Black Caesar (pirate)

Myths surrounding his life - that he was African royalty and terrorized the Florida Keys for years before joining Blackbeard - have been intermixed with legends and fictional accounts as well as with other pirates.

He enticed them to stay with food, musical instruments, silk scarves and jewels, however, he had his men raise anchor and slowly sail away.

When Caesar discovered what was happening, he and his men attempted to charge their captors but were driven back by the well-armed sailors using swords and pistols.

He and the sailor continued this ploy for a number of years and amassed a sizable amount of treasure which was buried on Elliott Key.

He and his crew were often able to avoid capture by running into Caesar Creek and other inlets between Elliot and Old Rhodes Key and onto the mangrove islands.

The General History of the Pyrates (1724) records that: Teach had little or no Hopes of escaping, and therefore had posted a resolute Fellow, a Negroe whom he had bred up, with a lighted Match, in the Powder-Room, with Commands to blow up when he should give him Orders, which was as soon as the Lieutenant and his Men could have entered, that so he might have destroy’d his Conquerors: and when the Negro found how it went with Black-beard, he could hardly be perswaded from the rash Action, by two Prisoners that were then in the Hold of the Sloop.”[8]Taken prisoner by Virginian colonial authorities, Caesar (whom the General History refers to only as Caesar, not as Black Caesar) was tried for piracy but was acquitted.

[8] Later historians and writers equated the “Negroe” who tried to blow up the vessel with Caesar but there were at least six black pirates aboard the ship and the one “bred up” by Blackbeard was not identified at trial.

[9] After his release the ex-slave Caesar may have returned to the possession of Chief Justice and Secretary of the Province of Carolina, Tobias Knight,[5] or to that of Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood.