Tracey Turner - Hard Nuts of History

This book contains some of historys hardest nuts, from fearless explorers to fearsome warriors. Some of them were peaceful (most of them werent), many were extremely brave, and quite a lot were very violent indeed. But all of them were as hard as nails.

FIND OUT ABOUT...

Unstoppable conquerors

Barbarian tribes

The Way of the Warrior

Vikings called Snake-in-the-Eye and Hairybreeches

The Underground Railroad and the Trail of Tears

If youve ever wanted to attend a terrifyingly tough Spartan boarding school, join the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, or fight in the ancient Roman gladiatorial arena, read on. Follow the hard nuts to the freezing wastes of the South Pole, the bloody battlefields of the American Civil War, and up the Ogoou River in Africa by canoe.

As well as discovering tales of bravery and cunning, you might be in for a few surprises. For example, did you know that Cleopatra married her little brothers? Or that ancient Roman leader Julius Caesar was captured by pirates?

Youre about to meet some of the worlds toughest people ever

BATTLE OF THE HARD NUTS: THE CARD GAME CHALLENGE

Each of the hard nuts in this book has been given a Hard Nut Rating and a Hardometer score for cunning, courage, survival skills and ruthlessness. Why not challenge your friends to a Battle of the Hard Nuts? Download playing cards from www.bloomsbury.com/hardnutsofhistory

Take the multiple-choice quiz and find out how hard YOU are.

Create your pirate name .

Play the Exploration Game and travel to uncharted territories.

The notorious pirate Blackbeard gained his fearsome reputation in just two years. And he was so hard it seemed he was almost impossible to kill

BABY BLACKBEARD

We dont know much about Blackbeards early life. He was born Edward Teach, probably in Bristol around the year 1680. It is thought that Teach became a sailor in the Caribbean and the coast of North America during Queen Annes War, fought between France and England. He most likely sailed on privateer ships, which were authorised by the government to attack foreign ships during a war, a bit like legal pirates.

PIRATE PARTNERS

After the war, Edward Teach joined the crew of a pirate called Benjamin Hornigold. He became Hornigolds second in command, and was put in charge of a ship of his own. Hornigold refused to attack British ships, which didnt go down well with his crew. He soon retired, while Teach went on to lead a life of crime on the high seas.

A REMARKABLE BEARD

Teach captured a French ship, and named it Queen Annes Revenge. He became known as Blackbeard because of his long black beard, which he twisted into plaits. The story goes that he stuck burning fuses into it and under his hat to make himself look as terrifying as possible.

AHOY THERE!

Blackbeards reign of terror off the coast of Virginia and Carolina quickly became legendary. He captured lots of ships, gained a large fleet and crew, and gave himself the posh title Commodore. In 1718 he blockaded the town of Charlestown and held its people to ransom. He wasnt very nice to his own crew, either he shot his first mate in the knee during a drunken party.

PARDONED PIRATES

After two years of violence and thievery, Blackbeard accepted a royal pardon from King George I of England which meant he wouldnt be caught and hanged, but had to stop being a pirate. But Blackbeard carried on plundering, and so the English Navy was sent to kill him.

BLACKBEARDS GRUESOME END

The story goes that Blackbeard refused to die until hed been shot five times and stabbed twenty times with a sword. His head was chopped off and hung from the bowsprit of the English ship. According to legend, Blackbeards body swam around the ship before it sank.

Ahoy there! If you want to be a pirate, youll need to be utterly ruthless, completely lacking in morals, handy with a cutlass, and motivated by greed. If that fits your description, read on...

TALK LIKE A PIRATE

Pirates have a vocabulary all of their own and youll need to understand it if you plan on joining their ruthless ranks. Here are a few words to start you off:

YOUR PIRATE NAME

Simply choose any name from each of these three columns (or you could use your own first name instead of the middle column):