Execution of Captain Kidd | History Today Execution of Captain Kidd Early Modern (16th-18thC) London , England Maritime Richard Cavendish recalls the death of the pirate William Kidd, executed on May 23rd, 1701. The body of William Kidd hangs in a gibbet at Tilbury Point, on the River Thames. Drawing from 'The Pirates Own Book', Charles Ellms, 1837 William Kidd spent his last days on earth in Newgate Gaol, where on Sunday May 18th, 1701, he heard his final sermon, preached by the prison chaplain on the cheerful text, ‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.’ Kidd still hoped for a reprieve, and the others who had been condemned with him for piracy received it – all except one, an Irishman named Darby Mullins. On the afternoon of the 23rd, they were taken, with two Frenchmen who were also to die, from Newgate in two horse-drawn carts, guarded by marshals and led by the Admiralty Marshal and the silver oar which was the Admiralty’s symbol.

To the chaplain’s shocked disapproval, Kidd was the worse for drink. At five o’clock, low tide, they reached Execution Dock at Wapping, a few yards below Wapping Old Stairs, in the presence of a large and lively crowd. There was a permanent gallows for pirates there and after the hanging the corpses were customarily chained to a post on the foreshore, where they were left until three tides had flowed over them, as an example. Kidd spoke to the crowd, warning all ship-masters to learn from his fate. Then the four men were turned off, but Kidd’s rope snapped and he fell to the ground with the noose round his neck, still alive and dazed. The pestering chaplain prayed over him once more and he was hoisted up again, and that was that. His body was taken to be hanged in chains at Tilbury Point. Kidd was in his mid-fifties when he died. The line between piracy and government-sponsored privateering was narrow and he does not seem to have been the typical swashbuckling pirate of popular fiction.

He did not maroon anyone or make people walk the plank, but legends clustered round him which turned him into a name to conjure with. A Scot by birth, from Greenock on the Clyde and according to tradition the son of a Presbyterian minister, he emerges into history in 1689 as a buccaneer in the Caribbean. A doughty fighter, a fine seaman and evidently a man of some presence, he turned into a privateer captain in British service, sent to pillage French settlements in the West Indies. He acquired a well-to-do wife and property in New York City. Kidd was in London in 1696, when he set off on the voyage that was to be his undoing. He left Deptford in February in his ship Adventure Galley of 287 tons and 34 guns – probably a cross between a sailing ship and an oared galley – with a government commission to suppress pirates in the Indian Ocean. It took him almost a year to reach Madagascar and the East African coast and he then thought it more profitable to turn pirate himself.

Hoisting the blood-red flag, or French colours when it suited him, he captured several merchant ships and in a furious rage when his crew were on the verge of mutiny, he struck his ship’s gunner, William Moore, with an iron-bound bucket, ‘laying him in his gore’ as the popular ballad had it. Moore’s skull was fractured and he died within twenty-four hours. In January 1698 Kidd seized a valuable ship of 400 tons, the Quedah Merchant, on her way from Bengal round the southern tip of India, carrying silk, muslin, calico, sugar and opium. A substantial part of the cargo belonged to one of the Mughal Emperor’s courtiers and there were Armenian merchants on board. With what was now his own little flotilla, Kidd presently sailed for the West Indies, arriving in April 1699 to discover that the government had proclaimed him a pirate.

He left the Quedah at the island of Hispaniola, where she was unloaded and subsequently burned, bought a small ship called the Antonio and sailed to Boston, where he tried to convince the British governor, the Earl of Bellomont, that he was innocent of the accusations against him. Bellomont had him arrested and sent back to England, where on April 16th, 1700, it was recorded that ‘the notorious pyratt’ was examined before the Lords of Admiralty and committed to Newgate. Later in the month rumour had it that jewels found on Kidd’s ship had been valued at £30,000 (perhaps equivalent to some £10 million today). After further lengthy enquiries by the Admiralty, on May 8th and 9th, 1701, at the Old Bailey Kidd was tried for the murder of Moore and on multiple counts of piracy, and found guilty. Nine members of his crew were in the dock with him on the piracy charges. Whether the evidence was convincing and the trial fair has been debated ever since.

