Black Caesar (pirate)
West African pirate who served under Blackbeard and survived his fall.
Black Caesar (fl. 1718) was a West African pirate active during the Golden Age of Piracy. He served aboard Edward Teach's (Blackbeard) flagship Queen Anne's Revenge and was among the few crew members who survived Blackbeard's death at the hands of Lieutenant Robert Maynard in 1718. Myths that he was African royalty and terrorized the Florida Keys before joining Blackbeard have blended with legends and fictional accounts.
Quick Facts
- Flourished
- 1718
- Also known as
- Black Caesar
- Served under
- Edward Teach (Blackbeard)
- Ship
- Queen Anne's Revenge
- Died
- 1718 (Blackbeard's death)
Facts from the source article.
The legend
Traditional accounts describe Black Caesar as a prominent African tribal war chieftain known for his huge size, immense strength, and keen intelligence, who evaded many slave traders. He was finally captured when a slave trader lured him and twenty warriors aboard a ship by showing a watch and promising more objects too heavy to bring ashore, then enticing them with food, musical instruments, silk scarves, and jewels while the crew raised anchor and sailed away. Discovering the deception, Caesar and his men tried to charge the captors but were driven back by armed sailors. After a long period of resistance, he accepted food and water only from a sailor who befriended him. As the ship neared Florida, a hurricane threatened to destroy it on the Florida Reefs. The sailor freed Caesar, and the two forced the captain and crew into a corner, boarded a longboat with ammunition and supplies, and rode the storm to shore as the only survivors. They used the lifeboat to lure passing ships by posing as shipwrecked sailors, then demanded supplies at gunpoint. Over several years they amassed treasure buried on Elliott Key, but a falling out over a young woman led Caesar to kill his friend in a duel and take the woman.
Service with Blackbeard
Caesar served aboard Blackbeard's flagship Queen Anne's Revenge and was still with Blackbeard in 1718 when Lieutenant Maynard cornered the pirates. A General History of the Pyrates records that after being taken prisoner by Virginian colonial authorities, Caesar was tried for piracy but acquitted. Later historians equated the 'Negroe' who tried to blow up the vessel with Caesar, though at least six black pirates were aboard and the one 'bred up' by Blackbeard was not identified at trial. After release, Caesar may have returned to Tobias Knight or Governor Alexander Spotswood, or survived to work as a cooper past age 70.
In popular culture
A concept for a zombie crewman based on Black Caesar was intended for the 2011 film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides but was not incorporated. A five-issue comic series, Vengeance Unchained: The Legend of Black Caesar, was announced in June 2026 for release starting October 2026.
More in Maritime Folklore
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