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William Kidd

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"Captain Kidd never meant to be a pirate."
―David Cordingly[src]

William Kidd was a late 17th century Scottish privateer in the service of England. He became notorious for his unsuccessful pirate hunting expedition in the Indian Ocean which caused him to become a pirate himself. He was eventually arrested, tried, and hanged, a scapegoat for ambitious politicians in London.

Biography

Born a Scotsman, William Kidd went out to live in the West Indies. He became a privateer, bought a house in New York, and eventually got married and had two daughters.[2] A respectable family man and a responsible captain, Kidd was chosen to command a privateer vessel for the purpose of harassing enemy shipping and destroying piracy. The investors outfitted him with a new ship, the Adventure Galley, and he selected an expert crew. In 1695 he sailed for America after recruiting men to replace the crew members pressed into service by the Royal Navy.[1]

After spending several days in New York with his wife and daughter, Kidd set his course for Madagascar and his gun sights on pirates, John Avery in particular. He had no luck in finding any pirate or even enemy shipping. Mutiny threatened to ruin the Adventure Galley's mission. William Moore, the ship's gunner, openly told Kidd that he was unfit to serve as their captain. Enraged, and seeing a chisel in Moore's hand, Kidd struck the gunner a blow with a heavy wooden bucket. Within the day, Moore died from Kidd's attack.[1]

Luck returned and soon after, Kidd took two ships bearing French commissions. One was the rich Quedagh Merchant, riding low in the water laden with treasure. Kidd, who had joined with three other ships, now left them and sailed for the Caribbean, his hold filled with booty from the prize―jewels, gold, and silk. When he anchored in Anguilla, he was informed that the Royal Navy had orders to bring him in as a pirate.[1] Kidd's actions also angered the East India Trading Company.[2]

Kidd sold the Quedagh Merchant, sailed to New York, and disposed of his treasure on Gardiner's Island. He sought a pardon from the governor of New York, the Earl of Bellomont, who was responsible for Kidd's original commission as a privateer. But instead, Kidd was arrested and sent to England to stand trial, for the murder of William Moore and on five counts of piracy.[1] He was the only pirate to be tried before the House of Commons.[2] Kidd was condemned to death and hanged in chains. The two French commissions, oddly enough, never turned up at the trial to prove his innocence.[1]

Behind the scenes

Pirates and the treasure map

Captain William Kidd currently doesn't appear in the Pirates of the Caribbean universe. Marc Davis originally intended to put historical pirates like Sir Henry Morgan, Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, and Captain Kidd into Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, but he eventually decided to "find ways to add something that people could get a laugh out of" instead.[3][4] However, he did make an artwork of Capt. Robert Kidd examining a treasure map.[citation needed] By 2018, "Cap. Kidd" is the name of one of the bateaux in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.[5]

Captain Kidd was also mentioned in the Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean souvenir book,[1] From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies,[3] and Disney Pirates: The Definitive Collector's Anthology.[4] Kidd was also mentioned in five featurettes found in the "Below Deck" bonus feature included in the home video releases for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, with one feature being focused specifically about Kidd.[2]

The Black Pearl's oars in The Curse of the Black Pearl are a possible reference to Captain Kidd's ship the Adventure Galley, possibly the only historical pirate vessel of the golden age of piracy to use both sails and oars for propulsion.[citation needed] Some of the text of Cutler Beckett's letters of marque in Dead Man's Chest appears to be based on Captain Kidd's privateering commission.[citation needed]

In Terry Rossio's 2012 screenplay draft for Dead Men Tell No Tales, when Admiral John Benbow offered an amnesty for all the pirates who join the British Royal Navy, the document specifically exempted Captain Kidd, Teague, Sparrow, Hornigold, Culliford, and Tew from receiving a pardon.[6][7]

In Jeff Nathanson's 2013 screenplay draft for Dead Men Tell No Tales, following the failed bank robbery in Saint Martin, two unnamed pirates in Jack Sparrow's crew mention that the pirate William Kidd is looking for hands, and has a ship with a hundred cannons. Later, when Jack Sparrow repeats the information to Admiral Scarfield, the British officer replies that Kidd doesn't sail in their waters.[8]

Sources

External links

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Story of the Robust Adventure in Disneyland and Walt Disney World, pp. 14-15
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Below Deck: An Interactive History Of Pirates: "Captain Kidd"
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Disney Pirates: The Definitive Collector's Anthology, p. 140
  5. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean vehicle names and numbers | DISboards.com
  6. ↑ Wordplayer.com: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES by Terry Rossio
  7. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Men Tell No Tales - Annotations - Terry Rossio - 8/14/12 - Page 5 - 6
  8. ↑ Dead Men Tell No Tales script by Jeff Nathanson, second draft, 5/6/2013