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Birth
Israel Hands was born Israel Hand to unknown parents.
He later changed his name to Israel Hands when he began piracy in 1718.
His early life is a complete mystery, with his first historical record being in 1718 when he was made Blackbeard's right hand man.
Source: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19564/pg19564-images.html -
Hands was made captain of the Adventure
Blackbeard's crew captured an eighty-ton sloop off Turneffe Island (Modern day Belize). The ship was called the Adventure, its captain was David Harriot who hauled logwood to markets. Harriot and his crew became "guests" aboard Queen Anne's Revenge, while Hands took over the ship. He sailed in consort with Blackbeard aboard the Adventure for some time afterwards.
Source: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Hands.html -
Queen Anne's Revenge and the Adventure ran aground
Blackbeard decided he wanted to downsize, due to having too many men and ships under his command. So he "accidentally" ran the Queen Anne's Revenge aground following the May blockade of Charles Town. In attempts to keep up keep up his pretense, Blackbeard requested Hands to help free the QAR with the Adventure, leading to it, too, running aground.
They left the two ships there, boarding the remaining ships of the fleet.
Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/the-queen-annes-revenge-2136283 -
The remaining crew received pardons
The remaining 100 or so men set sail to North Carolina, where they received pardons from Governor Eden. They all "retired" in North Carolina, and Blackbeard threw a month-long party on Ocracoke Island, and multiple famous pirates attended such as Charles Vane, Robert Deal, John "Calico Jack" Rackham, and of course, Israel Hands.
Vane did attempt to enlist Teach and Hands's help in a raid, but they refused.
Source: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Hands.html -
Blackbeard shoots Hands in the knee
A short time before Teach returned to piracy, he, Hands, and two others gathered in his cabin for a drink. Teach, without being provoked, privately drew two pistols. He eventually unloaded said pistols on the men, not killing any, only shooting Hands directly through the knee.
"If I don't kill one of you once in a while, they'll forget who I am," said Blackbeard, when Hands requested an explanation.
This injury would permanently disable Hands.
Source: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Hands.html -
Hands testifies against his former crew
He and fifteen others where taken to Williamsburg, Virginia, to stand trial. Hands opted to watch out for himself, deciding to testify against his former crew. He was later pardoned "just as he was about to be executed." It is unknown why he was pardoned. Captain Johnson claimed it was a King's Pardon, because Hands was recovering in Bath when he was captured, and thus wasn't guilty of any crime. More likely, it was due to Alexander Spotswood, who was supposedly corrupt. -
Blackbeard is attacked and killed
Not long after he'd shot Hands, Blackbeard was attacked at Ocracoke Inlet by Lieutenant Robert Maynard and his crew, resulting in the death of the infamous pirate captain on November 22nd.
Hands, however, was not at the Inlet at the time, he was in Bath, North Carolina, recuperating from his wound.
He, however, didn't escape the roundup of pirates that occurred soon after.
Source: https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2015/11/22/the-death-of-blackbeard-1718 -
Hands is imprisoned
Following his testament, Hands was imprisoned for four months, before being released.
Source: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Hands.html -
Period: to
Death
There are no records of Hands after he was released from prison. Some say he died a beggar in London, sometime between 1720 and 1725. But this theory originated from Captain Charles Johnson, the author of a General History of Pyrates, and could've been a work of fiction.
Source: The General History of Pyrates