Charles, Eden (1673-1722) was the governor of North Carolina during era of the Flying Gang
pirates. In 1718, Stede Bonnet and, separately, Blackbeard journeyed to Bath, the colony's sleepy
village capital, to take the king's pardon from Gov. Eden. Blackbeard and Eden apparently came
to some sort of arrangement, as the arch-pirate promptly settled in Bath, set up an underground
piracy operation and channelled at least once large consignment of plunder to Eden and his
underling, Tobias Knight. Blackbeard married a local girl and, according to A General History of
the Pyrates, Eden presided over the ceremony.
When Edward Mosely, a leading colonist, denounced Eden for failing to apprehend Blackbeard,
and was arrested for his troubles. While Eden was officially cleared of wrongdoing, his reputation
never recovered. After his death, of yellow fever, he was buried in what is now Bertie County,
beneath a tombstone that noted that he had "died much lamented." |