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William Kidd

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"Captain Kidd" redirects here. For the 1945 film, see Captain Kidd (film).
For other people named William Kidd, see William Kidd (disambiguation).
William Kidd
William Kidd
Piratical career
TypePrivateer
AllegianceScotland and England

William "Captain" Kidd (c. 1645 – May 23, 1701)[1] was a Scottish sailor remembered for his trial and execution for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. 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

Mythology and legend

The belief that Kidd had left a buried treasure contributed considerably to the growth of his legend. The 1701 broadside song Captain Kid's Farewel to the Seas, or, the Famous Pirate's Lament [2] lists “Two hundred bars of gold, and rix dollars manifold, we seized uncontrolled”. This belief made its contributions to literature in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Gold-Bug", Washington Irving's The Devil and Tom Walker , Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and Nelson DeMille's Plum Island. It also gave impetus to the never-ending treasure hunts conducted on Oak Island in Nova Scotia, in Suffolk County, Long Island in New York where Gardiner's Island is located, Charles Island in Milford, Connecticut; the Thimble Islands in Connecticut and on the island of Grand Manan in the Bay of Fundy.

Captain Kidd did bury a small cache of treasure on Gardiners Island in a spot known as Cherry Tree Field; however, it was removed by Governor Bellomont and sent to England to be used as evidence against him.[3][4]

Kidd also visited Block Island around 1699, where he was supplied by Mrs. Mercy (Sands) Raymond, daughter of the mariner James Sands. The story has it that, for her hospitality, Mrs. Raymond was bid to hold out her apron, into which Kidd threw gold and jewels until it was full. After her husband Joshua Raymond died, Mercy moved with her family to northern New London, Connecticut (later Montville), where she bought much land. The Raymond family was thus said to have been "enriched by the apron".[5]

On Grand Manan in the Bay of Fundy, as early as 1875, reference was made to searches on the West side of the island for treasure allegedly buried by Kidd during his time as a privateer. For nearly 200 years, this remote area of the island has been called "Money Cove".

There is also a mention of Kidd attacking one of the Japanese islands of the Tokara archipelago, south of Kagoshima. It is the most southern island, named Takarajima, which translates literally as "Treasure Island". The legend says that the pirates requested food and cattle from the inhabitants of the island. Their offer was refused and so 23 of the pirates landed and burned the inhabitants alive in a lime cave. Afterwards, Kidd hid his treasure in one of the caves, never coming back for it due to his execution in England.

In 1983, Cork Graham and Richard Knight went looking for Captain Kidd's buried treasure off the Vietnamese island of Phú Quốc. Knight and Graham were caught, convicted of illegally landing on Vietnamese territory, and assessed each a $10,000 fine. They were imprisoned for 11 months until they paid the fine.[6]

The Dominican Republic's small Catalina Island has been studied since December 13, 2007, by a team of underwater archeologists from Indiana University, after an Italian tourist announced the discovery of an old wreck at just 10 feet (3.0 m) under the clear blue waters, at a distance of no more than 70 feet (21 m) offshore. There was no evidence of looting at the site, despite its remains being believed to have been buried since the 17th century. It has been proven to be the Quedagh Merchant.[citation needed]