Kidd became a legendary figure largely because no one ever discovered what had happened to the rest of his treasure – if there really was any more to be found. Its value multiplied as time went by and treasure-hunters have searched for his loot from the Americas to the South China Sea, but so far in vain. Captain Kidd - Biography and Profile By Christopher Minster William Kidd, Pirate: William Kidd (1654-1701) was a Scottish ship’s captain, privateer and pirate. He started out on a voyage in 1696 as a pirate hunter and privateer, but soon switched sides and had a brief but moderately successful career as a pirate. After he turned pirate, his wealthy backers back in England abandoned him. He was convicted and hanged in England after a sensational trial. Kidd makes a name for himself: Kidd was born in Scotland sometime around 1654, possibly near Dundee. He took to the sea, and soon made a name for himself as a skilled, hardworking seaman. In 1689, sailing as a privateer, he took a French vessel: the ship was re-named the Blessed William and Kidd was put in command by the Governor of Nevis.

He sailed into New York just in time to save the governor there from a conspiracy. While in New York, he married a wealthy widow. Not long after, in England, he became friends with the Lord of Bellomont, who was to be the new Governor of New York. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge Now he was well-connected and rich as well as a skilled seaman and it looked like the sky was the limit for the young captain. Kidd Sets Sail as a Privateer: For the English, sailing was very dangerous at the time. England was at war with France, and piracy was common. Lord Bellomont and some of his friends suggested Kidd be given a privateering contract that would allow him to attack pirates or French vessels. The suggestion was not accepted by the government, but Bellomont and his friends decided to set Kidd up as a privateer as a private enterprise: Kidd could attack French vessels or pirates but he had to share his earning with the investors. Kidd was given the 34-gun Adventure Galley and he set sail in May of 1696. Kidd turns pirate: Kidd set sail for Madagascar and the Indian Ocean , then a hotbed of pirate activity.

Nevertheless, he and his crew found very few pirate or French vessels to take. About a third of his crew died of diseases, and the rest were getting surly because of the lack of prizes. In August of 1697, he attacked a convoy of Indian treasure ships, but was driven off by an East India Company Man of War. This was an act of piracy and clearly not in Kidd’s charter. Also, about this time, Kidd killed a mutinous gunner named William Moore by hitting him in the head with a heavy wooden bucket. The Pirates Take the Queddah Merchant: On January 30, 1698, Kidd's luck finally changed. He captured the Queddah Merchant, a treasure ship heading home from the Far East. It was not really fair game as a prize: it was a Moorish ship, with cargo owned by Armenians, and was captained by an Englishman named Wright. Allegedly, it sailed with French papers: this was enough for Kidd, who sold off the cargo and divided the spoils with his men.

The holds of the merchantman were bursting with valuable cargo, and the haul for Kidd and his pirates was £15,000, or well over two million dollars in today's money. Kidd and his pirates were rich men by the standards of the day. Kidd and Culliford: Not long after, Kidd ran into a pirate ship captained by a notorious pirate named Culliford. What happened between the two men is unknown. According to Captain Charles Johnson, a contemporary historian, Kidd and Culliford greeted each other warmly and traded supplies and news. Many of Kidd's men deserted him at this point, some running off with their share of the treasure and others joining Culliford. At his trial, Kidd claimed that he wasn't strong enough to fight Culliford and that most of his men abandoned him to join the pirates. He said that he was allowed to keep the ships, but only after all weapons and supplies were taken. In any event, Kidd swapped the leaking Adventure Galley for the fit Queddah Merchant and set sail for the Caribbean. Kidd’s Friends Desert Him: Meanwhile, news of Kidd's going pirate had reached England.

Bellomont and his wealthy friends - who were very important members of the Government - began distancing themselves from the enterprise as quickly as they could. Robert Livingston, a friend and fellow Scotsman who knew the King personally, was deeply involved in Kidd's affair. Livingston turned on Kidd, trying desperately to keep secret his own name and those of the others involved. As for Bellomont, he put out a proclamation of amnesty for pirates, but Kidd and Henry Avery were specifically excluded from it. Some of Kidd's former pirates would later accept this pardon and testify against him. Return to New York: When Kidd reached the Caribbean, he learned that he was now considered a pirate by the authorities. He decided to go to New York, where his friend, Lord Bellomont, could protect him until he was able to clear his name. He left his ship behind and captained a smaller ship to New York, and as a precaution he buried his treasure on Gardiner's Island, off of Long Island near New York City. When he arrived in New York, he was arrested and Lord Bellomont refused to believe his stories of what had transpired. He divulged the location of his treasure on Gardiner's Island, and it was recovered.

