Queen Anne's Revenge

Lore & Background

The ship that would be known as Queen Anne's Revenge was a 200-ton vessel believed to have been built in 1710. She was handed over to René Duguay-Trouin and employed in his service for some time before being converted into a slave ship, then operated by the leading slave trader René Montaudin of Nantes, until sold in 1713 in Peru or Chile. She was briefly re-acquired by the French Navy in November 1716, but was sold by them for commerce five months later in France, again for use as a slaver. She was captured by Blackbeard and his pirates on 28 November 1717, near the island of Martinique in the West Indies. After selling her cargo of slaves at Martinique, Blackbeard made the vessel his flagship, added more heavy cannons and renamed her Queen Anne's Revenge. The name may come from the War of the Spanish Succession, known in the Americas as Queen Anne's War, in which Blackbeard may have served in the Royal Navy, or possibly from sympathy for the Jacobite cause. Shortly after blockading Charleston harbor in May 1718, and refusing to accept Governor Robert Johnson's offer of the King's Pardon, Blackbeard ran Queen Anne's Revenge aground while entering Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, on 10 June 1718. A deposition given by David Herriot, the former captain of the sloop Adventure, states 'Thatch's [Teach's] ship Queen Anne's Revenge run a-ground off of the Bar of Topsail-Inlet.' He also states that Adventure 'run a-ground likewise about Gun-shot from the said Thatch' in an attempt to kedge Queen Anne's Revenge off the bar. Blackbeard then disbanded his flotilla and escaped by transferring supplies onto the smaller Adventure. He stranded several crew members on a small island nearby, where they were later rescued by Captain Stede Bonnet. Some suggest Blackbeard deliberately grounded the ship as an excuse to disperse the crew. Shortly afterward, he surrendered and accepted the King's Pardon for himself and his remaining crewmen from Governor Charles Eden at Bath, North Carolina. However, Blackbeard returned to piracy later that year and was killed in combat in November 1718.

Reader's Guide

Queen Anne's Revenge is significant as the flagship of one of history's most notorious pirates, Edward Teach (Blackbeard). Though Blackbeard used the ship for less than a year, she enabled him to capture numerous prizes and blockade Charleston harbor in May 1718. The ship's grounding at Topsail Inlet on 10 June 1718 marked a turning point, after which Blackbeard disbanded his flotilla and briefly accepted a pardon. The discovery of the wreck in 1996 by Intersal Inc. and subsequent excavations have recovered over 300,000 artifacts, including cannons of varied origins, a bronze bell, and paper fragments from a book used as cannon wadding. These finds have provided rare material evidence of early-18th-century piracy and maritime life. The site, listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, continues to yield insights into ship construction, armament, and the global trade networks of the period. Thirty cannons have been identified to date and more than 300,000 artifacts have been recovered. The cannons are of different origins including Sweden and England, and of different sizes as would be expected with a colonial pirate crew. In January 2018, sixteen fragments of paper were identified after being recovered from sludge inside a cannon. The scraps were from a copy of the book A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform'd in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710 and 1711 by Captain Edward Cooke, in which Cooke travels under Woodes Rogers; it is likely the pages were torn from the book and used as wadding in that cannon.

Did You Know?

• The ship was originally a French privateer named La Concorde, operating as early as 1710.
• Blackbeard captured Queen Anne's Revenge on 28 November 1717 near the island of Martinique.
• The ship was run aground on 10 June 1718 at Topsail Inlet, now known as Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina.
• Over 300,000 artifacts have been recovered from the wreck, including 30 cannons of Swedish and English origin.

Common Misconceptions (Editorial)

Some believe Blackbeard deliberately grounded Queen Anne's Revenge simply as a tactic to reduce his crew and escape, but the facts show the grounding followed an unsuccessful attempt to kedge the ship off the bar, and it is only suggested by some, not confirmed. Another misconception is that the ship was built specifically for Blackbeard; in fact, she was originally a French privateer and slave ship named La Concorde, captured by Blackbeard in 1717.

Why It Matters (Editorial)

Queen Anne's Revenge endures as a symbol of the Golden Age of Piracy, connecting a romanticized outlaw figure to a tangible, archaeologically rich wreck. The recovery of over 300,000 artifacts not only reveals the material reality of early-18th-century piracy but also underscores how piracy intersected with legitimate commerce, slavery, and colonial conflict, making the ship a gateway to understanding a complex historical era.