existential threat 547 00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:17,760 to the Empire, rather than simply a nuisance. 548 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:19,960 -[cannon fire] -[men groaning] 549 00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:23,760 Royal Navy vessels that were stationed in the Americas 550 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:28,200 were becoming out-gunned and out-manned by the pirates themselves 551 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:31,160 [cannon fire echoing] 552 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:37,000 [narrator] British merchants are clamoring for action. 553 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:40,960 They have finally lost patience with Member of Parliament Humphry Morice. 554 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:44,360 [man, angrily] Look at me, I'm reduced to bankruptcy! 555 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:46,560 What are you going to do about this? 556 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:48,480 [Morice] Gentlemen! 557 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:52,360 Gentlemen, a moment, please. 558 00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:56,640 Let's listen to what Mr. Rogers has to say. 559 00:35:57,840 --> 00:35:58,800 Thank you. 560 00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:02,280 I have a proposal for you all. 561 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:10,120 A private company of ships and men armed to retake the seas and end this villainy. 562 00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:14,240 But with the best of will, 563 00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:18,120 these pirates are formidable sailors, 564 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:19,800 well-armed, 565 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:25,640 and emboldened with a common resolve to villainy. 566 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:31,080 What if your armed expedition isn't enough to defeat them? 567 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:32,920 And excellent observation. 568 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:35,080 Force alone won't be enough. 569 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:37,840 That's why I have another plan. 570 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:42,680 We're going to ask the King to pardon them. 571 00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:45,280 What? 572 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:50,120 I want them dead! 573 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,200 Drowned, hung, quartered! 574 00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:54,920 Not fucking pardoned! 575 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:56,440 I know these men! 576 00:36:58,560 --> 00:36:59,680 I know them. 577 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:02,640 Let me explain. 578 00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:06,080 They present a formidable front, 579 00:37:06,160 --> 00:37:11,360 but in every wall there is always a crack. 580 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:13,320 A weak spot. 581 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:15,520 Pick at it long enough, 582 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:17,920 and the whole building comes crumbling down. 583 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:20,640 And what is this weak spot? 584 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:25,160 Greed. 585 00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:30,360 [narrator] Rogers plans to divide the pirates. 586 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:32,480 [gulls crying] 587 00:37:33,760 --> 00:37:36,680 The pardon would have introduced an element of confusion 588 00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:39,760 and infighting amongst the pirates in the Bahamas. 589 00:37:39,840 --> 00:37:42,320 When news of the pardon hits Nassau, 590 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:44,640 this is huge news for everybody. 591 00:37:44,720 --> 00:37:48,000 You have to remember, a lot of the people who've gone into being a pirate 592 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:49,640 have done so under desperation. 593 00:37:49,720 --> 00:37:52,200 [soft music] 594 00:37:56,920 --> 00:37:58,440 [door opens] 595 00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:11,080 Wait! 596 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:13,280 Get off! 597 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:16,400 Vane! 598 00:38:19,360 --> 00:38:20,720 Is this genuine? 599 00:38:20,800 --> 00:38:21,720 Aye. 600 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:25,000 -Vane! -What is it? 601 00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:28,440 Go and get Hornigold, now! Tell him we need to parley. 602 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:32,800 What does it say? 603 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:35,000 [Jennings] It's an offer from the King. 604 00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:36,360 A pardon! 605 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:41,600 [dramatic music] 606 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:48,200 [Woodward] The King's pardon presented all of the pirates 607 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:52,120 with a decision that they never thought that they would need to contemplate. 608 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:55,440 They'd all thought that when they went into piracy it was a one way trip. 609 00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,200 Suddenly, there was a choice. 610 00:39:00,600 --> 00:39:03,360 [waves splashing] 611 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:06,800 [thunder cracks] 612 00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:11,200 [narrator] Edward Thatch is undergoing a metamorphosis. 613 00:39:12,080 --> 00:39:14,000 [in unhinged voice] I'm Edward Thatch. 614 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:17,240 [narrator] One that will seal his name in history. 615 00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:19,600 Do you know who I am? I'm Edward Thatch. 616 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:21,680 [whispering] I'm Edward Thatch. 617 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:25,400 You can call it madness or you can all it genius, 618 00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:27,560 but it was probably a little bit of both. 619 00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:30,400 [echoing] Do you know who I am? 620 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:34,040 It is possible that after some time sailing, 621 00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:37,040 his mind became a bit addled due to effects of syphilis. 622 00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:40,160 My name is Edward Thatch. 623 00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:41,840 [Simon] In some of the later stages, 624 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:44,040 it can cause peoples' personality to change. 625 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:50,320 [eerie, unsettling music] 626 00:39:53,720 --> 00:39:56,160 He created this image for himself, 627 00:39:56,240 --> 00:39:59,720 he became "Blackbeard" instead of Thatch. 628 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:04,400 These both were cast alive in a lake of fire. 629 00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:06,040 With which he deceived them. 630 00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:09,320 Burning and brimstone. That worshiped the image. 631 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:15,200 He created this kind of rock star persona before that was even a thing. 632 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:17,720 [eerie, unsettling music] 633 00:40:19,600 --> 00:40:21,440 Attaching sulfurous fuses 634 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:23,880 to the end of his beard and locks of his hair. 635 00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:27,200 With three strands of pistols and cutlasses upon him… 636 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:28,960 [fire crackling] 637 00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:31,400 He wasn't any longer a person. 638 00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:35,800 He was an entity, a different character entirely. 639 00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:40,400 He looked like a wild man. He looked like he might be possessed by the devil. 640 00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:42,760 [sulfur crackling] 641 00:40:43,520 --> 00:40:47,560 This terrifying vision of hell and fury. 642 00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:49,440 [cannon fire echoing] 643 00:40:49,520 --> 00:40:51,400 [sulfur sparkling] 644 00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:55,440 He became the most terrifying person 645 00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:57,360 in the Western world. 646 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:01,520 My name is Blackbeard! 647 00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:05,080 [dramatic swashbuckling music]