Blackbeard, a sad reputation
Blackbeard is probably the most famous thief of the seas. Along with other pirates, it was found in the Caribbean seas and off the coast of North America from 1716 to 1718, during what is known as the "golden age of piracy". He died in 1718, during a battle against British ships in Pamlico Bay, North Carolina.
Among all the ships in his fleet, his most beautiful "capture" was that of the Queen Anne's Revenge, a former French slave ship, which he commanded for less than a year.
The frigate La Concorde
The Concorde is a 110-foot, 300-ton frigate built in 1710 in the Rochefort shipyard. With its 40 guns, this merchant navy ship carried up to 350 men. He carried out the slave trade on behalf of the Nantes shipowner René Montaudouin, a member of a large family of traders from the 18th century eST PRIS DANS LE GROS TEMPS, ET TANGUE DE GAUCHE ?ROITE, SECOUÉ PAR LES VAGUES. UN HOMME, SANS DOUTE UN PÊCHEUR QUI PARTICIPE À UNE SESSION DE PÊCHE SPORTIVE, PASSE PAR-DESSUS BORD, DE MANIÈRE ASSEZ IMPRESSIONNANTE. century, having built his fortune on the slave trade.
After private navigation in 1710, the ship became a slave merchant in the spring of 1713 with the resumption of maritime trade relations at the end of the Spanish Succession War. He made his first trip from Nantes to Benin, before joining Martinique in December of the same year to sell 465 slaves.
In the spring of 1715, the Concorde undertook a second campaign between Nantes, the west coast of Africa, Gabon and Haiti before returning to France in the summer of 1716.
The meeting with Blackbeard
On March 24, 1717, the ship left Nantes for its third and final voyage under the command of René Mountaudouin. On board, 16 guns and 75 crew members. The ship reached the port of Judas, Benin (formerly Whydah), on 8 July 1717 and departed for Martinique in September, with a cargo of 516 captives. The officers also took advantage of the trip to bring back about twenty kilos of gold dust.
On 28 November 1717, La Concorde crossed paths with Barbe Noire's fleet, while sailing 100 miles from Martinique. The French ship took nearly 8 weeks to cross the Atlantic and got stuck in the infamous Doldrums. On board, scurvy and dysentery damaged the crew: 61 slaves and 16 sailors died and 36 other crew members are seriously ill.
Faced with a small crew, the pirates are in strength. They sail in two sloops - 120 men and 12 guns for one and 30 men and 8 guns for the other. They managed to seize La Concorde after only two rounds of cannons.
Historians assume that the role of La Concorde as a privateer frigate (in the king's pay) during the War of the Spanish Succession motivated his capture by Blackbeard. Indeed, the latter had fought in the English ranks during the war and had undoubtedly had to deal with ships of the calibre of La Concorde: solid, fast and easily manoeuvrable boats. In short, a pirate ship idéal?!