After spending a year in prison, Kidd was sent to England to face trial. Kidd's Trial and Execution: Kidd's trial took place on May 8, 1701. The trial caused a huge sensation in England, as Kidd pleaded that he had never actually turned pirate. There was plenty of evidence against him and he was found guilty. He was also convicted of the death of Moore, the rebellious gunner. He was hanged on May 23, 1701 and his body was put into an iron cage hanging along the River Thames, where it would serve as a warning for other pirates. Legacy of Captain Kidd: Kidd and his case have generated a great deal of interest over the years, far more than for other pirates of his generation. This is probably due to the scandal of his involvement with wealthy members of the royal court: then, as now, his tale has a lurid attraction to it, and there are many detailed books and web sites dedicated to Kidd, his adventures and his eventual trial and conviction. This fascination is Kidd's real legacy.

He wasn't much of a pirate: he didn't operate for very long, he didn't take a great many prizes and he was never feared the way other pirates were. Many pirates - such as Sam Bellamy , Benjamin Hornigold or Edward Low , to name just a few - were more successful on the open seas. Nevertheless, only a select handful of pirates, including Blackbeard and "Black Bart" Roberts , are as famous as William Kidd. Many historians feel that Kidd was unfairly treated. His crimes were not truly terrible: the gunner Moore was insubordinate, the meeting with Culliford and his pirates may have gone the way Kidd said it did and the ships he captured were at the very least questionable in terms of whether they were fair game or not. If it were not for his wealthy noble backers, who wished to remain anonymous at all costs and to distance themselves from Kidd in any way possible, his contacts probably would have saved him, if not from jail then at least from the noose. One other legacy Kidd left behind was that of buried treasure. Kidd definitely buried treasure, including gold and silver, on Gardiner's Island, although this was found and catalogued.

What intrigues modern treasure hunters is that Kidd insisted until the end of his life that he had buried another treasure somewhere in the "Indies" - presumably in the Caribbean someplace. People have been looking for the lost treasure of Captain Kidd ever since. Very few pirates ever buried their treasure, but pirates and buried treasure have gone together ever since the concept made it into the literature classic Treasure Island. Today Kidd is remembered as a reluctant pirate who was more unlucky than wicked. He has made quite an impact on popular culture, appearing in books, songs, movies, video games and much more. Sources: Defoe, Daniel ( Captain Charles Johnson ). A General History of the Pyrates. Edited by Manuel Schonhorn. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1972/1999. Konstam, Angus. The World Atlas of Pirates. Guilford: the Lyons Press, 2009 Captain Kidd is Executed - 23 May 1701 | Today In British History 0 Though he is one of the most famous pirates in history, modern scholarship has questioned whether Captain Kidd should have been considered a true pirate.

Apparently the English crown considered him a pirate, because he was held at Newgate Prison and then hung on this day in British history, 23 May 1701. A portrait of Captain William Kidd. Early in his life, William Kidd served as an apprentice on board a ship, but before long he’d become a member of a pirate ship’s crew. Before the ship had embarked on its voyage, however, Kidd had spent time in New York where he befriended many influential socialites and politicians. Shortly after the ship sailed, its crew mutinied and Kidd became the new captain. He chose to rechristen the ship the Blessed William. As captain of that ship, Kidd was involved in several skirmishes and he oversaw the loot of the French town of Mariegalnate. Somehow, Kidd emerged from his time behind the helm as an esteemed man. The government of New York awarded him £150 for his “successful privateering” in the Caribbean. During the War of the Grand Alliance, he’d captured an enemy ship and commissioned it into service, “successful privateering” in the eyes of New York’s governor. A painting entitled “Captain Kidd in New York Harbor,” by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris.

