Edward Kenway is the playable protagonist of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
Edward is a Welsh privateer who becomes a pirate and is drawn into the Assassin–Templar conflict after taking the identity of an Assassin. His story is set largely in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy, with naval travel and ship combat forming major parts of the game.
Edward is also the father of Haytham Kenway and the grandfather of Ratonhnhaké:ton, known as Connor, who appear in Assassin's Creed III. Edward Thatch, better known as Blackbeard, is a separate historical pirate who appears as an important character. The game's title refers to Edward's ship, the Jackdaw, and to the pirate setting rather than to a historical person named Black Flag.