Before it was a postcard-perfect city of pastel houses and cobblestone streets, Charleston, South Carolina, was a rowdy port town bursting with ambition, intrigue — and pirates. In this episode of History for Cocktail Parties, hosts Thornton Kennedy and James Ottley trace the city’s colorful origins from its 1670 founding under the Lords Proprietors to its golden age of piracy on the Carolina coast. You’ll hear how the restoration of King Charles II shaped “Charles Town,” why philosopher John Locke had a surprising hand in its early government, and how Charleston’s mix of taverns, churches, and brothels made it one of the liveliest — and most scandalous — colonial outposts in America. Then, Ottley and Kennedy dive into tales of high-seas rogues like Blackbeard and the “Gentleman Pirate” Steed Bonnet, whose escapades turned Charleston Harbor into a stage for swashbuckling drama.