William Kidd - Wikipedia. Captain William Kidd (c. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer. Kidd's fame springs largely from the sensational circumstances of his questioning before the English Parliament and the ensuing trial. His actual depredations on the high seas, whether piratical or not, were both less destructive and less lucrative than those of many other contemporary pirates and privateers.
Biography. Despite the legends and fiction surrounding this character, his actual career was punctuated by only a handful of skirmishes, followed by a desperate quest to clear his name. Kidd was born in Greenock, Scotland, January 1. He gave the city as his place of birth and said that he was aged 4. High Court of the Admiralty in October 1. David Dobson later identified his baptism documents from Greenock in 1. His father was Captain John Kyd, who was lost at sea. A local society supported the family financially. Richard Zacks says that Kidd came from Dundee in the biography The Pirate Hunter (2. Reports that Kidd came from Greenock have been dismissed by Dr. Dobson, who found neither the name Kidd nor Kyd in baptismal records. The myth is also discounted that his . There is no mention of the name in comprehensive Church of Scotland records for the period. A contrary view is presented here. It was here that he befriended many prominent colonial citizens, including three governors. There is some information which suggests that he was a seaman's apprentice on a pirate ship, much earlier than his own more famous seagoing exploits. By 1. 68. 9, he was a member of a French- English pirate crew that sailed in the Caribbean. Kidd and other members of the crew mutinied, ousted the captain of the ship, and sailed to the British colony of Nevis. There they renamed the ship Blessed William. Kidd became captain, either the result of an election of the ship's crew or because of appointment by Christopher Codrington, governor of the island of Nevis. Captain Kidd and Blessed William became part of a small fleet assembled by Codrington to defend Nevis from the French, with whom the English were at war. In either case, he must have been an experienced leader and sailor by that time. The governor did not want to pay the sailors for their defensive services; he told them that they could take their pay from the French. Kidd and his men attacked the French island of Marie- Galante, destroyed the only town, and looted the area, gathering for themselves something around 2,0. William Kidd; Born: 22 January 1645 Greenock, Scotland: Died: (1701-05-23) (aged 56) Wapping, England: Piratical career: Type: Pirate / Privateer: Allegiance Kingdom of Scotland. U ne critique avec des vrais morceaux de mauvaise foi dedans. Vous souvenez de Richard Dean Anderson, cet acteur qui a popularis?Barbe-Noire, le pirate le plus terrible de tous les temps. Son histoire, son portrait, ses tr Le capitaine William Kidd est l’un des nombreux pirates ayant sillonn. Comme « La Buse » ou Christopher Condent, il utilisait comme base arri Sterling. Kidd captured an enemy privateer during the War of the Grand Alliance, on orders from the provinces of New York and Massachusetts Bay, which he was commissioned to perform. Shortly thereafter, he was awarded . One year later, Captain Robert Culliford, a notorious pirate, stole Kidd's ship while he was ashore at Antigua in the West Indies. In 1. 69. 5, William III of England appointed Richard Coote, Earl of Bellomont as governor in place of the corrupt Benjamin Fletcher, known for accepting bribes of one hundred dollars to allow illegal trading of pirate loot. It would have been viewed as disloyalty to the crown to turn down this request, carrying much social stigma and making it difficult for Kidd to say no. The request preceded the voyage which established Kidd's reputation as a pirate, and marked his image in history and folklore. Four- fifths of the cost for the venture was paid for by noble lords, who were among the most powerful men in England: the Earl of Orford, the Baron of Romney, the Duke of Shrewsbury, and Sir John Somers. Kidd was presented with a letter of marque, signed personally by King William III of England. This letter reserved 1. Crown, and Henry Gilbert's The Book of Pirates suggests that the King may have fronted some of the money for the voyage himself. Kidd and his acquaintance Colonel Robert Livingston orchestrated the whole plan and paid for the rest. Kidd had to sell his ship Antigua to raise funds. The oars were a key advantage, as they enabled Adventure Galley to manoeuvre in a battle when the winds had calmed and other ships were dead in the water. Kidd took pride in personally selecting the crew, choosing only those whom he deemed to be the best and most loyal officers. The Navy yacht then fired a shot to make him show respect, and Kidd. Thus short- handed, Kidd sailed for New York City, capturing a French vessel en route (which was legal under the terms of his commission). To make up for the lack of officers, Kidd picked up replacement crew in New York, the vast majority of whom were known and hardened criminals, some undoubtedly former pirates. The quartermaster was considered . It is not clear, however, if van der Heul exercised