Outer Banks Season 4 True Story: Edward Teach & The Legend Of Blackbeard's Treasure Explained

Outer Banks season 4 features the Pogues — John B, Sarah, Kiara, Pope, JJ, and Cleo — searching for the treasure of Edward Teach, aka the infamous pirate, Blackbeard. The Netflix action-adventure mystery teen drama series, created by Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, and Shannon Burke, follows a group of Pogues in the Outer Banks, meaning they belong to the working-class section (Kiara’s parents are Kooks (wealthy residents) but she identifies as a Pogue, and Cleo is an honorary Pogue after Outer Banks season 3). The characters find themselves on treasure hunts, and their adventure in season 4 involves Blackbeard.

Outer Banks season 3’s ending jumps ahead 18 months after the Pogues found El Dorado, and a man named Wes Genrette approaches John B., Sarah, Kiara, Pope, JJ, and Cleo at the ceremony honoring their discovery. He has a proposition for them — partner with him to find the treasure of Blackbeard. Genrette has Blackbeard’s captain log from 1718, and, as seen in season 4, the Pogues agree to help him. As a result, season 4 centers around the Outer Banks characters searching for the pirate’s treasure. More specifically, they are looking for the missing amulet of Blackbeard’s wife, Elizabeth.

Edward Teach’s Real History As The Pirate Blackbeard Explained

Teach Acquired Queen Anne’s Revenge Around 1717

According to Royal Museums Greenwich, Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was born in 1680, assumingly somewhere in Great Britain. Blackbeard’s legacy is that of one of the most fearsome pirates in history, making him one of the most popular inspirations for fictional pirates in books, films, and TV shows. However, Blackbeard has also been portrayed by actors on the screen himself, with Taika Waititi playing the pirate in Our Flag Means Death and Ray Stevenson in Black Sails as some of the most recent depictions.

Unfortunately, not much is known about Blackbeard’s life before he was a pirate, which somewhat allows the Netflix TV series to have some creative freedom while crafting Outer Banks season 4’s story. During the War of Spanish Succession in the early 1700s, Teach was a privateer, which meant he pillaged Spanish ships for the British in the West Indies. After the war ended, Teach wasn’t ready to give up the pirate life, so he worked for Captain Benjamin Hornigold until he earned the rank of captain himself.

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Around 1717, Teach captured a ship and named it Queen Anne’s Revenge. With his new vessel, the captain sailed to the Caribbean, where he continued looting, terrorizing citizens, and embracing the life of a pirate with his crew of 300 men. Teach became a renowned figure in the pirate community, and he soon earned the nickname Blackbeard because of his distinguishable black beard and overall menacing appearance. He also reportedly lit fuses in his hair to make him look even more frightening. However, Blackbeard’s adventures on the seas weren’t meant to last forever.

How Blackbeard Died & What’s Rumored To Be In His Hidden Treasure

Blackbeard Died In North Carolina

Blackbeard moved his operations to the coasts of North and South Carolina, where he captured the attention of the governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood. The governor made it his mission to capture the pirate, and with his team of hunters, Spotswood was able to find Blackbeard and his men near Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. Blackbeard put up a fight, but when he and his crew boarded Lieutenant Robert Maynard’s ship, they were ambushed by Maynard’s troops. The notorious pirate was killed during the fight on November 22, 1718, and Maynard reportedly hung Blackbeard’s head from his ship’s mast.

Following Blackbeard’s death, rumors started spreading about his supposed hidden treasure. Reports claimed that the treasure included a significant fortune in the form of gold. Of course, many tried to find it, but to this day, no one has discovered Blackbeard’s treasure. But if anyone could find it (at least, in the fictional world of TV), it’s John B., Sarah, Kiara, Pope, JJ, and Cleo in Outer Banks season 4.

Blackbeard May Have Buried His Treasure On Ocracoke Island In The Outer Banks

Blackbeard & His Crew Retreated To Ocracoke After Their Ship Sunk

Many believe Blackbeard buried his treasure on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina, near the Outer Banks. According to Smithsonian Magazine, Blackbeard ran the Queen Anne’s Revenge into a sandbar off the coast of Beaufort, North Carolina, in June 1718, forcing them to abandon it as it sunk to the bottom of the sea. The pirate and his crew reportedly retreated to Ocracoke Island onboard the Adventure, where Lieutenant Robert Maynard and his troops found and killed Blackbeard. Consequentially, some believe Blackbeard buried his treasure on Ocracoke during his stay. However, no one has ever proven this theory to be true.

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What is believed to be the wreck of Queen Anne’s Revenge was discovered near the coast of Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, in November 1996. Of course, the shipwreck has been partially excavated and searched in the years since, and no treasure has been found onboard (although Outer Banks season 4, part 1’s release suggests otherwise). Artifacts, including a signal gun, window glass, a sword, and cannons, have been uncovered, many of which have led archeologists to believe that the wreck is indeed that of Queen Anne’s Revenge (even though nothing can be completely confirmed).

Edward Teach’s History In The Outer Banks Explained

Outer Banks Season 4 Explores Blackbeard’s History In North Carolina

By taking into account Blackbeard’s history and time spent near the Outer Banks following the sinking of Queen Anne’s Revenge, it comes as no surprise that the Outer Banks writers are crafting season 4 around the infamous pirate and his rumored buried treasure. Each season of the Netflix teen drama series has focused on different mysteries. It only makes sense that the Pogues would hunt for treasure in and around their hometown in Outer Banks season 4. The search for Blackbeard’s treasure also allows the writers to establish more connections between the characters and historical figures.