Following that contribution, in 1695 Kidd was approached by the governor of New York and asked to serve as a privateer. He obtained a new ship, the Adventure Galley, and acquired a crew in London. Under the terms of his agreement, Kidd would capture any ships belonging to the French or to pirates, in return for funding from the Crown and the nobility. Kidd’s first voyage was a simple one from London to New York. He captured a French ship en route, but a large number of his crew were pressed into military service by a British navy captain who had taken offense to Kidd’s lack of salute. Thus, when Kidd reached New York he had to gather a large number of new crewmen, many of whom were criminals and former pirates. From there, Kidd set off for the coast of Africa. He expected to find pirates in Madagascar, but when they reached the Cape of Good Hope it became apparent that there were no pirates to be found. The crew began to complain, some of them abandoned ship when it docked in Africa, and many of them threatened to mutiny. Kidd needed to capture enough plunder to make his voyage worthwhile and satisfy his uneasy crew, so the Adventure Galley continued on to the Indian Ocean.

A scale model of Captain Kidd’s ship, the Adventure Galley. It is at this point that the stories about Captain Kidd diverge. Many historians follow the traditional view that Kidd began his run of piracy while in the Indian Ocean. He is supposed to have flown false colors on several occasions and attacked the ships of local countries. He gained a reputation for acting brutally toward his own crewmen, and is thought to have killed several of his crew on separate occasions. Kidd’s fortunes took a turn for the worse when he captured the Quedagh Merchant, an Armenian ship loaded with rich wares from the East. The ship’s captain was an Englishman, and when Kidd discovered that fact, he regretted having taken the ship. Deferring to the wishes of his increasingly mutinous crew, he kept the ship anyway. Kidd and the two ships returned to Madagascar and encountered the pirate captain Robert Culliford. Again, the story diverges here. Some claim that Kidd befriended the pirate captain, even offering him gifts and spending time on the pirate ship. Others claim that Kidd simply waited for his entire force to arrive before attacking the pirate. Regardless of the reality, Kidd’s crew had grown tired of the underachievement of their captain.

With a new pirate captain in the picture, they chose to mutiny. Kidd was left with 13 crewmen and two ships. He burned his initial ship, the Adventure Galley, and returned to New York aboard his captured vessel. A 19th century illustration of Captain Kidd’s body hanging as a warning at Tilbury Point, Thames. Kidd was arrested upon his arrival in New York. His reputation had fallen due to his actions in the Indian Ocean and his rumored befriending of Culliford. The governor of New York decided to send Kidd to Parliament in London, hoping that the arrest and surrender of the pirate would prevent New York from being implicated in his crimes. Once in London, Kidd became a pawn in the political game between the Whigs and the Tories. Many historians believe that Kidd should not have been sentenced to death but the politicians realized they would get no useful information from him, so they gave him to the High Court of Admiralty. He was eventually found guilty of murder (apparently the murder of one of his crewman) and was hanged on 23 May 1701. In a particularly morbid display, Kidd’s body was gibbeted for three years over the Thames River.

By locking his body in a chain contraption and hanging it over the water, the government hoped to deter would-be pirates from choosing that lifestyle. In the end, it is hard to prove that Kidd was completely innocent. His wide-spread reputation for brutality and piracy had support from the testimony of several of his remaining crewman. As is the case with many famous pirates, Captain Kidd has become the subject of legends and rumors of treasure. It is fascinating, though. Kidd knew he was wanted for piracy before he docked in New York, and it is documented that he landed in the Caribbean to deposit some treasure. That treasure was recovered by the local governor, but it is quite possible other treasure remains buried on some distant island. Trial & Execution Newgate prison ~ now the site of the Old Bailey courts Condemned cell where prisoners facing execution were kept under 24 hour watch Prisoners herded into communal cells awaiting trial One can only wonder what Kidd must have thought about his incarceration and the fate that awaited him. A successful New York businessman, invited by cohorts of the King - and in possession of the King's personal commission to embark on his adventure in the Indian Ocean, he must have felt protected with privilege.

