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###### <div class=pull-right> https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/cmp2020/OMaIGkFH-image.png *[Pixabay.com: Licensed in the Public Domain](https://pixabay.com/photos/ship-strom-sea-night-fantasy-red-2202910/)*</div>
Hello everyone! The other day, I posted a [discussion post about whether the Tasmanian Tiger truly is extinct](https://steempeak.com/history/@cmp2020/tasmanian-tiger). If you still wish to contribute to that conversation, there are still a couple days before payout. Today's discussion will be on a topic from a Smithsonian documentary which my parents and I watched last night: Whether or not <i>Blackbeard the Pirate</i> sank the Queen Anne's Revenge on purpose. First I will discuss what I learned from the documentary:

### What I learned
Blackbeard was special in comparison to other pirates of the age because he thought strategically as opposed to acting on impulses. He often attempted to intimidate his enemies in order to avoid having to actually fight a battle. He would do this by lighting matches and sticking them under his hat so that smoke would seep out of him, and frighten the *Heck* out of his enemies. Through this method of intimidation, he managed to avoid a lot of fights. He actually took the Queen Anne's Revenge - formerly a French slave ship named La Concorde - without a fight, and let the crew and slaves go (aside from some slaves who remained in his crew). Here is a video about the Queen Anne's Revenge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7IFTF0pSD4

### The Question up for Discussion
The Queen Anne's Revenge ultimately sank, and there are 2 main theories about why it sank.

###### <div class=pull-left><br></br><br></br>https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/cmp2020/fJKtszgM-image.png *[Pixabay.com: Licensed in the Public Domain](https://pixabay.com/vectors/pirate-edward-teach-corsair-3123711/)* <br></br><br></br></div>

#### Theory 1: Blackbeard Sank it
Some people believe that Blackbeard intentionally sank the <i>Queen Anne's Revenge</i> in order to get out of having to share his spoils with his crew. This theory is held because after the ship sank, many of the crew were captured and put on trial for their crimes. Many were eventually executed, but before their executions, they swore under oath that Blackbeard had intentionally sunk the *Queen Anne's Revenge*.

#### Theory 2: Blackbeard Messed Up
Some people believe that Blackbeard had no intentions of stopping his operation, and that he was trying to outmaneuver the British navy. He hoped that the danger of the area would cause the ships pursuing him either to stop or to sink, but he miscalculated and hit a sandbar.

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**So the question for discussion in the comments is**: When Blackbeard's <i>Queen Anne's Revenge</i> sank, did Blackbeard do it intentionally?

### The Initiative
Right now, it is important to develop the discussion aspect of Steem. In order to do this, the account, @penny4thoughts was created by @remlaps. 

If the account (@penny4thoughts) is set as a beneficiary, it will evenly distribute the liquid portion of the post's rewards to the authors of comments that the post author upvotes with 100 percent voting power. For this post, and all future [Discussion Posts] in the category 'penny4thoughts', I will be setting @penny4thoughts as a beneficiary for 100 percent of the posts' rewards, and I will monitor the discussion and upvote valuable contributions.