Pirate Blackbeard ‘no killer’

THE pirate Blackbeard has been misjudged for centuries and never killed anyone for booty, an expert says.

The seafarer – notorious for terrifying victims by hanging lighted fuses from his hat and beard – was actually born Edward Thatch, not Teach, and was fair and “judicious” according to US writer Colin Woodard.

History has portrayed Thatch, born around 1680, as a cruel and cold-blooded killer.

But Mr Woodard says there is

TERRIFYING Blackbeard not a single instance when he killed anyone before his final fatal battle with the Royal Navy in 1718.

He added the stories of the pirate as a brutal, violent man were made up by the authorities to justify the hunt for him. Mr Woodard said: “Blackbeard was judicious in his use of force.” He added: “In battle, he cultivated a terrifying image. “Merchant crews took one look at this apparition and his army of wild men and surrendered without a single hot being fired.”