After all, the King was a member of the syndicate who understood the dubious nature of his mission, in return for a share of his plundered loot. Whilst in the Indian Ocean Kidd experienced the natural wonder of tropical islands; paradise on Earth; and now he was imprisoned in Newgate along with common thieves, murderers and debtors, where he stayed for over a year whilst awaiting trial. The place was infested with lice. It was said that as he walked from one side of his cell to the other, the floor crackled - as he trod on the cockroaches that overran the prison. Prisoners who were due in front of the magistrate were bathed in vinegar to kill off the lice and hide their smell before making their court appearance. This was a very different place to the world Kidd had left behind. Without the "lost" documentary evidence, (shown above) he was also found guilty on three of the five charges of piracy. In fairness to Kidd, throughout his examination and trial, he never implicated or named his secret backers, even though he knew they were anxious to do away with him. If he had, he may have saved his own life. Kidd possessed an odd sense of loyalty.

One of the French passes Kidd gave to Bellomont, but could not be produced at his trial S'r, The sence of my present Condition (being under Condemnation) and the thoughts of having bene imposed on by such as seek't my destruction thereby to fulfill their ambitious desires makes me uncapable of Expressing my selfe in those terms as I ought, therefore due most humbly pray that you will be pleased to represent to the Hon'bl. house of Comons that in my late proceedings in the Indies I have lodged goods and Tresure to the value of one hundred thousand pounds, which I desire the Government may have the benefitt of, in order thereto, I shall desire no manner of liberty but to be kept prisoner on board such shipp as may be appointed for that purpose, and only give the necessary directions and in case I faile therin I desire no favour but to be forthwith Executed acording to my Sentence. If y'r honbl.

house will please to order a Comittee to come to me, I doubt not but to give such satisfaction as may obtaine mercy, most Humbly submitting to the wisdom of your great assembly I am S'r Y'r Unfortunate humble servant Wm Kidd Kidd’s signature On the day of his execution - 23rd May 1701 - Kidd was plied with brandy and rum until he could no longer stand without assistance. As he was paraded in an open cart through the streets of London to his place of execution, the crowd mocked, jeered and goaded him. Kidd, in his alcoholic stupor, and still maintaining his innocence, took no notice. As he mounted the gallows on the mud flats of the Thames at Execution Dock in Wapping, together with two condemned French pirates and Darby Mullins, the one crew member who had stayed loyal to him, his thoughts must have strayed to the natural beauty of the Indian Ocean islands, his island, and the exotic lands he had visited on the King's business.

He must have gazed across the Thames towards Deptford Creek where his fighting ship the 'Adventure Galley' was built and launched, and where he had excitedly prepared her for his grand adventure six years earlier. A huge crowd had gathered to celebrate the spectacle of the hanging. This was an event not to be missed. As Kidd had the rope placed around his neck the excited mob cheered and screamed for his blood. Unfortunately, Kidd's torment didn't end there. As the cart was drawn away from the scaffold, the rope around Kidd's neck broke, causing him to fall into space on to the mud flats whilst the other condemned men hung. The mob gasped!! Still drunk, and now totally confused and plastered in mud, he was helped to his feet and man-handled back on to the gallows for a second time. A new rope was hastily thrown around his neck to the delight of the mocking crowd and he was eventually hung. As was the maritime law and custom of the day for dealing with convicted pirates, his body hung on the gallows until three tides had washed over his corpse, before being officially pronounced dead and cut down. So what happened to the main protagonists of the ill conceived venture?

The Earl of Romney, the Earl of Orford, Sir John Somers and the Duke of Shrewsbury never admitted their true involvement and hid successfully behind the cloak of silence woven by the establishment. Ironically, Robert Culliford, who surrendered himself under the terms of the general amnesty for pirates, was tried on the same day as Kidd. He was sentenced to serve only one years imprisonment for his crimes, after which he received his pardon and was released. There is no doubt Culliford colluded with Kidd in the Indian Ocean, and was involved in full blown piracy in the Caribbean for many years previously. When the news of Culliford’s sentence filtered through, Kidd must have questioned the justice of it all. On his release, Culliford disappeared into the mists of time and was never heard of again. Robert Livingston settled in Albany New York, becoming Lord of the 160,000 acre Manor of Livingston. In 1695 he became Secretary of Indian Affairs and was a prominent member of the New York Provincial Assembly from 1709 to 1711, rising to the post of Speaker of the Assembly in 1716.

