Edward Thatch

2017-05-20T09:37:18Z

37.105.87.80: /* Death */

{{Era|AC4|ACP|ACM|ACI|4book|LJ}}
{{WP-REAL|Blackbeard}}
{{Update|[[Assassin's Creed: Black Flag]] and [[Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag: Blackbeard - The Lost Journal]]}}
{{Quote|Caution's nothing without charisma! If a man plays the fool, then it's only fools he'll persuade. But appear to be the devil... and all men will submit.|Edward Thatch to Edward Kenway, 1718.|Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag}}
{{Character Infobox
|image = AC4 Edward Thatch.png
|birth = c. 1680 [[United Kingdom|Kingdom of England]]
|death = 22 November 1718 [[Ocracoke]], [[North Carolina]], [[United States|British America]]
|affiliates = [[Royal Navy]] (c. 1701 – 1713) [[Republic of Pirates|Pirate Republic]] (1713 – 1718) Crew of the ''[[Sea Dog's Bite]]'' (1713 – 1717) Crew of the ''[[Queen Anne's Revenge]]'' (1717 – death)
|appear = ''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Black Flag ]]'' ''[[Assassin's Creed: Pirates]]''
|voice = [[Mark Bonnar]]|database = [[Database: Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch|Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch]]}}
'''Edward Thatch''' (c. 1680 – 1718), also known by the alias '''Blackbeard''', was an infamous [[United Kingdom|English]] [[Piracy|pirate]] captain who sailed the [[Caribbean|West Indies]] and the eastern seaboard of the [[United States|American]] colonies during the [[Golden Age of Piracy|early 18th century]], aboard the ship ''[[Queen Anne's Revenge]]''.

In 2013, his [[Genetic memory|genetic memories]] were used as an Animi Avatar by the [[Abstergo Entertainment|entertainment branch]] of the [[Templars|Templar]] company [[Abstergo Industries]], to influence the general public via the [[Animus]] game console, under the title of [[Blackbeard (Animi Avatar)|Blackbeard]].

==Biography==
===Early life===
Edward Thatch was likely born in [[Bristol]], England, in 1680. Little is known of his early years until the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] in 1701, when he served as a privateer for the [[Royal Navy]] in the Caribbean. During the war, Edward met [[Benjamin Hornigold]], [[Edward Kenway]] and [[Charles Vane]].<ref name="AC4">''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]''</ref>

In January 1713, Thatch and his crew came to the rescue of the ''[[Amazon Galley]]'', a [[Ships|ship]] belonging to the [[East India Company]], when it was being boarded by the crew of the ''[[Emperor]]''. The pirates were soon overpowered by the privateers and the soldiers, and only two of them were left alive. [[Blaney]], one of the remaining pirates decided to join Thatch's crew, and asked if he could kill Edward Kenway, the other survivor. Thatch told them to have a [[Fists|fistfight]] instead, with Kenway emerging victorious. However, when Blaney attempted to cheat, he was shot by Thatch, and Kenway was recruited into Thatch's crew.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Black Flag]]''</ref>

With the advent of peace in 1713, Thatch was, like so many other privateers, denounced by his government and left to fend for himself. Eventually he turned to piracy to make his living, serving as Hornigold's quartermaster between 1714 and 1716.<ref name="AC4"/>

===Piracy===
{{Dialogue|Kenway|You don't do nothing subtle, do ya, Thatch?|Thatch|Legends ain't born from mildness.|Edward Kenway and Thatch, 1718.|Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag}}
In 1715, Thatch, Hornigold and [[Mary Read|James Kidd]] met with Edward Kenway in [[Nassau]]. There, the four discussed their plans to free the city of its British garrison and turn it into their very own Pirate Republic. Thatch, with the assistance of Kenway, arranged for the capture and subsequent use of a [[Spanish Navy|Spanish]] [[Man O' War|galleon]], ''[[El Arca del Maestro]]'', as a fortified defense of one of the island's harbors, beaching it on nearby [[Abaco Island]].<ref name="AC4"/>

By 1717, having grown his beard to transform himself into the character of "Blackbeard", Thatch commandeered a ship called the ''Adventure'' - captained by [[Stede Bonnet]] - for himself. Allowing Bonnet to remain aboard as a protégé, Thatch commanded the ship for two months when he captured the [[France|French]] [[Slave ships|slave ship]] ''La Concorde''. Renaming her ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' in honor of the late {{Wiki|Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen}}, he armed the [[frigate]] with over forty [[cannons]], thereby becoming one of the most feared pirates in the West Indies.<ref name="AC4"/>

