CHAPTER 1: BLACKBEARD AND THEY PIRATES

Was the most infamous pirate in history actually a Bristol man?

In Episode One of BRISTOL: IT’S CRIMINAL, Sheila Hannon is joined by Bristol-born actor and long-time Show of Strength performer Gerard Cooke to explore the evidence linking Edward Teach — better known as Blackbeard — to Bristol.

Together they dive into:

• The case for Blackbeard’s Bristol origins
  • The “posh pirate” theory — clergy, merchants and Jamaica
  • The thin legal line between privateer and pirate
  • Bristol’s role in Atlantic trade and slavery
  • Public executions on Queen Square
  • Press gangs and forced recruitment
  • The theatre of terror — how Blackbeard built his legend
  • The brutal final battle of 1718

Behind the smoke, fuses and myth lies a darker story about empire, violence and reputation management.

If Blackbeard was Bristol’s export — what else did the city send out into the world?

Guest: Gerard Cooke

Gerard Cooke is a Bristol-born actor working across stage, screen, radio and immersive performance.

He has performed with Show of Strength since 2008 and has led Theatre Walks since 2017 — most prominently as the pirate guide in Blood, Blackbeard and Buccaneers and Treasure Island Story Walk.

Described by the Bristol Post as “a ball of energy… spinning on his heels and regaling us with stories of battles, treasure and grisly ends,” Gerard is best known to audiences as Captain Cuttlefish — tricorn hat, red coat and parrot included.

Combining Sheila Hannon’s research with charismatic delivery and character-driven storytelling, his performances bring seventeenth-century Bristol vividly to life.

In this episode, Gerard steps out from behind the tricorn to explore the history behind the performance — and the uncomfortable truths beneath the romance of piracy.

Reference & Further Reading

• Baylus C. Brooks — Quest for Blackbeard: The True Story of Edward Thache and His World
  • Charles Johnson — A General History of the Pyrates (1724)
  • David Cordingly — Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates
  • E.T. Fox — research into early Blackbeard sources
  • UK National Archives — Admiralty and privateering records
  • Jamaican parish records (late 17th century)

Episode Timeline

(00:00) Intro — Was Blackbeard Bristol Born?
(00:40) “Edward Teach of Redcliffe” — The Bristol Claim
(01:30) The Records That Vanished — Redcliffe & WWII Bombing
(02:15) Jamaica, Burial Records & The Expanding Paper Trail
(03:30) The “Posh Pirate” Theory — Clergy, Merchants & Plantation Wealth
(05:15) Pirate or Privateer? The “Piece of Paper” That Changed Everything
(06:45) Queen Square — Public Hangings & Bristol’s Pirate Past
(07:45) Branding Fear — Smoke, Slow Fuses & Psychological Warfare
(09:10) Press Gangs, The Queen’s Shilling & The Hole in the Wall
(10:45) Treasure, Doubloons & The Pop-Culture Pirate Myth
(12:00) The Final Battle (1718) — Lieutenant Maynard’s Trap
(13:20) Five Shots, Twenty Cuts — The Death of Blackbeard
(14:00) The Skull, The Legend & What Bristol Chooses To Remember