Edward Thatch [Blackbeard] Was A Hero

Blackbeard who I will refer to as Edward was more of a hero then he was a villain and this is evident by what we know of him even if it is little. Edward Used Fear Above All Else Edward tried his best to avoid bloodshed at all cost and because of this he became a very well known pirate. He did not dress like many other pirates instead he lit fuses in his hair and beard and carried six pistols strapped across his chest by doing this he created an image that most who encountered him would say was "Even the devil could not conjure a more terrifying beast. "This allowed him to take over most ships rather easily instead of having to seek out a fight as a majority of ships that came across him often found it's crew surrendering on their captains order. This is evident even when Edward captured the La Concorde and turned it into the Queen Anne's Revenge. Edward Often Spared Slaves When Edward captured the French Vessel La Concorde he had captured a slave vessel full of hundreds of slaves and instead of killing them or forcing them to do anything he wanted he allowed some to join his crew and he often did this everytime he came across a slave vessel. Most encounters with Edward often documented that there were around 80 odd black crew members onboard his ship and thanks to that it is safe to assume he spared the lives of slaves and gave them freedom by joining him. As for the others who could not join him he would give back to the captain of the ship he was attacking and would maroon them on an island instead. This was a much greater act of kindness then most pirates and even adventurers of his era. Edward Was A Democrat When I say Edward was a Democrat I do not refer to the American Political Party but rather the fact Edward believed in democracy and this is evident by the fact that like most pirates of his era he had an Articles Of Agreement on his ship. The Articles Of Agreement were rules that the crew were to follow this includings, jobs, pay and sometimes even things similar to modern healthcare. However these Articles Of Agreement weren't just something he made up but rather the rules were voted on by the crew for the crew. The crew had a say in everything within the Articles Of Agreement and as such they got treated fairly when serving under Edward as long as they followed the Articles Of Agreement. Keep in mind this was far ahead of any sort of freedom governments like Britain and France had at the time and it should be noted it was a remarkable thing for pirates to create and follow. Edward May Have Never Killed Anyone While Being A Pirate This claim is a little bit more wild but we cannot reject the possibility as we know Edward used fear as his main weapon over most other things and some would say due to the lack of documents stating people dying to him many would say he didn't kill a single soul. Even those who survived encounters with Edward never mentioned him killing anyone they mostly talked about his hellish appearance and perhaps this is due to the fact that his best weapon was his biggest reason for being successful. I'm not saying Edward was pure good but he did more good then he did bad and as such we should remember him as more of a hero if not an Anti-Hero for these reasons. - Rarely seeked violence - Preferred peaceful encounters - Freed and allowed slaves to join him - Used democratic thoughts and methods before democracy was popular. - Killed very little if not no one while he fought as a Pirate.