“P” is for Piracy

“P” is for Piracy. Charleston was the chief port of Carolina, a region contested by the Spanish, French, and English in the frequent wars of the era. The proprietary government was often weak and sometimes corrupt. Pirates thrived in such an uncertain and turbulent setting. Charleston’s bustling trade also attracted raids by foreign privateers. Among the most notorious of the pirates sailing off South Carolina were Blackbeard, Steed Bonnet, and Ann Bonney. Escalating piratical attacks peaked in May 1718 in a brazen blockade by Blackbeard and Steed Bonnet. Colonel William Rhett pursued Bonnet’s fleet and at Cape Fear defeated him in a bitter battle. Rhett brought Bonnet and his crew back to Charleston where they were hanged. The colony’s military actions and the mass executions of pirates virtually ended the presence of piracy on the South Carolina coast.