  • Fichte's student Rafael signed all of his writings with "Captain Kid", referring to Captain William Kidd.
  • In the popular manga One Piece, a powerful notable pirate known as Eustass "Captain" Kid is a key rival with protagonist Monkey D. Luffy.
  • In Chris Archer's Series of books, Pyrates, four kids search for Kidd's treasure.
  • The MMORPG Pirates of the Burning Sea (set in the year 1720) uses a fictional storyline where William Kidd escaped from his hanging in Wapping (by bribing the hangman involved, according to the game, who subsequently sought Kidd's protection) to Tortuga, where he founded a new Brethren of the Coast organization, and acts as a primary organizer behind the piracy in the Spanish Main in that game. He is still there 19 years later, having fully embraced his role as a pirate.
  • The British comic book Whizzer And Chips had a strip called "Captain Kidd" about a boy pirate.
  • Anthony Dexter and Eva Gabor starred in the 1954 film Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl.
  • Captain Kidd's legend is also the subject of a traditional English song, "Captain Kidd", which takes the form of Kidd reminiscing about a rather inaccurate version of his life. One recording of it may be found on the Waterson:Carthy album Fishes and Fine Yellow Sand. Another may be found on the Great Big Sea album The Hard and the Easy.
  • Children's author Robert Lawson wrote Captain Kidd's Cat (Little, Brown 1956), in which Kidd's cat McDermot tells the tale of Kidd's adventures on the high seas, arguing that Kidd was no pirate but was rather a victim of circumstances - and politics - beyond his control.
  • The time-travel card game Early American Chrononauts includes a card called "Captain Kidd's Treasure Chest" which players can symbolically acquire from the year 1699.
  • The 1980s British band Bucks Fizz recorded "The Land of Make Believe", a 1981 chart-topping song called which contains the line, "Captain Kidd's on the sand, with treasure close at hand."
  • The first single of the 2005 album The Hard and the Easy by Great Big Sea is "Captain Kidd" which chronicles the story of Captain William Kidd. The lyrics are derived from a traditional Newfoundland folk song supposedly sung during Kidd's time.
  • In the video game Sid Meier's Pirates!, Captain Kidd is one of the nine other notorious pirates with whom the player competes.
  • In Wildwood, New Jersey, the third weekend in May is known as "Captain Kidd's Weekend". During this weekend, children dig up small candy-filled plastic treasure chests buried on the beach. Here, the name "Kidd" is a pun to the word "kid", a slang term that has come to mean "child".
  • In Corunna, Ontario, Canada, the first weekend in August is known as "Captain Kidd Days".
  • Kidd is mentioned in Bob Dylan's 1965 song "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream". In the song, the Coast Guard asks the song's narrator his name, to which he replies, "And I said, 'Captain Kidd'/They believed me but they wanted to know what exactly that I did/I said for the Pope of Eruke I was employed/They let me go right away/They were very paranoid."
  • German pop band Dschinghis Khan recorded a song called "Käpt'n Kid (Wir sind Piraten)" in 1982, but released it on 2004's "Jubilee" album.
  • In 2006 the celtic folk rock band Tempest released an album called The Double Cross. The first song tells Captain Kidd's story from his point of view, with emphasis on how he was double-crossed by the English.
  • Kidd's buried treasure was uncovered in Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Gold Bug".
  • There is the Captain Kidd Bar that has been located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts for over 100 years.
  • The ADK fighing game series World Heroes has a character named Captain Kidd (who debuted in World Heroes 2). Much like most other characters in this game are based on actual historical figures, he is based on the actual William Kidd and his fame, thus being a pirate as well.
  • Kidd's Beach, a holiday town just southwest of East London on South Africa's east coast is reputedly named for the pirate who is said to have landed there.
  • Seattle Seafair Prirate's celebrate opening day with the landing of Captain Kidd's ship on Alki beach in the Puget Sound.

Quedagh Merchant found

For years, people and treasure hunters have tried to locate the Quedagh Merchant.[7] It was reported on December 13, 2007, that "wreckage of a pirate ship abandoned by Captain Kidd in the 17th century has been found by divers in shallow waters off the Dominican Republic." The waters in which the ship was found were less than ten feet deep and were only 70 feet (21 m) off of Catalina Island, just to the south of La Romana on the Dominican coast. The ship is believed to be "the remains of Quedagh Merchant".[8][9] Charles Beeker---the director of Academic Diving and Underwater Science Programs in Indiana University (Bloomington)'s School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation---was one of the experts leading the Indiana University diving team. He said that it was "remarkable that the wreck has remained undiscovered all these years given its location," and given that the ship has been the subject of so many prior failed searches.[10]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "William Kidd". UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2003. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  2. ^ the complete words of the original song are at www.davidkidd.net/CaptainKiddLyrics.html, and also the genealogy of the historic tune.
  3. ^ Richard Zacks (2002). The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd. Hyperion. ISBN 0786884517. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  4. ^ See also .p.68 The Book of Buried treasure 1911
  5. ^ Caulkins, Frances Manwaring (1895). History of New London, Connecticut. p. 293.
  6. ^ Branigin, William (12 May 1984). "Tracking Captain Kidd's Treasure Puts Pair in Vietnamese Captivity". The Washington Post. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ^ "Captain Kidd (1645-1701)". PortCities London. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  8. ^ "Captain Kidd Ship Found". Yahoo News. December 13, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  9. ^ "Captain Kidd's Shipwreck Of 1699 Discovered". Science Daily. December 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  10. ^ "IU team finds fabled pirate ship". INDYSTAR.COM. December 13, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2007-12-13.

References

  • Botting, Douglas (1978). The Pirates. Time Life Books. ISBN 0-8094-2650-1.
  • Cordingly, David (1995). Under The Black Flag : The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates. Harcourt Brace & Company.
  • Hamilton, Cochran, et al. (1961). Pirates of the Spanish Main, 1st Edition. New York: American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc.

Further reading

Books
  • Campbell (1853). An Historical Sketch of Robin Hood and Captain Kid. New York.
  • Dalton (1911). The Real Captain Kidd: A Vindication. New York.
  • Gilbert, H. (1986). The Book of Pirates. London: Bracken Books.
  • Howell, T. B., ed. (1701). "The Trial of Captain William Kidd and Others, for Piracy and Robbery". A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors. Vol. XIV. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown (published 1816). pp. 147–234. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  • Ritchie, Robert C. (1986). Captain Kidd and the War against the Pirates. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  • Zacks, Richard (2002). The Pirate Hunter : The True Story of Captain Kidd. Hyperion Books. ISBN 0-7868-8451-7.
Articles

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