i am ineluctably reminded of the Dread Pirate Roberts in the Princess Bride - major overtones of that whole thing going on here. and OFMD doesn't treat the subject very seriously, which probably contributes to the resemblance.

the historical bit makes it much more fun. i understand the show isn't shooting for historial accuracy per se (loads of contemporary colloqualisms in the dialogue, etc) but though i understand it as an artistic choice, it is a bit jarring for me. so it's helpful to know they're not making things up whole cloth as well, but instead riffing on a series of actual events! i am reading through Stede & Blackbeard's wikipedia pages now, to get an outline.