When the State Protects the Pirate! 

January 30, 1719: In Virginia, four men testified that after they helped Blackbeard capture the Rose Emelye, Blackbeard left the French ship and most of the crew in Ocracoke Inlet, N.C. while the four carried Thatch and some of the booty inland in a smaller boat. In the wee hours of the night, the pirates arrived at the property of Tobias Knight - secretary of the government of North Carolina under Governor Charles Eden. The four crew members unloaded three or four kegs of sweetmeats (sugary food or fruit in the candy/confectionery family), loaf sugar, a bag of chocolate, and several boxes (contents unknown). According to their testimony, Thatch was in the house with Knight until about an hour before dawn, when the pirates all left. On their way out of the Bath area, the men said Blackbeard leapt aboard a small boat they encountered, demanded strong drink, got into a fight, and robbed the small crew of cash, a case of pipes, a cask of strong drink, linen, and other various and sundry items before continuing on to Ocracoke, N.C. READ MORE

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