North Carolina’s strong relationship with opportunistic pirates will be observed with the March 6 opening of the exhibit, “Knights of the Black Flag” at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh.

“Knights of the Black Flag” will examine piracy from ancient Egypt on. Pirates have been opportunistic whenever conditions favored their success. The first written record of pirates was found on an Egyptian tablet from 1350 B.C. Over time, pirates have flourished near China, the Americas, Barbary Coast, Southeast Asia, and now the Horn of Africa. The “Knights of the Black Flag” exhibit will include an ancient Roman amphora, the largest display of artifacts from the wreck of the presumed Queen Anne’s Revenge (QAR), Blackbeard’s flagship, and examples of tools of Somali piracy today, including a speedboat and weaponry. Admission is free for ages 18 and under. The fee is $5 for ages 19 and up; $4 for senior citizens, active military personnel, and adult groups of 10 or more. Visit www.ncmuseumofhistory.org for information on the museum.

The industrialized world watches in wonder as 21st century pirates seem to operate at will along the lawless coast of Somalia. North Carolina had similar conditions in the Golden Age of Piracy (1689-1718), and for a time was headquarters for the notorious Blackbeard. Even now the presumed Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck is being researched just two miles off the Carolina coast near Fort Macon. Visit www.qaronline.org to learn more. The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources observes the 2009 theme “Treasure N.C. Culture” with the study of North Carolina and pirates.

How did the opportunistic pirate Blackbeard achieve success? One factor is a favorable climate. Colonial Governor Charles Eden is believed to have shared the loot with Blackbeard and other pirates and offered little interference to their operations. Acting Chief Justice and governor’s secretary Tobias Knight also is believed to have profited from the ill-gotten gains. A court in Bath even ruled for Blackbeard after the pirate’s seizure of a supposedly abandoned French merchant ship.

Legends are that Blackbeard lived for a time in Bath, and claimed he was welcome in any home. He made Bath his base for operations. A room at Historic Bath State Historic Site dedicated to the pirate is overseen by his image. The port city of Eyl in the Puntland region of Somalia offers sanctuary to pirates today, as seemingly did North Carolina centuries ago. After all, a Somali pirate can share in a ransom of millions of dollars, while the average Somali earns less than $1,000 annually. Local merchants also profit. Reportedly young Somali girls long to marry a pirate.

Pirates most often start out poor. Many seamen who had served as privateers in the Golden Age were rewarded by their government for stealing from the enemy nation. During Queen Anne’s War early in the 1700s, England and France allowed the seamen to keep a portion of prizes taken from the enemy. At the war’s end, the largely illiterate and skilled only as sailors seamen clung to the life and lifestyle to which they had become accustomed. A permanent exhibit of artifacts from QAR is displayed at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort; visit www.ncmaritimemuseum.org.

In Somalia, the government broke down years ago due to Civil War. The economy has dissipated and fishing and farming no longer can provide reliable income. Lack of an effective governing authority and the benefits of pirate money or merchandise created hospitable receptions for 18th century pirates in the New World and for 21st century pirates around the Horn of Africa today. In colonial America, the taxes and tariffs imposed by England led many colonists to welcome pirate booty. In present day Somalia, the opportunistic pirates’ prizes have been about $150 million paid in ransoms, the only income to the nation’s economy. On speedboats and brandishing AK-47s, they are as effective along the shoreline as cannon firing large sailing vessels of earlier pirates in the open sea.

Protecting the thousands of miles of shoreline in North America and the Caribbean with about 20 ships was an overwhelming job for the Royal British Navy in the 1700s. England also was engaged in other wars. Prizes of rum, wine, sugar, and tobacco were taken by pirates of the Americas in trade between Europe and the New World and easily turned into cash. North Carolina, with its many inlets and sounds, offered good hiding places for pirates. Like the governors of other New World territories, Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood became fed up with pirates, particularly Blackbeard. Spotswood finally arranged to send two Royal Navy ships to capture him. Blackbeard was killed near Ocracoke on Nov. 22, 1718, during a fierce fight with Lt. Robert Maynard.

The death of Blackbeard largely marked the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. South Carolina Governor Robert Johnson dispatched Col. William Rhett, who captured Stede Bonnet in September 1718 at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, near Wilmington. Bonnet had operated out of the Bahamas, but was tried and hanged in Charleston, S.C. Of other pirates operating around North Carolina, Governor Johnson himself led an expedition to capture pirate Capt. Richard Worley, who was killed in battle near Charleston. North Carolina State Historical Highway markers commemorate some of the pirates prominent in the state. A marker for Blackbeard, also known as Edward Teach, is in Bath. His nemesis, Lt. Robert Maynard, is remembered with a marker at Ocracoke. Gentleman pirate Stede Bonnet is remembered with a marker in Southport. Visit www.ncmarkers.com and enter the names to learn more.

For additional information call (919) 807-7389. The Queen Anne’s Revenge Shipwreck Project, N.C. Historical Highway Marker Program, N.C. Maritime Museum, N.C. State Historic Sites, and N.C. Museum of History are all within the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history and culture. Now podcasting 24/7 with information about the Department of Cultural Resources, all available at www.ncculture.com.