William Kidd

Scottish privateer

• Born: c. 1645
• Birthplace: Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland
• Died: May 23, 1701
• Place of death: London, England

At the time of his death, Kidd was probably the most notorious pirate of the age, but he was also a victim of the changing political and administrative practices of an increasingly modern era.

Early Life

Little is known of William Kidd’s early life. He was born in Greenock, on the Firth of Clyde, and his father was possibly a Presbyterian minister in the Scottish national church. The young Kidd turned his back on the land, choosing the sea rather than the national church for his career.

The late seventeenth century was a world in transition. Scotland was an independent kingdom, although the same monarchs ruled both that nation and England. Kidd’s future would be tied to those monarchs, particularly William III, who succeeded James II, a Catholic king in a Protestant land and an advocate of royal absolutism, in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. James took refuge in France, England’s traditional enemy.

Politically, England was divided into Whigs and Tories, factions made up of members of the ruling classes, including aristocrats, merchants, and bankers—old and new wealth. At the time, no European nation could be described as democratic, and the common people had little say in politics. Differences existed between the two factions—the Whigs were in favor of placing controls on the monarchy, the Tories were more royalist—but politics largely revolved around the quest for power, place, and patronage. The Whigs’ willingness to support William’s war against France after 1688 gave them an advantage over their Tory rivals.

Under Louis XIV , France had become Europe’s leading power, threatening in particular William’s United Provinces of the Netherlands. In addition, considerable imperial rivalry existed over trade and colonies, both in the Americas and in Asia. War was the norm on both land and sea, and on the latter, privateers—ships licensed by a particular government—preyed on those of the enemy. Often only a fine line separated legal privateering and illegal piracy, and Kidd sailed back and forth across that line.

Life’s Work

Kidd first appeared in the historical record in 1689 as part of a pirate crew in the Caribbean. The Glorious Revolution of the previous year brought England into the wars against Louis XIV, continuing the English-French rivalry that would not end until the nineteenth century. Like other former pirates, Kidd became an English privateer, captain of his own ship, The Blessed William, but shortly after an engagement against the French, for which he was praised for his fighting skills, his men stole both his ship and his money, a not uncommon experience in such a risky profession.

He was given another vessel in recompense, and by 1691, he was in colonial New York, a volatile environment split by personalities, factions, and political upheavals. Kidd gained both money and recognition by assisting the newly appointed governor against the previous one. He married a wealthy widow, Sarah Bradley Cox Oort, eventually had two children, and settled in New York.

By 1695, Kidd had had enough of urban respectability. Because of the war with France, the economy was in the doldrums. One of the few areas of prosperity was privateering. Whatever Kidd’s motives—money, boredom, adventure—he sailed to England to obtain a commission as a privateer. He had few contacts but did obtain the favor of Richard Coote, the earl of Bellamont, a Whig politician with connections to the major Whig figures who had recently been appointed governor of both Massachusetts Bay and New York. Kidd soon received a privateering commission to hunt down pirates. As a former pirate, who could be more qualified? Piracy was a problem, but the aim was also financial: Several of the Whig lords invested in the scheme, and King William was to receive a share of the profits. Political patronage had paved Kidd’s path.

Sailing from England in April, 1696, on the Adventure Galley with a crew of seventy on a no-prey, no-pay basis (they were paid only from what they seized), Kidd’s destination was New York. In transit, Kidd captured a French fishing boat, hardly a major prize. In New York, he saw his family, then set sail in September for the Indian Ocean, where, according to his privateering commission, he would pursue pirates.

While still in the Atlantic, Kidd came into contact with several Royal Navy ships, who coveted, with legal justification, some of the Adventure Galley’s crew. At first chance, Kidd deserted the flotilla, earning the wrath of the English commander, who passed the word that Kidd was likely to be more pirate than privateer, an accusation that was to dog Kidd.

The island of Madagascar, notorious for its piratical associations, was Kidd’s first destination in the Indian Ocean, where the British East India Company was the regional economic power. Its ships were tempting prizes for pirates but were off limits to English privateers such as Kidd, for the company had considerable economic and political influence in England. After obtaining food, water, and additional sailors, Kidd sailed north to the Arabian Sea, although there were pirate bands nearby that he might have pursued. Pushed by the economic demands of his London backers as well as his crew, he decided instead to seize a ship of Islamic pilgrims, one of many that traveled annually from India to Arabia and back again. These ships were not English, but for economic and political reasons, the East India Company took a decided interest in their safety, and when Kidd attempted a capture in August, 1697, he was forestalled by an English vessel.

After failure in the Red Sea, Kidd sailed to India. He was not yet a pirate, but only because he had not been successful. That changed with the capture of an English ship, which he took although it had little economic value. He next attempted to capture a wealthy merchantman but was driven off by two Portuguese ships. An East India Company boat was seized, but Kidd, still straddling the line between piracy and privateering, freed it, in spite of considerable opposition from his crew. Thus far, the voyage had been a disaster: no captured pirates, no wealthy cargoes. Kidd’s frustration cumulated in October, 1697, when, in a fit of anger, he struck and killed William Moore, one of his sailors.

Luck finally turned in November with the appearance of a Dutch-owned merchantman. Flying a French flag on his own vessel, Kidd skillfully manipulated the captain into showing a French pass, thus technically allowing the vessel to be seized under Kidd’s commission. Two smaller ships were soon apprehended, on an even more tenuous legal ground. Finally, in January, 1698, a wealthy Indian merchantman, the Quedah Merchant, was captured. The economic goals of the voyage had at last been achieved, but Kidd had definitely crossed the line from privateer to pirate. That status was soon compounded when he tried but failed to seize two East India Company ships.

