Baylus C. Brooks

Baylus C. Brooks is a North Carolinian who lives in North Florida. He is a graduate of East Carolina University's Maritime Studies Program and a proud member of Phi Alpha Theta History Honors Society. Brooks studies maritime & colonial history, also archaeological and paper conservation, drawing upon a love of both science and history. His primary focus is North Carolina and Atlantic World history - of course, pirates! Brooks published a variety of books, including the historical novel, Fountain of Hope: Dimensions based on four time periods of St. Augustine's history; Quest for Blackbeard; Sailing East; Brunswick Town; James Wimble; Pirates & Slaves: Making America, as well as educational and scholarly pamphlets related to North Carolina's history. He is currently working on a biography of Edward Moseley, North Carolina's first "Big Boy" politician and a new novel detailing Blackbeard's life. In past years, Brooks has published the scholarly articles "John Lawson's Indian Town on Hatteras Island, North Carolina" in the April 2014 issue and " 'Born in Jamaica of Very Creditable Parents' or 'A Bristol Man Born'? Excavating the Real Edward Thache, 'Blackbeard the Pirate' " in the July 2015 issue of North Carolina Historical Review. For this last article he researched the pirate Edward "Blackbeard" Thache and his early life on Jamaica from extraordinary unknown records lost for 290 years! These records tell astounding news of Thache's family and his service on the HMS Windsor in 1706. The earliest record that we have known prior to this research was from December 1716. The article was recognized by the North Carolina Department of History as one of the most significant in the historiography of piracy. They subsequently republished his article as "Blackbeard Reconsidered: Mist's Piracy, Thache's Genealogy," and made it available on Amazon.com in both print and Kindle formats. In August 2016, he published the results of this study on the social history of the people called "pirates." This study became the 600+ page "Quest for Blackbeard: The True Story of Edward Thache and his World." In 2020, Brooks published a 2nd edition ebook or Kindle version and another book of pirate biographies. Look for them on Amazon as well and visit his website at baylusbrooks.com