this degree of responsibility, because Kidd was nominally a privateer. Van der Heul is also noteworthy because he may have been African or of African descent. A contemporary source describes him as a . If van der Heul was indeed of African ancestry, this fact would make him the highest ranking black pirate so far identified. Van der Heul went on to become a master's mate on a merchant vessel, and was never convicted of piracy. A third of his crew perished on the Comoros due to an outbreak of cholera, the brand- new ship developed many leaks, and he failed to find the pirates whom he expected to encounter off Madagascar. As it became obvious that his ambitious enterprise was failing, Kidd became desperate to cover its costs. But, once again, he failed to attack several ships when given a chance, including a Dutchman and a New York privateer. Some of the crew deserted Kidd the next time that Adventure Galley anchored offshore, and those who decided to stay on made constant open threats of mutiny. Kidd's gunner William Moore was on deck sharpening a chisel when a Dutch ship appeared. Moore urged Kidd to attack the Dutchman, an act not only piratical but also certain to anger Dutch- born King William. Kidd refused, calling Moore a lousy dog. Moore fell to the deck with a fractured skull and died the following day. Yet Kidd seemed unconcerned, later explaining to his surgeon that he had . On one occasion, crew members ransacked the trading ship Mary and tortured several of its crew members while Kidd and the other captain, Thomas Parker, conversed privately in Kidd's cabin. When Kidd found out what had happened, he was outraged and forced his men to return most of the stolen property. The captain of Quedagh Merchant was an Englishman named Wright, who had purchased passes from the French East India Company promising him the protection of the French Crown. After realising the captain of the taken vessel was an Englishman, Kidd tried to persuade his crew to return the ship to its owners. In an attempt to maintain his tenuous control over his crew, Kidd relented and kept the prize. When this news reached England, it confirmed Kidd's reputation as a pirate, and various naval commanders were ordered to . While the passes were at best a dubious defence of his capture, British admiralty and vice- admiralty courts (especially in North America) heretofore had often winked at privateers' excesses into piracy, and Kidd may have been hoping that the passes would provide the legal fig leaf that would allow him to keep Quedagh Merchant and her cargo. Renaming the seized merchantman Adventure Prize, he set sail for Madagascar. Here he found the first pirate of his voyage, Robert Culliford (the same man who had stolen Kidd. Two contradictory accounts exist of how Kidd reacted to his encounter with Culliford. According to The General History of the Pirates, published more than 2. Kidd made peaceful overtures to Culliford: he . The other version was presented by Richard Zacks in his 2. The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd. According to Zacks, Kidd was unaware that Culliford had only about 2. Mocha Frigate until his two prize ships and crews arrived, so he decided not to molest Culliford until these reinforcements came. After Adventure Prize and Rouparelle came in, Kidd ordered his crew to attack Culliford's Mocha Frigate. However, his crew, despite their previous eagerness to seize any available prize, refused to attack Culliford and threatened instead to shoot Kidd. Zacks does not refer to any source for his version of events. Only 1. 3 remained with Adventure Galley. Deciding to return home, Kidd left the Adventure Galley behind, ordering her to be burnt because she had become worm- eaten and leaky. Before burning the ship, he was able to salvage every last scrap of metal, such as hinges. With the loyal remnant of his crew, he returned to the Caribbean aboard the Adventure Prize. Trial and execution. Realizing that Adventure Prize was a marked vessel, he cached it in the Caribbean Sea and continued toward New York aboard a sloop. He deposited some of his treasure on Gardiners Island, hoping to use his knowledge of its location as a bargaining tool. In order to avoid them, Kidd sailed 1. Long Island, and then doubled back 9. Sound to Oyster Bay. He felt this was a safer passage than the highly trafficked Narrows between Staten Island and Brooklyn. Aware of the accusations against Kidd, Bellomont was justifiably afraid of being implicated in piracy himself, and knew that presenting Kidd to England in chains was his best chance to save himself. He lured Kidd into Boston with false promises of clemency. Kidd was placed in Stone Prison, spending most of the time in solitary confinement. His wife, Sarah, was also imprisoned. The conditions of Kidd's imprisonment were extremely harsh, and appear to have driven him at least temporarily insane. The new Tory ministry hoped to use Kidd as a tool to discredit the Whigs who had backed him, but Kidd refused to name names, naively confident his patrons would reward his loyalty by interceding on his behalf. There is speculation that he probably would have been spared had he talked.
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