With the monsoon season imminent, Kidd abandoned India for Madagascar. The Adventure Galley was in poor shape, and Kidd’s success in reaching that large island in April, 1698, speaks for his sailing ability. There Kidd parted company from the majority of his crew, who preferred to stay in the Indian Ocean, shipping out on other pirate vessels. Kidd decided to return to New York in the hope of legitimizing his voyage, his profits, and himself, as others before him had often done in the murky political environment of the colonies and the mother country. After destroying his log and preparing his explanation that it was his crew who forced him into illegal activities, Kidd set sail in November on the Quedah Merchant—the Adventure Galley was no longer seaworthy—with a small crew.

The political world had changed since he left. Reflecting both the long-range tendencies of European governments toward administrative centralization and the monopolization of political and military power against private interests as well as short-range necessities, not least of all pressure from the East India Company, a new statute against piracy had been adopted. Back in the Caribbean in April, 1699, Kidd learned that he was wanted for piracy. With care, Kidd disposed of much of the valuable bulk goods, obtained a new ship, and sailed to the mainland.

The governor of New York and Massachusetts Bay was Lord Bellamont, Kidd’s onetime partner. In order to please his London patrons and the government that appointed him, with complications from ever-increasing Tory and East India influence, Bellamont was committed to eliminating piracy. Kidd arrived in New York in the midst of an antipirate campaign. Cautiously, he landed on Long Island, saw his family, and contacted Bellamont, promising to surrender if given a pardon. Initially, the governor seemed sympathetic, but after several meetings between Kidd and Bellamont in Boston, Kidd was arrested on July 6, 1699. When the news reached England in September, his notoriety was such that even King William was informed, and a special ship was dispatched to bring him to London for trial.

The Tory opposition in Parliament used Kidd’s connection with the Whigs to attack the government. Kidd had become more than just a marginally successful pirate; he was a symbol and a pawn. Because of winter storms, the prisoner did not reach London until April, 1700. After being examined by the Admiralty Board, he was incarcerated in the pesthole prison of Newgate. There, he languished for months while the legal and political process slowly ground on. The leading Whigs, some of whom were his partners, saw the necessity of throwing a minor figure, a Jonah, overboard, and Kidd was their man.

Parliament interviewed Kidd in March, 1701. On two days in May, in separate trials, he was condemned for the murder of Moore and for piracy. His trial, although extraordinarily swift for a later age, met the norms for the times. He was taken from Newgate by cart to the Thames. Arriving drunk, he castigated his former patrons, and although the rope broke the first time, he was successfully hanged on the second attempt.

Significance

Before he died, Kidd had already become a legendary figure who would become the subject of numerous biographies and novels. For some, he epitomized the notorious pirate; for others, he was a victim of a perverted legal system. In fact, Kidd was neither. He was a pirate, although not particularly successful: His known career spanned only the single voyage to the Indian Ocean, and there his deeds were hardly of legendary proportions; his trial was as fair as the times allowed. He was, however, a victim, or a symbol, of changing conditions in the emergence of the modern administrative state, and he was a pawn, though not an innocent one, of the powerful politicians of his day. Kidd’s career is proof of the adage that when forced to choose between the facts and the legend, it is advisable to print the legend.

Bibliography

Bonner, William Hallam. Pirate Laureate: The Life and Legends of Captain Kidd. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1947. A scholarly work that sees Kidd as an innocent victim of politics and a corrupt judiciary.

Clifford, Barry, and Paul Perry. Return to Treasure Island and the Search for Captain Kidd. New York: William Morrow, 2003. Undersea explorer Clifford went to Madagascar to find and excavate the Adventure Galley, Kidd’s legendary pirate ship. His book tells the story of his trip as well as recounting Kidd’s life and voyages in the Indian Ocean.

Cochran, Hamilton. Freebooters of the Red Sea. Indianapolis, Ind.: Bobbs-Merrill, 1965. A sympathetic account of Kidd and other pirates. Written for a general audience, it contains many fascinating details, including those surrounding Kidd’s execution.

Harris, Graham. Treasure and Intrigue: The Legacy of Captain Kidd. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2002. Examines Kidd’s life within the context of piracy in the Indian Ocean. The author concludes Kidd was thrust into a life of piracy by wealthy investors who made him a scapegoat for their crimes.

Pringle, Patrick. Jolly Roger. London: Museum Press, 1953. A popular work about the great age of piracy. It includes a chapter on Kidd, in which the author argues that Kidd did not receive a fair trial.

Ritchie, Robert C. Captain Kidd and the War Against the Pirates. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1986. This is the definitive work on Kidd and his times, rich in Kidd’s own story and also in illuminating the emerging modern state.

Seitz, Don C. The Tryal of Capt. William Kidd for Murther and Piracy. New York: Rufus Rockwell Wilson, 1936. An interesting account of Kidd’s trial told through a combination of narration and documents.

Zacks, Richard. The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd. New York: Hyperion, 2003. A popular history of Kidd’s life and sea voyages. The author debunks the myth that Kidd was a cutthroat pirate, arguing he was actually a successful New York sea captain who was hired by the English government and New World investors to track down pirates and retrieve their stolen wares.