Israel Hands
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Israel Hands was a pirate who operated in the West Indies during the early 18th century. He served as the first mate for Edward Thatch's Sea Dog's Bite from 1714[1] to 1717, and for the Queen Anne's Revenge from 1717 to November 1718.
Biography
At some point prior to September 1714, Israel Hands was part of a crew when news came of the end of the War of the Spanish Succession. The captain of the vessel did not want to go against the law in any way and informed the crew of that, much to their dismay at being left jobless while the captain returned to England in comfort. A mutiny soon followed and the captain was left on an island near Jamaica with a boat and few provisions, though completely naked, save for his captain hat.[1]
On 22 September 1714, Israel Hands told the mutiny story at the Old Avery tavern in Nassau while Captain Edward Thatch was in attendance, causing him to laugh until he cried. Thatch asked his scribe, C.J., to draw the scene and gifted Hands the resulting picture. Israel recognized Blackbeard and asked to join his crew, noting that his current captain was possibly worse than the one they left stranded and this time would not end with a good story to tell. Thatch allowed Hands to join the Sea Dog's Bite, under the condition that he keep telling them stories for them to laugh, to which Hands said that he would do his best.[1]
On 21 November 1718, as a fight broke out among the crew, Blackbeard took his gun and, while pretending to not aim for anything specific, shot Hands in the knee. As Hands fell on the sand and questioned the reason for it, Blackbeard feigned no interest in the scene, though later confided to his scribe that he considered Israel the most loyal man in his crew.[2] Blackbeard expelled both C.J. and Hands from his crew before the next day, hoping that doing so would keep them from dying alongside him, which it did, though the pair did not understand their captain's actions at the time.[3]
Appearances
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag: Blackbeard – The Lost Journal – 22 September, 1714
- ↑ Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag: Blackbeard – The Lost Journal – 21 November, 1718
- ↑ Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag: Blackbeard – The Lost Journal – One Last Entry