Captain Kidd

Piracy has been around for millennia. With Captain Kidd as one of the most famous pirates, he led a life of peril. Every turn could lead to great fortune or doom. He experienced both.

In his some odd fifty-three years in existence, the captain explored the high seas. He had shown himself to be a leader and a ruthless looter. This only happened after governor of Nevis Christopher Condrington failed to or just refused to pay the crew of Kidd’s ship, the Blessed William.

At the outset, Kidd had never become a true pirate. But in 1696, his name became infamous as he tore through a Mughal convoy.

Kidd then flew a French flag and took over a vessel named the Cara Merchant. This boat was not like the previous one he had attacked which yielded no signs of riches. After the crew deserted, the Cara seemed like a sweet deal.

Precious metals and soft linens lined the innards of the ship. Kidd felt like he had just achieved wealth. Instead, Admiralty caught wind of the captain’s actions and hunted down Captain Kidd “and his accomplices.”

After sailing to New York and being arrested, Kidd was kicked in the prison hole.

When a year had passed, a ship sent him to England to be brought before Parliament.

Kidd kept mum about the names of those who aided in his exploits. He should’ve snitched. None of the men he did dirt with came to his defense. Time and time again, it must be repeated: snitches get riches.

Ultimately, Kidd found housing in Newgate Prison. Barred from hiring a barrister, Kidd faced the death penalty for his actions.

The charges included piracy and murder of William Moore, a hand on his ship. Authorities hanged Kidd and subjected him to a gibbet in London, England. This means his body was hanged in public for two decades in an iron cage as a deterrent to anyone who thought of being a pirate.

But what does this say about piracy? Why are we so enamored at the thought of swarthy, swashbuckling men? What is the draw? With Kidd being hanged for all to see, that should’ve ended the appeal for future novels, films, and amusements concocted by multi-billion-dollar companies in sports and entertainment.

Captain Kidd represented the lowest of humanity as a murderer and a thief. His plundering and looting only drove him to the gallows. Today, Somali pirates don’t get the exact same treatment. Neither do Chinese bootleggers, which is their version of piracy.

“I’m the captain, now” is not as sexy and cool as “Aarrggh…me mateys!” In the former, the costume is usually a ragged t-shirt, sweat pants and church shoes. The latter is always regaled in a hat, eye patch, parrot on the shoulder of a Middle Ages naval uniform, peg leg, and a cursing mouth full of rotten teeth.

The latter usually suck limes while the former control small boats on the water and challenge shipping vessels multiple times larger.

Kidd, as a killer and a stealer, will forever remain in the annals of naval history. While never part of an official outfit that paid him, he nevertheless inspired current pirates with panache and bravado.

Fortunately, for law-abiding citizens, the ideal of the pirate far outweighs the reality. Most pirates died of scurvy, cholera, or dysentery. Modern pirates are usually shot dead or imprisoned for years for their misdeeds.

With Kidd, he simply felt he could be saved by not talking. Instead, it landed him in boiling hot water. To be propped up in London to remind onlookers of the fate that might be theirs if they ever decided to become a pirate should be enough to make anyone go straight.