Blackbeard's Hidden Gold

**Blackbeard's Hidden Gold** is the 3rd episode of Season 2 of Expedition Unknown.

## Plot Synopsis

Gates goes to sea in search of Blackbeard's buried gold. He explores underwater sea caves in Cayman Brac, gets up close to his wrecked flagship *Queen Anne's Revenge*, and drives down the Outer Banks on North Carolina's coast to dig up artefacts on Ocracoke Island, the site of his last stand.

## Historical Context

"The most famous lost pirate treasure belongs to the world's most notorious pirate - the one and only Blackbeard. He was born Edward Teach, and later became a successful privateer, commissioned by the British crowns to protect their interests in the Caribbean. Blackbeard's menacing appearance inspired countless authors and later made him Hollywood's favourite pirate. But it is his legendary lost fortune that has captivated explorers for hundreds of years. Blackbeard boasted that only he and the devil himself knew where the treasure was buried. Now, after three centuries, there are groundbreaking, new developments in the hunt."

- Josh Gates

## Summary

Josh's journey begins in Hampton, Virginia at the Hampton Blackbeard Festival. Josh meets with John Collamore, a historian who tells him about Blackbeard's life and persona. He recommends Josh look for the treasure in Cayman Brac where he goes next.

In Cayman Brac, he meets with Tenson Scott who is a local treasure hunter. Tenson came close to finding a treasure chest when he was 14 but others got to it first. Josh meets Logan Scott, Tenson's nephew, and they go to Ironshore Beach where the search caves. They find a silver coin from the early 19th century but that's all. On the other side of the island, he meets Darvin Ebanks, a treasure hunter. They go out into the sea where Darvin believes the treasure floated from the caves. They dive and find an old anchor and encounter the Cayman Abyss. They also find a ship from the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Once back onshore, Josh goes to Greenville, North Carolina not far from where Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge ran aground. Josh meets with Billy Ray Morris, an archaeologist, who shows him some of the contents of the flagship, which was found in 1996. They've recovered 400,000 objects from the ship and Billy takes Josh to Beaufort, South Carolina to see the half of the ship that still has to be recovered. Off the coast of Beaufort, they dive down to the wreck and find a big anchor and a small cannon despite the visibility being low. They head back to the surface and Billy's team will continue to recover the wreck.

Josh visits Bath, North Carolina where Blackbeard spent time settled down after being granted a royal pardon. When Blackbeard went back to the seas, he was killed by Robert Maynard near Ocracoke Island. Josh takes a ferry to Ocracoke and meets with Ed Lavado, a treasure hunter. They go to Springers Point, a normally restricted area, that Ed got access too. They go to a well where Blackbeard supposedly got freshwater for his crew. Since they're only given a short time they don't find much except an old spike.

Josh heads back to Bath where he meets Kevin Duffus, a historian and author. Kevin found that North Carolina had been on the brink of economic catastrophe at Blackbeard's time but once Blackbeard sailed into Bath there was an economic boom. This suggests to Kevin that Blackbeard's treasure was slaves. The slaves became skilled tradesman in North Carolina but their history was overshadowed by the Blackbeard legend.

## Final Words

"In the end, it's easy to see why our fascination with Blackbeard has endured for centuries. The ocean was a stage, and he was its consummate showman with a threatening flair for the dramatic. But did he really hide loot on Cayman Brac as other pirates did or did he stash it off the Carolina coast before his last stand? Dogged archaeologists and historians are reconstructing the puzzle of Blackbeard's life, and the more we learn about it, the harder it is to hum "A Pirate's Life for Me." Blackbeard famously said that only he and the devil himself knew where the treasure was. With the revelation that he may have traded in human lives, perhaps it;'s more accurate to say that he and the devil were one and the same."

- Josh Gates

## Notes & Trivia

* *This is where you can put notes and trivia, anything that is interesting or strange can be included here*

## Quotes

* "I feel like I'm about to ratify a declaration of some sort."
* "Not to worry folks. All these wigs are a 100% human "h'arr."
* "Boy, I wish the humidity was a little higher in this cave. It's not quite at 100%. Little sweaty."
* "Yeah. Probably Nickelback, I would think. Blackbeard was a big Nickelback fan."
* "One of those places that's super-remote and yet it's also filled with Dairy Queens, mini-golf courses, and nautical themed convenience stores."
* "So you're a treasure hunting police officer."
* "It's like a rule when two people pass in the ocean you have to wave. I don't know why you don't do that in a car. You don't do that anywhere else in life. When somebody else passes you in a boat, you have to give 'em a little your in a boat, I'm in a boat, how are you?"
* "You know, I think it's a bit of a winter and I'm more of an autumn."
* "I look like a human cocker spaniel in this."
* "This is a first for me, being strangled to death by a snake at a pirate festival."
* "Throw these gardening gloves on. I'm sure that's gonna keep the cannonball from taking my hand off."
* "Area safe? I don't know. There's like the interstate and the condo complex."
* "People sat around in a meeting and said what are we gonna name this (a sign for Dismal Swamp State Park) thing? We want folks to show up, we've got kayak rentals. I mean I'm not a branding expert, but this feels like it could use a rethink."

## Gallery

Photos shown in the slideshow are from Travel Channel: Amazing Places Featured on Expedition Unknown, Season 2 slideshow. If you hover over the images, their exact image address will appear.

* Ed and Josh search for treasure at a well at Springer's PointGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullrights/2016/07/12/0/TEXU204H\_Blackbeards-Treasure\_195546\_651868\_1200948.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491593023266.jpeg
* Billy Ray shows Josh artefacts they've pulled up from the Queen Anne Revenge shipGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullrights/2016/07/12/0/TEXU204H\_Blackbeards-Treasure-Artifact\_195546\_651862\_1200959.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491593023232.jpeg
* Josh and Ed search at Springer's Point beach for Blackbeard's TreasureGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullrights/2016/07/12/0/TEXU204H\_Blackbeards-Treasure-Beach-Dig\_195546\_651872\_1200940.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491593023273.jpeg
* A photo of the Blackbeard Lodge on Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North CarolinaGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullrights/2016/07/12/0/TEXU204H\_Blackbeards-Treasue-Lodge\_198434\_667153\_1215472.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491593033304.jpeg
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## References

1. ↑ https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMzU0MTIwMzQ0MV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzczMDYxNzE@.\_V1\_.jpg