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Captain Kidd-Pirate or Victim?

The High Court of Admiralty tried and found Captain Kidd guilty of murder and piracy in May of 1701. For the next two years the decomposing body of Captain Kidd hung in a cage over the River Thames in London as a warning to all who even considered piracy as a career. But was Captain Kidd a pirate, or merely a victim of circumstance?  

Although born in Scotland in 1645 to a reputable family, opportunities were limited in those days. Following the death of his father at age 5, William Kidd’s family was left to struggle to support themselves. At a young age William set out to sea, moving from ship to ship for three decades until war broke out between Britain and France when fortune smiled on him when he captured a French ship and saved the lives of countless British sailors. With his newly found honors, he settled in New York in 1691 where he married and fathered two daughters and became a well respected sea captain of considerable financial means. 

Now most think of pirates as bands of murderous thieves who sailed the Spanish Main (the western Caribbean Seas) during the 17th and early 18th centuries, forcing their victims to “walk the plank”, that they may drown or be eaten by hungry sharks. Others associate pirates with visions of treasure chests filled with gold and jewels being buried in the sand and in caves along coastal coves, waiting to be discovered by those who have the right map with “X” marking the spot of its concealment. The truth is that many “pirates” were in fact “privateers” who were legally commissioned by the British Crown and other nations. Part of the booty (treasure) would go to the King (traditionally 10%), part would be shared by the local governor, and the rest to the captain and crew.

Despite rumors of buried pirate’s treasure, history has proven that not much of the “treasure” is left to be found, as most was turned into the governments that ruled the New World colonies of that time. Although many a famous literary author (like Robert Lewis Stevenson) and  motion film actor (such as Charles Laughton) have memorialized what we envision as pirates, the true pirates that we need to be concerned about are those of modern 21st Century. These are the pirates who prey upon the ocean’s cruise lines and the smugglers of drugs and weapons into the cities of the United States and other free countries that destroy lives and cost billions of dollars to monitor and interdict.

As a respectable Captain in strong favor by members of local government, Kidd frequently found himself called upon by local governors to act as a privateer on behalf of the Crown; however he was not always so fortunate. Early in his career as a privateer for the British Crown, his ship was stolen by the notorious pirate Captain Culliford while he was ashore in the West Indies. But this was not the end of Kidd’s career, as later that year he was asked by his close friend Governor Coote to command raids missions to seize or sink ships of several enemy privateers as well as all who associated with pirates.   

His new ship, the Adventurer Galley was well suited for battle with pirates. Being a 284 ton 34 gun ship with a crew of 150 and equipped with oars enabled it to  sneak up upon enemy ships and was capable of rowing into battle in windless seas when ships powered by sail were stranded.  To ensure his success, Kidd was careful to select only those crewmembers who he felt possessed a strong sense of loyalty and valor; however once again misfortune followed and his crew was commandeered by the HMS Duchess and his replacement crew consisted of criminals and former pirates. This was the beginning of the end, and soon if not for bad luck, Kidd would have had none at all. First he lost a third of his crew to cholera, then his ship became prone to leaks, and although he was successful in capturing one French merchant ship for reasons we will never know, Kidd’s voyage to Africa found not a single pirate after which let pass several opportunities to attack several enemy merchant and privateer ships-despite the growing cost of maintaining his ship and crew who by then were bordering on becoming mutinous. To top it off, he had made a commitment to the Royal Navy to provide at least 30 or so men, which he was unable to fulfill if he was to continue. Rowing off under the blanket of night caused the aggrieved Royal Navy officer to declare Kidd a pirate and criminal, and he and his friends of the British East India Company set out to spread growing rumors of Kidd’s disloyalty to the Crown and brutality to his crew and captives. To deteriorate matters, in January, 1698, Kidd used a brilliant guise of deception to sneak up by raising French colors, and board and take as a prize the Armenian merchant ship, Quedagh Merchant, which carried valuable East Indian cargo-which was in fact owned by a business associate of the British East India Company. Thus Kidd was officially declared a pirate by the Royal Crown and all British naval ships were now under orders to capture Kidd and return him to England as a prisoner.    

Having burned and sank his rotting ship, Kidd renamed the Quedagh Merchant as the Adventurer Galley and (unbeknown to him that he had now been declared a pirate) continued his commission as a British privateer and did in fact finally catch a pirate, who was none other than that same scoundrel who stole his first ship. But to Kidd’s chagrin, rather than capture the pirate, Kidd’s crew mutinied and joined Captain Culliford instead. Kidd headed once again for the Caribbean where, upon arriving in April of 1699 and learning of his dire situation, he briefly made port at Mona Island (now the Dominican Republic) before unloading and selling all his cargo at Hispaniola. Leaving the Quedagh Merchant, he made haste for New York City on the Saint Antonio with his gold and cash whilst every British man-of-war was scouring the Coast of North America for pirates, where upon reaching Block Island began to negotiate with Governor Coote (who was at that time in Massachusetts) for his pardon through influential friends. Being assured of his pardon, he agreed to come to Boston.

But first he needed to stash his gold as it may be the key to buying his way out of trouble. Although it is known that he did in fact bury some of the treasure on Gardiner’s Island (which was later taken by the British from Mr. Gardiner), much of the gold was never found. For over 300 years rumors abound as to where the gold may have been buried. Some say it was up the Connecticut River, others say in Block Island or Montauk, while others say he hid it in New Jersey along one of the coastal bays where he had family. No one will ever know as when Kidd arrived in Boston in July 6, 1699, he was arrested for piracy and treason while not one of his friends or investors took his side. After spending many months in solitary, he was transported to England in February of 1700 where he stood trial and was convicted of piracy and murder on May 9, 1701 and executed by hanging (twice) on May 23. The first time the rope around his neck broke but the second time ended his life. Many believe his trial was intended to bring down all the corrupt government officials and businessmen with whom he was associated but one thing we do know for sure is that then as is true now, your known by the company you keep and as the saying goes, keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer.

But what I really want to know is where did Captain Kidd bury the rest of the gold and treasure. Only his cats knew for sure and dead cats tell no tails.   To hear the tails of Captain Kidd's Cat's click on the Columbia Children's Album.

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