The Disreputable Life of Captain Kidd
Among all the infamous and notorious pirates to sail the Atlantic and West Indies Sea, there was one pirate who made history of having the undecided claim of not being a pirate. In the beginning of his career as a privateer, William Kidd and his crew sailed to various locations and seas under the authority of King Charles II. Because of his actions, he has established an unanswered identity of himself that questions many historians as to whether he was a pirate or a privateer. Kidd made abrupt decisions in his career that led to his dramatic trials.
Most pirates were anonymous men of humble origin. William Kidd was once a well-known and prominent figure who moved in elite circles, and had important connections
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with the highest officials of England, Norris of the History Magazine explains. In 1689, at the age of 44 years, William Kidd became a captain of a privateer vessel in the Caribbean. He was either appointed by Christopher Codrington, governor of the island of Nevis, or the election based on the crew’s decision that bestowed his rank as Captain.
The vessel he set forth was renamed The Blessed William, named in honor of England’s new king, William III. William and his French-English crew headed for New York City, which was a famous city port for pirates and privateers at the time. According to Norris, Kidd spent much time at sea on the Antigua, patrolling the coast on behalf of the colonial government. When Kidd arrived in England in 1695, a great war was happening between France and New England. The Royal Navy was in dire straits with France at the time and piracy was becoming a great problem, and unfortunately, growing among the Atlantic seas. Bellomont then appointed Kidd to be captain of a war ship to eradicate pirates in the vicinity of New England. The war vessel, Adventure Galley, included a letter of marque, a “document giving any person legal authority to hunt for pirates, as well as to capture French shipping” (Norris 15). Privateer vessels were so called because they were privately manned and funded. There were members of the Whig party, or English Officers, who assisted Kidd in funding the syndicate: Lord Orford, Baron Somers, and the
Duke of Shrewsbury. In the spring of 1695, Kidd and his friend Robert Livingston were seeking pirates that were constantly in the way of English shipping traffic. According to Encyclopedia.com, Kidd and Livingston would take pirates into custody, “recover” their booty that the pirates had plundered from other vessels, and divide the share between themselves and King William of England. Kidd and Livingston were to leave English ships unharmed, but any ships that were Portuguese, French, or Spanish were fair game. In 1696, Kidd and his crew departed Plymouth, England and set sail for New York. His crew consisted of 155 men who recently joined and the English Officers of the Whig party who assisted Kidd in funding the syndicate. Instead of clearing the Atlantic waters and analyzing the coast of the Caribbean, Kidd and his crew set rerouted their expedition to the Indian Ocean in search for great profits, especially for privateers. At this time, piracy was a problem in the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic as well. Kidd and his crew didn’t come across any pirates in the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, some of Kidd’s men contracted tropical diseases and perished. In 1967, Kidd then set sail for Madagascar, where a good portion of pirates were told to be present, and started hunting. On October 30, 1697, Kidd’s luck began to decline in the Malabar Coast of India. Kidd’s crew spotted a Dutch ship and wanted to capture it for their personal possession, but Kidd refused to attack. At this time, there was an ongoing argument between Kidd and William Moore, the ship’s gunner. Moore was irked about Kidd not attacking non-English ships, the Dutch ship, and missing out on the plunder opportunities. Moore also exaggerates how Kidd wasn’t aggressive enough. Kidd was frustrated with Moore, and decided to eliminate him. Kidd struck Moore on the head with a heavy “wooden bucket, bound with iron hoops, to the value of eight pence”. Moore died one day later from the injury. “The murder did little to improve Kidd’s popularity among his ship’s crew, and to regain their esteem he tossed aside his reluctance to attack English ships” (Encyclopedia.com). Kidd now declared any ship fair game. The Adventure Galley’s luck seemed to improve in January 1698, when Kidd and his crew captured the Quedah Merchant, belonging to a courtier of Aurangzeb of the Mughal emporer. “The Captain of the Quedah Merchant was an Englishman, and the ship itself was under Armenian ownership” (Norris 16). The Quedah Merchant was protected under the papers of the French East India Company, which made it a “legitimate prize.” When Kidd reached the West Indies in April 1699, news of his role in the Indian Ocean pirate attacks had proceeded him. To make the situation worse, Kidd labeled his “aristocratic sponsors and partners as conspirators to commit piracy (Norris 17).” Orford, Somers, and Shrewsbury realized they were in the position of being con-victed with Kidd, among his actions. Captain Kidd sailed to Boston in a new vessel known as the San Antonio, and left behind the Quedah Merchant along with most of his crew. Kidd was paranoid of the fact that the appearance of their new vessel would bring attention to the authorities, so Kidd and the small portion of his crew set ablaze to the San Antonio. Captain Kidd was now in a bind to the point where he could be tried in court. English Sea Captains who encountered Captain Kidd reported his actions to King William. Upon hearing multiple complaints, King William ordered Kidd to be put to death if caught. To avoid his troublesome and mischievous consequences, Kidd contacted his old associate Bellomont to ask for help. Before Bellomont and Kidd made contact, Kidd landed at Gardiner’s Island, and buried some coins, jewels, and other valuables. When Kidd and Bellomont met, Bellomont ordered Kidd arrested on July 6th, 1699. Kidd was held prisoner in the Boston jail, in the colony of Massachusetts, until authorities transferred him to Newgate Prison in England, where he awaited trail for a year. Bellomont then sent a party to Gardiner’s Island to dig up the loot buried there. On April 16th, 1700, the Admiralty Court in London ordered Kidd tried for piracy. Kidd spent over a year in Newgate Prison before coming to trial at the Old Bailey on May 8th, 1701. The papers of the Quedah Merchant had been given to Bellomont for proof in the court trials, but they were misplaced and thus didn’t give any evidence to the court. After two days of trial, Kidd was sentenced to death. The trial began on May 8th, 1701 at the Old Bailey and ended the next day. Kidd was accused of piracy and the murder of Robert Moore. Encyclopedia.com adds that, “Kidd protested that he was not a pirate – he had been carrying out the terms of his commission to take any ship that was not English, and he asserted that he had only plundered French ships.” Of Moore’s death, Kidd maintained that he had not intended to kill the seaman, but had struck him in the heat of anger.” On Friday May 23rd, 1701, Kidd was hanged at the Execution Dock at Wapping, in London’s East End, according to Norris. Upon being transported there by two horse-drawn carts, the prisoners were accompanied by officials in a symbolic parade while the crowd hastily followed them. The crowd of people yelled at them in anger and offered them liquor as they passed by. Surprisingly enough, Kidd was able to give a speech, in which he promptly blamed others for his mistakes and regretted leaving his wife and kids, while he was drunk. Un-fortunately, it took two tries for Kidd to be successfully hung. “The first attempt, the rope snapped and dumped Kidd to the ground” (Norris 18).After the second attempt, the hanging was properly done. “Kidd’s body hung in chains at Tilbury Point on the Thames River as a visible deterrent to any other would –be pirates among the mariners who sailed or out of London” (Norris 19). Encyclopedia.com states, “It remains uncertain whether Kidd intended to take any ship he wanted, or whether he seriously intended to prey only on ships owned by enemies of England and to this dying day, he denied ever intending to become a true pirate.” William Kidd and his crew sailed multiple expeditions for loyalty of King Charles II. Unfortunately, Kidd took a turn for the worst and attacked other vessels, was convicted of piracy and eventually sentenced to death.
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