Why did Edward Teach become a pirate?
In 1716, Teach became a pirate when he met the well-known pirate, Benjamin Hornigold, at New Providence. Hornigold took Teach on as an apprentice and he proved to be a quick study. Sometime in early 1717, Hornigold gave Teach his own command of a sloop and together the two pirates wrecked havoc in the following months. Later, off the island of St. Vincent, the two sloops closed in on a merchant ship and captured it. The ship was a large Dutch-built French guineaman called The Concord, which Teach decided he liked. Hornigold allowed him to claim this prize ship as Teach’s new command, and he continued his life of piracy from there.
