Issue #19 - The Pyrates Way

Kidd called Moore a lousy dog.Moore said if he was, it was becauseKidd made him one. Kidd picked upan empty wooden bucket and swungit hard, smashing against the face ofMoore, knocking him to the grounds.Moore, probably suffering fromscurvy, died the next day. One ofscurvy’s symptoms is a softening ofthe bone which definitely makesuch a smack from a five-poundwooden bucket, deadly.1698What truly sealed Kidd’s fate inthe minds of the English Admiraltyoccurred in late January.Kidd, now with a small flotillaof smaller ships he had taken, came upon the Armenian vessel the Quedah Merchant. This was the prize the he was waitingfor and it was flying a French flag. . . . but then so was his ship at the time. . . a tactic to sneak upon French ships. Regardless,the Quedah Merchant carried 400 tons of silk, muslin,calico, sugar, opium, gold, silver, and an incredible varietyof East Indian merchandise.What confounded Kidd was that the captain of theQuedah Merchant was an Englishman named Wright. Wright had secured passes from the French East India Companyunder protection of the French Crown. Kidd again, tried to persuade his crew to give way of the ship but his men countered,claiming that their prey was perfectly legal as any ship counted as French if it had French passes called “Rouparelle.”Kidd secured the French passes of the Quedah Merchant, as well as the ship and added it to his flotilla. Renaming theseized merchantman the Adventure Prize, he set sail for Madagascar at which he arrived on April 1.Upon arriving he was greeted by the first pirate of his voyage, Robert Culliford aboard the Mocha Frigate. As Cullifordand Kidd met in his quarters, Kidd learned that his name was truly besmirched in London in reference to him going rogueand giving up privateering for piracy. This was exactly what Kidd did NOT want happening.Worried about his reputation and the treatment of his men, should they be caught by the Royal Navy, Kidd offeredhis men a chance to follow him to whatever fate awaited or to join Culliford’s crew of pirates. Most of the men went pirateand only 13 stayed with Kidd.With such a small force and the Adventure Galley showing it’s age, Kidd had everything scuttled from his flagship andhad it burned. He gave over all his vessels to Culliford except the Adventure Prize which he would sail to the Caribbean,hoping to stay outside of the Royal Navy’s reach.1699Kidd arrived in Hispaniola inApril. There, he unloaded the AdventurePrize and burned the vesselin hopes of covering at least someof his tracks.He used some of the booty hehad acquired and bought a smallership, the Antonio, to confuse theRoyal Navy even more, should hefall into their hands.Kidd wanted to get to NewYork and convince Bellomont thathe was innocent of the piracycharges made against him.He knew there were severalEnglish men-of-war searching forÂPrevious Page Issue 19 The Pyrates WayKILL FOR THE RUM15him, thus he quickly left theCaribbean in his sloop bound forNew England.Kidd made several stops alongthe way and buried much of histreasure. He hoped that greed wouldoutweigh “justice” and he might usethe location of the treasure as a bargainingtool.When he arrived in New York,he was not greeted in the way he’dbecome accustomed to. His tales ofpiracy had preceeded him and theupper crust of society no longer includedhim. This came much to thechagrin of his wife, Sarah, who hadbeen mistreated by socialites eversince word of her husband’s apparentmis-deeds had flooded the New York newspapers. Thus Kidd sent a message to Lord Bellomont, wo was away inBoston. Chiding the governor with his plead of false-incrimination and the prove he carried in the form of the FrenchRouparelle, he requested an audience.Bellomont used this request as an opportunity to saveboth himself, the other investors, and the King of England,who would undoubtedly reward him for such loyalty.He returned a message to Kidd, inviting him to meetwith the lying promise of absolute clemency.Kidd and his wife arrived in Boston to meet the governoron July 6th and was promptly arrested. Bellomont did not have to hunt downthe notorious pirate Captain Kidd, instead he had smartly brought the matter to a close without such a shot fired.Kidd was placed in solitary confinement at Boston’s Stone Prison along with his wife. Legend tells that he was treatedas if already convicted and starved, brutally handled, and his wife abused. Speculation exists that this rendered Kidd partiallymad for much of his captivity. Late in the year he was sent, still in chains in the hold of a ship, to London for trial.DIE BY THE BLADELIVING THE PYRATES WAY1700On April 16th, 1700, it was recorded in Parliament that ‘the notorious pyratt’ was examined before the Lords of Admiralty.Unfortunately the Whig backers of his adventure were no longer in power.In fact, the new Tory ministry hoped to use Kidd as a tool to discredit the Whigs, but like an 18th-century G. GordonLiddy, Kidd refused to name names. He still believed that his noble patrons would reward his loyalty by interceding onhis behalf.The Tories of Parliament foundKidd of no use in their political dealingsand left him in the care of theHigh Court of the Admiralty for thecharges of both piracy and the murderof William Moore.While waiting for trial withinthe horrid halls of Newgate Prison,Kidd wrote to King William severaltimes requesting a royal pardon.During his wait, rumors flaredthat jewels found on Kidd’s ship,valued at over £30,000 (equivalentto $17 million today).www.pyratesway.com Spring 2013 Next PageÂ