He died peacefully in his sleep in 1728 aged 74. Bellomont died in New York in February 1701 ~ three months before Kidd was executed. He never recovered from his dealings with Kidd and died a broken, forlorn and destitute man after driving himself to the point of insanity in his frantic search to discover the location of Kidd's missing treasure. William III died from injuries sustained after falling from his horse in 1702. Queen Anne, who succeeded William III, was so keen to ensure that no one was seen to benefit from the scandal, had the paltry remains of Kidd's booty and personal effects confiscated. The goods were sold at public auction realising the sum of £6473 and 1 shilling, which she donated to The Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich for the purchase of The Queen's House, which still stands today. Perhaps the writer Harold Thompson got it right when he described Kidd as:- "A man neither very good nor very bad, the fool of fortune and the tool of politicians, a pirate in spite of himself." Click on the NEXT button below to read through the trial procedure detail and trial transcripts.

After receiving the death penalty, and in his last desperate attempt to save his neck from the gallows, Kidd wrote a letter (see below ~ sic) from Newgate Prison to Robert Harley, Speaker of the House of Commons offering to take persons appointed by the House To a place ~ "that in my late proceedings in the Indies I have lodged goods and treasure to the value of one hundred thousand pounds" ~ to recover the hoard. Where did he mean when he referred to the "Indies"? I believe he was referring to his island (that he mapped) in the Indian Ocean. This region has always been known to early navigators as "The Indies". This question however will always remain unanswered until his island site (which I believe is known) is excavated and proof obtained. Execution Dock today ~ The mud flats, which once formed a strip of land accessible at low tide have long been dredged away.

This part of the Thames is now the scene of peace and tranquility ~ a far cry from it’s bloody and sanguinary past Site content (text and Images) are the property of Paul Hawkins - © All rights reserved Site design and layout Copyright 2000/9 Paul Hawkins - All rights reserved BACK NEXT On 26th May 1701, news of Kidd’s execution warranted just a four line entry in the London Gazette; a sad end to one of the most colourful and controversial characters of his day Kidd’s corpse was then tarred, placed inside a metal cage (gibbet) and hung on the Thames shoreline at Tilbury Point (see below) so that all seamen entering the port of London would see the fate that awaited a convicted pirate. The gory exhibit was displayed for nearly two years until the birds pecked his carcass to the bone. William Kidd Biography (Pirate) Died: 1701 (execution by hanging) Birthplace: Dundee, Scotland Best known as: The Scot "pirate" hanged in 1701 in London William Kidd was a Scottish sailor who was executed in London 1701 for piracy.

Little is known about him until about 1689, when he was a crew member aboard an English privateering ship in the Caribbean. (Privateers were government-sanctioned sailors commissioned to attack enemy vessels and plunder them.) Kidd somehow commandeered a French vessel and was appointed Captain by the governor of Nevis, an English colony. After more successes, Captain Kidd ended up in New York in 1690. He married a wealthy widow and stayed there until 1695, when he returned to London. Backed by powerful men in the government and with the king's consent, Kidd was commissioned to battle pirates and plunder enemies in the Indian Ocean. He embarked on the Adventure Galley in 1696, and it was a miserable trip. They found no prizes and the crew threatened mutiny -- finally, Kidd killed a gunner, William Moore, for his mutinous talk (Kidd hit him in the head with a bucket). Eventually they found a prize in an Armenian ship, the Quedagh Merchant, and Kidd took the ship and all its riches as part of his mission. Meanwhile, the East India Company complained to the government that Kidd's attack on the Quedagh Merchant was piracy.

Kidd found out about his arrest warrant in 1699 and returned to New York. He turned himself in and was hauled back to London to stand trial. The story goes that Kidd felt confident that his powerful backers would support him, but he was found guilty of piracy and the willful murder of William Moore. He was hanged 18 May 1701, and his corpse was put on display over the Thames for nearly two years. Although he went down in history as a famous pirate, these days many scholars think William Kidd got a raw deal and was a victim of political skullduggery. Since his death, the fate of the booty he seized from the Quedagh Merchant has been a mystery, to the delight of treasure hunters. Extra credit: Older sources put William Kidd’s birth date as 1645, but more recent scholars have settled on 1654… They had to hang Captain Kidd twice — the rope broke the first time. Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved. Advertisement Advertisement captain kidd | Tumblr captain kidd Loading...

