Part of the Outer Banks, this island lies off the coast of North Carolina. The current name came from the Algonquian word Wococcon, but evolved into Ocracoke by the early 18th century. In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh’s ship Tiger ran aground on one of the many sand bars in Ocracoke Inlet and was forced to land on the island for repairs. It was a favourite spot for pirates at the end of the 17th and beginning of 18th centuries due to the abundance of merchant shipping to and from the colonies. Frequent visitors include Blackbeard, who met his death there at the hands of Robert Maynard in November 1718, and Stede Bonnet. The island wasn’t permanently settled until 1750. Warehouses were built on the island to hold goods off-loaded from larger ships offshore, which were then loaded onto smaller schooners to be delivered to plantations and towns along the mainland rivers.