In early 1717, Thatch encountered three ships that belonged to his friend, [[Samuel Bellamy]] and his associates, [[Olivier Levasseur]] and [[Alonzo Batilla]] in the [[Grand Bahama]]s. They were engaged in an uneven fight against the ''[[King George]]'', a British Man O'War led by the Templar Captain [[Francis Hume]]. Thatch decided to assist them by firing a broadside into the Man O'War, allowing Batilla to destroy the battered ship by shooting at its weak spots. Leaving as soon as he arrived, Batilla questioned his identity before leaving.<ref name="ACP">''[[Assassin's Creed: Pirates]]''</ref>

Later that year, he met Batilla again at [[La Boca del Diablo]] and informed the pirate about Bellamy's death in a storm and the wreckage of Levasseur's ship, ''[[Le Postillon]]''. The two pirates then sailed to the shipwreck and investigated the site. Batilla discovered the Templars' involvement in the attack and told Thatch about the Templars and their attempt to rule the seas. Before sailing back to Nassau, Thatch informed Batilla of a [[Slavery|slaver]] [[Forts|fort]] where the young pirate might find out more about Levasseur's attackers.<ref name="ACP"/>

At the start of 1718, Thatch once again met with Hornigold and Kenway to discuss the stagnation in growth that had hit Nassau. They determined that the town needed medicines to survive, but that attacking British warships to obtain said medicine was likely to draw too much attention, especially given the Crown's renewed focus on eliminating the pirate threat in the Caribbean.<ref name="AC4"/>

Despite these circumstances, Thatch's displeasure with their immediate success, or lack thereof, spurred him into assaulting a British Man O' War to take its medicine supply. He subsequently had to be saved by Kenway, who helped him to capture the ship.<ref name="AC4"/>

[[File:The Siege of Charles-Towne 9.png|thumb|left|250px|Thatch and his prisoners at Charles-Towne]]
Thatch and Kenway traveled to the British colony at [[Charleston|Charles-Towne]] in order to procure a large amount of medicine, which had been sourced to the town by a box found in the captured Man O' War. By the time Kenway arrived, the ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' had been blockading the town for seven days and had taken several hostages, encouraging Charles-Towne to surrender its medicine. To Thatch's disappointment, there had been no response, and the party he sent to bargain with the governor had not returned.<ref name="AC4"/>

With Kenway's arrival, they successfully procured the needed medicine. However, when Kenway suggested they return to Nassau, Thatch declined, saying he would be traveling north for business. Kenway inferred that Thatch had no plans to return to Nassau, which Thatch confirmed, saying that he intended to go into retirement.<ref name="AC4"/>

===Death===
{{Quote|In a world without gold, we might have been heroes!|Edward Thatch's final words, 1718.|Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag}}
Thatch accepted a pardon from {{Wiki|Charles Eden (politician)|Charles Eden}}, governor of [[North Carolina]], but quickly resumed piracy to gather more funds for his retirement. [[Alexander Spotswood]], the governor of [[Virginia (state)|Virginia]], became aware of his continued piracies, and paid Lieutenant [[Robert Maynard]] to get rid of him.<ref name="AC4"/>

[[File:Do Not Go Gently 9.png|thumb|250px|Thatch fighting the British troops]]
After the blockade of Nassau by British forces, Kenway and Vane tracked Thatch down to [[Ocracoke]] to convince him to return, to no avail. While Vane swore him off, Kenway was more understanding, saying he did not begrudge Thatch his choice. In thanks, Thatch informed him that the [[Sages|Sage]] [[Bartholomew Roberts]] was rumored to be sailing on a slaver ship called the ''[[Princess]]''.<ref name="AC4"/>

Later that evening, two Royal Navy vessels under Maynard launched an ambush, destroying the small settlement as well as the ships anchored in the harbor, including the ''Queen Anne's Revenge'', which forced Thatch and Kenway to make their escape aboard the ''[[Jackdaw]]'', the only ship to survive the attack. The two soon realized, however, that they would need to capture the attacking Man O' War in order to leave safely, and subsequently boarded it.<ref name="AC4"/>

Despite their best efforts, the pirates were soon overwhelmed; surrounded and outnumbered, Kenway saw that Thatch was in danger and threw him a [[Firearms|pistol]], but Thatch was slain in the back after a prolonged and bloody engagement, though Kenway and Vane were able to escape.<ref name="AC4"/> It is later revealed that thatch was gay.