Show more notes Reblog Unobscured Persona 5 shot of Ryuji and Captain Kidd previously seen in magazines (via this week’s PlayStation Dengeki). 2 May 23rd 1701: Captain Kidd executed On this day in 1701, the Scottish pirate William Kidd was executed in England. Kidd, born in Dundee around 1654, enjoyed a successful career as a seaman before his turn to piracy. In May 1696, Kidd set sail charged with the job of hunting pirates and attacking enemy French ships as a privateer. However, while on this voyage around the Indian Ocean, Kidd and his crew began plundering treasure ships. During his time, Kidd killed a mutinous gunner on his ship, contributing to his fearsome piratical reputation. Their main prize was the Quedagh Merchant which carried a wealth of gold, silk and spices - the haul from this came to around £15,000, a huge amount of money for this period. As news broke in England of Kidd’s activities, his wealthy and powerful patrons at home scrambled to condemn him.

He was eventually arrested in New York, where he had gone with hopes of support from his powerful contacts there, insisting he was innocent and had acted only as a privateer. Whilst he gave up some of his buried treasure on Gardiners Island, he claimed he had more buried somewhere else; would-be treasure hunters have been searching for his haul ever since. Kidd was put on trial for piracy in England, in what became a public spectacle due to his prominent connections, where he was found guilty and sentenced to death. On May 23rd, Kidd was hanged on the River Thames in London and his body encased in an iron cage and left to rot as a warning to other pirates. 5 Calling all Persona theorists, literature nerds, English majors, or any P5 fans! One thing I noticed in Persona 5 is the direct connection of personas to classic literature/literary figures. As an English major, this makes me very excited. To attempt to uncover the secrets of both the characters and Personas, I decided that I’m going to try and read some of the literature the Personas are based on, as well as classic thief tales! So I thought, why not share my idea with everyone?

If you are interested or have read a novel/thief story and would like to relate it/speculate it to Persona 5, make a post with the hashtag #persona 5 book club so that I can find the posts and share them~ Posts can be anything you want, from analysis to character speculation! Literature can also be anything you want, from books, comics, video games, whatever! I thought it would be fun to do to see if we can uncover secrets together or speculate some more! If you want to get started, I found some books on Amazon for the first of the cast (links are on the title) :D You may be able to check these out at your local library as well~ I’ll post more later. Captain Kidd walks the plank - May 23, 1701 - HISTORY.com Captain Kidd walks the plank Share this: Captain Kidd walks the plank Author Captain Kidd walks the plank URL Publisher A+E Networks At London’s Execution Dock, British privateer William Kidd, popularly known as Captain Kidd, is hanged for piracy and murder. Born in Strathclyde, Scotland, Kidd established himself as a sea captain before settling in New York in 1690, where he bought property and married.

At various times he was commissioned by New York and other American colonies to rid the coast of enemy privateers. In 1695, while on a trip to London, the recently appointed governor of New York commissioned him to defend English ships from pirates in the Red Sea. In 1696, Kidd sailed to New York aboard the Adventure Galley, enlisted men for the mission, and set sail for the Indian Ocean. The expedition met with little success and failed to capture a major prize until February 1698, when the Quedagh Merchant, an Indian vessel allegedly sailing under a French pass, was taken. Word of Kidd’s capture of the boat, which was loaded with gold, jewels, silk, sugar, and guns, aroused significant controversy in Britain, as the ship had an English captain. Suspicions that he had turned to piracy were apparently confirmed when he sailed to St. Mary’s, Madagascar, an infamous pirate haven. From there, he traveled to the West Indies on the Quedagh Merchant, where he learned of the piracy charges against him. Intending to clear his name, he sailed to New York and delivered himself to the colonial authorities, claiming that the vessels he had attacked were lawful prizes.

He was arrested and taken to London. In 1701, he was tried on five charges of piracy and one charge of murdering a crewman. The Tories used the trial as a political opportunity to embarrass his Whig sponsors, and the latter chose to give up Kidd as a scapegoat rather than back his possibly correct claims to legitimacy. Convicted on all counts, he was executed by hanging on May 23, 1701. In later years, a colorful legend grew up around the story of William Kidd, including reports of lost buried treasure that fortune seekers have pursued for centuries. Related Videos The Many Deaths of Captain Kidd | History Today The Many Deaths of Captain Kidd Posted 17th June 2015, 9:45 Our fascination with pirates and the search for buried treasure continues to make headlines. Hanging around: Captain William Kidd in the gibbets in 1701. News broke on May 7th, 2015 that the long-lost treasure of the notorious pirate, Captain William Kidd, had been found off the coast of Madagascar in the form of a silver bar.