Blackbeard spent several months off the coast of North Carolina, meaning the possibilities regarding his exploits (and his men’s) during that time are endless for Outer Banks‘ story. Blackbeard’s involvement in the Blockade of Charles Town (aka Charleston, South Carolina) is also mentioned and utilized to further the mystery. Overall, part 1 of Netflix’s Outer Banks season 4 takes advantage of the pirate’s movements around North and South Carolina to develop the treasure-hunting story. However, the show’s depiction of Blackbeard’s history is based more in fiction than in reality.

What Outer Banks Gets Wrong About The True Story Of Blackbeard

There Are No Reports That A Woman Named Elizabeth Was Blackbeard’s Last Wife

Perhaps when giving a report on Blackbeard’s history, one shouldn’t reference Outer Banks season 4. Unfortunately, the writers fabricate most of the pirate’s story to push the narrative forward, including his marital status. According to reports, Blackbeard wasn’t married to a woman named Elizabeth at the time of his death, and she wasn’t executed along with him. His last wife was allegedly Mary Ormond, but it’s unclear what happened to her. Consequently, Elizabeth’s amulet that Wes Genrette asks the Pogues to retrieve in Outer Banks season 4, episode 2, is fictitious.

The Blue Crown that Lightner and Dalia are looking for is also fake. Since Blackbeard’s treasure is mostly rumored, the writers of the Netflix action-adventure teen drama had to make up their own highly valuable objects that the pirate hid in and around North Carolina. So, Blackbeard’s wife’s amulet and the Blue Crown in Outer Banks season 4 aren’t real. Additionally, the story behind Blackbeard’s death in Outer Banks is also false.

Who Really Killed Blackbeard & Where His Ship Wrecked Near The Outer Banks

Robert Maynard & His Crew Killed The Pirate (Not Francis Genrette)

Wes Genrette explains to the Pogues in Outer Banks season 4 that he is a direct descendant of Francis Genrette, the British officer who caught and killed Blackbeard. However, in real life, this isn’t true. Francis is a fictional character created for the show. However, Francis is seemingly based on Blackbeard’s actual executor — Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard. Wes also reveals that after Francis beheaded Blackbeard (which is somewhat true because Maynard cut off the pirate’s head), he also killed Blackbeard’s wife, Elizabeth. As mentioned above, Elizabeth isn’t a real person, so, this part of the story is also false.

As for where Blackbeard wrecked the Adventure, it’s unclear what happened to the ship to this day. The Coast Guard located and excavated the Queen Anne’s Revenge near Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, which is about 94 miles from the Outer Banks. However, the location of the Adventure, which is the sunken ship that JJ and Kiara search to locate Elizabeth’s amulet in Outer Banks season 4, is seemingly unknown.

Blackbeard Isn’t The Only True Story Outer Banks Has Used

The Real OTX, Denmark Tanny, & The Royal Merchant

At the start of the series, Outer Banks wasn’t necessarily based on any true story. However, it was based on creators Josh and Jonas Pate’s experience growing up in the OBX when it comes to the show’s feel, slang, and the relationship between the haves and have-nots. “It’s definitely an escapist show,” Cline said (via WWD). “It depicts what everyone would love to be doing right now, which is be on the water, be on a boat, not having to stay inside. Live Pogue style, you know?”

However, there are also differences. There is no feud between Kooks and Pogues in the real OTX, as that was created specifically for the streaming series. However, while these groups might not exist in those forms, there is a strong sense of class separation on the island. With that said, there is no feuding going on between the social classes.

The Outer Banks character of Denmark Tanny is more in line with using Blackbeard in the story, though. The show focused heavily on his namesake and legacy concerning hidden treasure. Denmark Terry is not a real person, but he is based on Denmark Vesey. He won a lottery in 1799, bought his own freedom, and started a successful business. He tried to lead a revolution against slave owners but was caught and executed.

Another real-life inspiration for Outer Banks is the Royal Merchant. In the first season, the Pogues search for the Royal Merchant, which was believed to have been lost off the Outer Banks in 1829, with Denmark Tanny as the sole survivor. A real Royal Merchant was lost at sea when it was sailing from Spain in 1641. Some people believe the Royal Merchant was filled with gold and treasure, and no one ever found the ship. The real captain of that ship was John Limbrey, and Carla Limbrey in Outer Banks is his descendant on the show.

Outer Banks is a coming-of-age adventure-mystery story that follows a tight-knit group of local teens (the “Pogues”) in the Outer Banks of North Carolina beach vacation destination. When the group’s leader’s father goes missing, he enlists the help of his friends to find him. However, the stakes are raised when the Pogues discover the disappearance may be linked to a legendary treasure.

Release Date

April 15, 2020

Cast

Chase Stokes , Madelyn Cline , Madison Bailey , Jonathan Daviss , Rudy Pankow , Drew Starkey , Charles Esten , Austin North , Caroline Arapoglou , Cullen Moss , Marland Burke , Julia Antonelli , E. Roger Mitchell , Samantha Soule , Carlacia Grant , Charles Halford , Deion Smith , Nicholas Cirillo , Elizabeth Mitchell

Seasons

4

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Sources: Royal Museums Greenwich, Smithsonian Magazine