Captain William Kidd
1645-1701Captain Kidd is one of the most well-known pirates during the privateering days.
Kidd was born in Greenock, Scotland sometime in the year 1645. He grew and commanded his own ship, the Antiqua. Kidd travelled to America in New York later to marry.
He received a letter of Marque to become a professional privateer for England in the war against France in the 1690's and comandeered successful voyages in New York and West Indies on board the Blessed William.
Captain Kidd received such great results that the king of England presented to him the Adventure Galley, a massive ship holding 34 cannons, and a crew of 80 men. He agreed to his new task: capture all French ships and the pirates in the Indian Ocean.
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When he arrived back to NY's port, which he often called his "home", Kidd fired off cannons to arise the populus of his newly aquired warship (a major upgrade to the 10-gun merchant ship had before).
He stopped about the bars in town to try to convince sailors to join his crew and have the unique, legal permission to get a quarter of all pillage of the pirates and French. The New York men, disswayed in such a low perchantage than a true pirate's "all or nothing" plundering slogan, chose to ignore Kidd's help wanted posters.
Kidd waited for offers in his lavish three-story mansion overlooking the Atlantic and the Adventure Galley, in the company of his wife and daughter, both named Sarah. William inherited most of his wealth from Sarah, who inherited from a former husband. Before their marriage, Sarah Bradley Cox Oort was the richest widow in all of New York.
As time past and Kidd's frustrations grew, he made a bold choice to raise the crew's share to 3/4, leaving one fourth to English royality and NY finiacial backers.
People flocked from all over New England - Maryland to Philadelphia to New Jersey - because of Kidd's new proposal. It had worked! He was finally getting the number of crew he would be comfortable with, which ironically enough, even included a group of known pirates that he thought could be easily controlled. Among the wild men recruited was William Moore, an 18-year-old gunner always in trouble with the law, once sentenced two years in jail for actually attacking his own captain.
Come September 6th, 1969, Kidd bid farewell to his loving wife, child, and estate to join his hung-over crew of 150 that were trying to shake off the night before's orgy of loose women and alcohol. The Adventure Galley sailed off past the New York/Jersey coast into the beyond.
Click to EnlargeDuring the long travels, Captain Kidd drew up articles that were signed by crew members to agree upon a list of guidelines. Some of these were: the first to spot a sail gets extra loot. Inflicting harmed or losing a body part results in money compensation. There shant be any internal disobiedence. And no man should have a pre-party celebration if all prisioners are not captured yet.
Unfortunately for the Captain, all odds were against him. He was running a wild crew, some pirates; the written articles forbade punishing men without a vote; he was a private and commercial venture - meaning neither royal navy nor merchants cared for him; friendly ports further in would be a far cry; his own Scot nationality seemed out of place in a widely English crowd and ship; and he had but only a year to please some of the most wealthiest men in the world of England.
The Adventure Galley arrived at Madagascar and a sufficent amount of Kidd's crew deserted him in favor of pirating. The rest threatened mutiny if Kidd didn't attack any ships they ran into, instead of only the French. When Kidd declined, William Moore (the aforementioned gunner) fought with him and in battle was killed by Kidd.
Captain Kidd's spottless record turned black as this muderous event molded his strict morals to allow the crew and himself to attack, plunder, and gruesomely kill men off any nearby ships along India's coast. Among his biggest treasures was the 400 ton Quedagh Merchant ship that contained silk, muslins, calico, sugar, opium, iron and saltpeter - all worth a rumored 70,000 pounds. He planned to return to New York and try to fool the people there that the many riches were strictly made from French and private boats only.
To his bad luck, he came back to a changed, very anti-piracy West Indies that caught wind of Kidd's behavior. On top of the harsher treatment of pirates, much of the treasures on the Adventure Galley belonged to the British East India Company, which informed them of his doings.
Click to EnlargeKidd negioated a pardon from the English making the case that he was forced to mutiny by his crew. He sailed to Boston stopping at Gardiners Island and Block Island to bury some of his booty.
He was arrested and put into shackles to be transported back to England for his final punishment. Death. His rigged trial took a day to find him guilty and he was sentenced to hanging on May 9th.
On May 23th, 1701, William Kidd was hanged. The first two ropes broke, but the third stuck, and Kidd's short-lived pirating days were numbered. The lifeless corpse was dipped in tar and hung by chains at the mouth of the Thames River to rot, as a visual example to dissenters.
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This was Kidd's famous farewell speech:
My name was Captain Kidd, when I sail'd, when I sail'd,
And so wickedly I did, God's laws I did forbid,
When I sail'd, when I sail'd.
I roam'd from sound to sound, And many a ship I found,
And then I sunk or burn'd, When I sail'd.
I murder'd William Moore, And laid him in his gore,
Not many leagues from shore, When I sail'd.
Farewell to young and old, All jolly seamen bold,
You're welcome to my gold, For I must die, I must die.
Farewell to Lunnon town, The pretty girls all round,
No pardon can be found, and I must die, I must die,
Farewell, for I must die. Then to eternity, in hideous misery,
I must lie, I must lie.It is said that a lot of Captain Kidd's booty is still buried under scattered New England beaches. One of the places suspected is the shore I visit every summer in New Jersey: Brigantine.
Click to EnlargeRumors have it that Kidd became romantically involved with another woman known as Amanda. This girl tried to convince him to give up pirating to join her in making a family there in South Jersey. He decidedly prepared to divide the plunder among the crew and bury the rest under the sands of Brigantine. A dissatisified pirate betrayed Kidd, as the anchored ship was at the mouth of the Mullica River, and he had to quickly cast off and flee to Boston.
To this day, none of said buried treasure has been uncovered.
Sources:
"A Biography of William Kidd" by Krzysztof Wilczynskii.
"The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd" by Richard Zacks.
"The Annals of Brigantine" by Paul C. Burgess.
"Captain William Kidd - Privateer and Pirate" by Historic-UK.comKidd's corpse on display illustration taken from Beej's Pirate Image Archive.
Harbor illustration by Jean-Leon Gerome Ferris (1911).
Portrait and treasure burial illustrations by Howard Pyle (1921).
Photograph of Brigantine Beach jetty copyrighted Michael Martin-Banks for use on NESPlayer.com.
