Blaney
Blaney (unknown – January 1713) was a massive sailor of the Emperor, working for the English crown as a privateer before turning to piracy.
A skilled swordsman but a brutish man, Blaney took an instant disliking for Kenway when the young man joined the crew in Bristol in 1713. Perceiving as an insult the fact that Kenway didn't show fear in his presence, he began to bully Kenway. He continued during the following years, each action against Kenway fueling his growing hate even more because Kenway ignored him. Blaney became a pirate along the majority of the crew, when the Emperor's captain, Alexander Dolzell, foresaw the end of the War of Spanish Succession and consequently the use of privateers.
In 1713, after the capture of the Amazon Galley in the Caribbean Sea, Blaney and Kenway were tasked with guarding the captain of the ship, Benjamin Pritchard. Taking advantage of the fact that they were alone with Pritchard in the navigation room of the Emperor, Blaney was on the verge of attacking Kenway when the Emperor was attacked by Edward Thatch, coming to the rescue of the Galley. During the ensuing fight, many of the pirates were killed by the combined crews of the Galley and the Queen Anne's Revenge, but Blaney managed to survive and subsequently proposed to Thatch to kill the survivors and join him. Enraged by this treachery, the first mate of the Emperor, Trafford, attacked him but Blaney easily killed him and was preparing to do the same to Kenway when Thatch proposed a duel of fists between the two. During the fight, Blaney was at first put in a difficult position by Kenway before taking the advantage and as he was about to finish off Kenway, Thatch put a bullet in his head and seeing something in his opponent invited him to join his crew.