Israel Hands
Israel Hands was both a real-life pirate from Bristol and one of the leading characters in Treasure Island.
The real Israel Hands was Blackbeard’s second in command and in 1718 Blackbeard made him captain of the recently captured ship Adventure. Shortly after, Blackbeard shot Hands in the knee and when asked why he had done it, he replied that if he didn’t occasionally kill or maim members of his crew, the others would lose respect for him.
Blackbeard was killed on November 22, 1718 in a sea battle off the coast of North Carolina. Hands was ashore recovering from the wound to his knee but was rounded up with the rest of the pirate crew. He was spared execution and pardoned in exchange for testifying against corrupt North Carolina officials with whom Blackbeard had consorted.
It’s not clear what happened to Hands subsequently. There’s some evidence that he changed his name to Hynde and died impoverished in London, but in Captain Charles Johnson's book A General History of the Pyrates written in 1724, it is claimed that Hands joined Bartholomew Roberts’ pirate crew and was captured and hung at Cape Coast Castle in West Africa in 1722.
In Treasure Island, Hands is a leading member of Silver’s mutinous pirate crew and is shot and killed by Jim in an epic battle on the Hispaniola enabling Jim to return the ship to Treasure Island without Silver’s knowledge.