Date
11-13-2025
Department
College of Arts and Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)
Chair
Sean Turchin
Keywords
Pirates, piracy, Charleston, Low Country, Blackbeard, Stede Bonnet, Edward Thache, Gullah, Barbados, Yeamans, Colletons, Carolina, Sullivans Island, The Gentleman Pirate, Southern History, South Carolina, Barbadian Connection, Barbadian Descent, Rice, Plantations, Trade, Ports, Taxation, Corrupt government, export tariffs, King of England, Queen Anne's Revenge, The Pirate House, Charleston Pirate Trials, Charleston Pirate House, Organized Crime, Underground Coastal Smuggling, Coastal Smuggling, Underground Pirate tunnels, tides, tide charts, the Battery, White Point Garden
Disciplines
History
Recommended Citation
Wood-Weddle, Christian Davis, "Pirates, Power, and Culture: The Influence of Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard on Colonial Charleston’s Barbadian and Low Country Connections" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7616.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7616
Abstract
The goal of this dissertation paper is to inspire and open the minds of those interested in Southern History and the relationship between nautical and cultural History that surrounds the State of South Carolina. Colonial Piracy is more relevant than ever in the Lowcountry of South Carolina at this moment in time and needs to be further researched to expand the haunting acts of these men of the sea. In the Charleston area, historical tours are available, and movies are filmed surrounding the acts of Blackbeard and Major Stede Bonnet; however, the story lines are questionable. Hollywood loves to focus on the dark past of these men, never relaying the positive attribute of human equality believed and shared by these individuals. It grows increasingly ironic to believe these men were only out to pillage and plunder when written documentation clearly proves these men would capture slave vessels and set the men, women and children onboard these ships free along the barrier islands of the South Carolina coast. The first question that needs to be explored while working on this dissertation paper surrounds the appeal of the City of Charleston, South Carolina to these men of the sea. What was it about the colony of Carolina that attracted these men? Could it have been the lucrative port, the corrupt governmental officials or the women that were believed to have stolen Blackbeard’s heart? The myths of these men haunt the Lowcountry, and the City of Charleston has learned to make a lucrative business from them. The taxing relationship between colonial piracy and the public’s disgust of the King needs to be further researched to find the common connection that links corrupt governmental officials that bartered with pirates sailing through the Holy City. Throughout the Colonial Era, the colony of Carolina held a special kind of ambiance that lured the wealthiest people of the New World to come together and create what is known as the Holy City. The Rice industry flourished all around the Lowcountry which created a lucrative environment of extremely wealthy plantation owners. The nightlife of the city Charleston is historically remembered for the mix of wealthy plantation owners and governmental officials who came together to discover lucrative business deals which undermined the taxation of imports and exports ruled on by the King. This proves the relationship between the Lowcountry’s most affluent and corrupt governmental officials who shared the same desire to maximize the profits exports of rice and indigo trading industries. The constant influx of dirty money that surrounded the Lowcountry attracted piracy due to the extremely lucrative ports which controlled the plantation-based trading industry. Many Historians overlook the once booming rice industry of the colony of Carolina due to the colony’s economic dominance in the realm of the cotton industry. Prior to cotton, rice was the state of South Carolina’s cash crop, however, disastrous hurricanes over the years destroyed the rice industry of the Lowcountry. However, it is throughout the golden age of piracy that the Charleston area was known for creating an economic phenomenon due to the lucrative industry of Barbadian-inspired rice trading. The lucrative rice industry and the large ports influenced the acts of piracy in the Lowcountry. However, what influenced these men of the sea to buy property and mingle with the local governmental officials of this era? This question must be answered before delving into the corrupt act of slavery which fueled the State of South Carolina’s extremely lucrative economy. There is a major gap in historical studies which questions the cultural belief and acceptance of these men of the sea whose names have been demonized by Hollywood. Today, in the State of South Carolina, the Gullah culture is more influential than ever. We must credit these men of the sea who saw these individuals for who they were and not just their skin color as a positive influence in the eventual end of slavery. Today, the city of Charleston praises the familial ties of the Colleton family as well as the Yeamans which ultimately contradicts the role of racial progression along the South Carolina coast. Discovering the connection amongst these prominent South Carolina names in relation to the lives of history’s most notorious Pirates is much more similar than one may choose to believe. This is why focusing on the beliefs of these once very rich men who turned to piracy in connection to the beliefs of the charming Southern plantation owners must be further researched to discover the differential view of beliefs shared amongst the two.