This is not the first time someone has claimed to find Kidd's lost treasure, or at least evidence of it. One of the most famous cases was the discovery of a map known as the Kidd-Palmer Charts, which pinpointed the location of Kidd's treasure in the South China Seas; the fervour it provoked even sparked the financing of a major expedition in the 1950s, which fell through when the map was shown to be a hoax. As of the writing of this article, it seems possible that the discovered treasure and the accompanying shipwreck are Kidd's, based on what we know of his travels before his arrest in New York City in 1698. However, there has not yet been any forensic or archaeological confirmation of Kidd's ship, the Adventure Galley, so the legitimacy of this claim remains to be seen. Why has Captain Kidd remained in our memory for so long? Much mystery surrounds his life and legacy. Kidd is known in history and popular culture as a notorious pirate, but many historians argue that his reputation was unjustified. He was known to have letters of marque, which sanctioned him to rob enemy ships, but he did not have them at the time of his capture.

The timing of Kidd's capture was unfortunate, as he was imprisoned only four years after the disappearance of the pirate Henry Avery, whose actions created considerable embarrassment for the East India Company. Avery's piracy in the East Indies enraged Indian moguls and they threatened to close off all trade if the British did not put a stop to it. When Kidd's actions further angered chief traders, the British had to make an example to appease them and Kidd was an easy target. When Kidd realised he was wanted for piracy, he sailed to New York for protection but his main financier, Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont, betrayed him, luring him to Boston, where he was thrown in jail for two years before his transportation back to England. Throughout his trial, Kidd maintained his innocence. When he was asked if he had any final words he said: 'I have nothing to say except that I have been sworn against by perjured and wicked people.' Kidd was hanged at Execution Dock in Wapping, where his body remained strung up in the gibbets for three years to serve as a warning to other would-be pirates. Throughout his trial, rumours of Kidd's treasure circulated in official letters and newspapers.

Reports in the Calendar of State Papers detailed the goods belonging to Kidd's ship, including 60 pounds of solid gold and silver ingots, but the whereabouts of these treasures could not be determined. When word of them got out, newspapers began to print rumours of Kidd's lost treasure. Kidd's life quickly turned into legend after his death. The drama of his execution remained in circulation for many years to come and other pirates continued to reference his death, virtually making Kidd a martyr. In 1720 the Weekly Journal reported a pirate attack led by Captain Thomas Roberts, stating that the pirates stripped the passengers and sailors of their money and effects and stole the ship's artillery and gunpowder. All the while they were reported to be 'cursing, swearing, damning, and blaspheming, to the greatest Degree imaginable'. The pirates paid no heed to what would be the eventual consequences of their actions and declared that they would not be strung up in the gibbets like Kidd and, if they were caught, 'they would immediately put Fire with one of their Pistols to their Powder, and all go merrily to Hell together'.

The tale of Kidd's notorious crimes continued to make its way into popular papers and magazines into the 20th century. Fifty years after his death the Penny London Post published an entire spread detailing his life and condemnation. In addition to this his life story had been made widely available via his public execution, the account of his trial (which sold so many copies it had to be reprinted) and the publication of Captain Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates (1724). Newspaper articles in the late 19th century even played devil's advocate, suggesting Kidd's innocence in an article called 'The Virtuous Captain Kidd', which analysed the possibility that Kidd was made an unfortunate scapegoat by the East India Company to 'avoid foreign embroglios'. With what may be the discovery of his lost treasure, Kidd has yet again resurfaced in our memory. Physical evidence has not yet been presented, so whether or not the silver ingots found off the coast of Madagascar are actually Kidd's remains to be seen. But the discovery of this loot proves that real pirates who were condemned and executed over 300 years ago are as interesting today as they have ever been.

Rebecca Simon is a PhD student in History at King's College London researching pirate executions. Related articles

Question: Why was Captain William Kidd hanged in 1701?
Answer: Piracy