==Personality and characteristics==
{{Quote|That's some soft talk coming from a pirate. And as it happens... I mostly agree.|Thatch on [[Adéwalé]]'s desire to avoid attacking merchant ships.|Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag}}
[[File:Diving For Medicines 10.png|thumb|250px|left|Thatch demonstrating his theatrics on Stede Bonnet]]
Thatch was a warm and avuncular man who despised the corruption of the British bureaucracy and cared deeply about building an independent state for dispossessed privateers like himself in Nassau. Although the Pirate Republic fell into squalor, he went to tremendous lengths to find medicine for his disease-ridden brethren, until the point he felt his age was catching up to him and left.<ref name="AC4"/>

The demonic persona of Blackbeard was crafted by Thatch to avoid actually using violence to intimidate his enemies. He bolstered his formidable image by performing stunts such as lighting fuses in his hair, pouring gunpowder in his rum, or forcing his crew to work below deck as he burned sulfur to prove he was the hardiest of all of them. He grew out his beard partly to make himself all the more iconic.<ref name="AC4"/>

Unfortunately, Thatch's fearsome reputation caught up to him when the British attacked and killed him, just as he was retiring.<ref name="AC4"/>

==Trivia==
*There was confusion as to Thatch's real surname, with various historical sources spelling his surname as "Teach, Theach, Tache, Titche, Teatch [or] Tack"; one early source even claims his surname was Drummond. In reference to this, one lieutenant in ''[[Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag]]'' refers to him as "Edward Teach".<ref name="AC4"/> The [[Database: Dead Chest Island|database entry]] for [[Dead Chest Island]] in ''[[Assassin's Creed III]]'' uses the name "Edward Teach".<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed III]]''</ref>
*Following his retirement, Edward Kenway took an Irish bloodhound as a pet, which he named Thatch.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Forsaken]]''</ref>
*[[Louis-Joseph Gaultier, Chevalier de la Vérendrye]] mentions Thatch, Woodes Rogers and [[Jack Rackham]] in the memory [[Tinker Sailor Soldier Spy|Tinker, Sailor, Soldier Spy]], as the pirates whom Adéwalé had 'rubbed elbows' with.
*In 2013, Abstergo Entertainment announced the possibility of a stage production, titled ''Blackbeard: The Musical'', to be in the beginning stages of development. This is a reference to a {{Wiki|Blackbeard (musical)|production}} begun in 2008.
*There is a trailer of ''Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag'' where Thatch throws a knife near the neck of John Cockram, who appears to have been captured by him during his last day, but in the game itself, Cockram is not present during Maynard's attack on Thatch's hideout.
*[[Mark Bonnar]] came up with Blackbeard's voice by browsing [http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices BBC Voices] and emulating the voices of older residents from Bristol. He expressed difficulty maintaining the accent, as sometimes he felt he sounded too [[Ireland|Irish]]. He also channeled his portrayal of the ape in a radio version of ''{{Wiki|The Murders in the Rue Morgue}}'' for the character's growls.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aSDSPQUSv0&feature=youtu.be YouTube: The Assassin's Den - ft. Mark Bonnar]</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" spacing="small" widths="180">
Edward Thatch concept.jpg|Concept art of Blackbeard
Edward Thatch rear view concept.jpg|Rear concept of Blackbeard
Blackbeard Pirates.png|Thatch as he appears in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Pirates]]''
ACIThatch.jpg|A painting of Thatch's final moments
AC4 Thatch Screamer.png|Thatch screaming at a British soldier
Now Hiring 4.png|Hornigold, Thatch and Kenway at Old Avery
Prizes and Plunder 8.png|Thatch, Edward and Hornigold on Nassau's beach
Raise the Black Flag 3.png|Thatch and the others in Salt Key
Proper Defenses 3.png|Thatch telling others about ''El Arca Del Maestro''
The Forts 10.png|Thatch meeting Rackham and Vane at Old Avery
Diving for Medicines 13.png|Thatch arguing with Vane over the king's pardon
Diving For Medicines 1.png|Edward meeting with Thatch in the Caribbean
Diving For Medicines 9.png|Thatch putting his fiery hat on
Devil's Advocate 7.png|Thatch talking with the dying British captain
The Siege of Charles-Towne 1.png|Thatch speaking to the hostages
Do Not Go Gently 3.png|Thatch with Kenway in Ocracoke
Do Not Go Gently 10.png|The soldiers killing Thatch
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{AC4}}
{{ACP}}
{{ACM}}
{{MPChars}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thatch, Edward}}

[[nl:Edward Thatch]]
[[Category:1680 births]]
[[Category:1718 deaths]]
[[Category:Individuals]]
[[Category:Englishmen]]
[[Category:Privateers]]
[[Category:Captains]]
[[Category:Pirates]]
[[Category:Quartermasters]]
[[Category:Royal Navy personnel]]

Assassin's Creed Wiki - User contributions [en-gb]

Edward Thatch