Table 1: The Size of Some Pirate Crews from "Black Men under the Black Flag" by Kenneth J. Kinkor (Page 201)
The Pirate Captain Edward Thatch, by Miles Theves
http://pirates.wikia.com/wiki/File:Blackbeard_concept_art_2.jpg
"Although statistics are sparse, at least a thousand pirates were active between 1715 and 1726. The examples in Table 1 suggest that perhaps 25 to 30 percent of them were black"(Kinkor, 200).
Some of the numbers:
Samuel Bellamy (1717) – more than 27 out of 180 men
Edward England (1718) – less than 50 out of 180 men
Edward Lowther (1724) – 9 out of 23 men
Blackbeard (1717) – 60 out of 100
Oliver La Bouche (1719) – 32 out of 64
Samuel Bellamy (1717) – more than 27 out of 180 men
Edward England (1718) – less than 50 out of 180 men
Edward Lowther (1724) – 9 out of 23 men
Blackbeard (1717) – 60 out of 100
Oliver La Bouche (1719) – 32 out of 64 men
It is telling that out of all the crews listed in the table, there is not a single entirely white crew. In addition, there was Blackbeard's crew, which was 60% black, and included the infamous Black Caesar, who was Blackbeard's quartermaster.
Black Caesar, Pirate by Cliff Gardner. Illustrated by Inez Roskos. Printed in 1980 by Peachtree Publishers
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