On 8 September 2022, we hosted an exciting talk by Sue Paul, My Ancestor was a Pirate: Pirates of the Caribbean – The Sequel.
The talk will be of interest to anyone who knows that their ancestor was a pirate as well as those whose ancestor disappeared, possibly having run off to sea to seek his (or her) fortune. The event is linked to International Talk Like A Pirate Day, which takes place annually on 19 September.
Talk Like A Pirate Day began in 1995 when founders John Baur and Mark Summers were playing racquetball, and began to encourage each other in pirate slang with phrases such as, “That be a fine cannonade,” and, “Now watch as I fire a broadside straight into your yardarm!”. In 2002, after a few years of the day being celebrated by Baur’s and Summers’ friends, it was finally popularised in the USA and beyond in an article by American syndicated humour columnist, Dave Barry.
This light-hearted depiction of pirates belies how ruthless and fearsome most could be. As part of her talk, genealogist Sue Paul will discuss some of the myths about pirates. Sue became interested in their lives when she came across Captain Thomas Bowrey while researching her one-name study. Sue learned that pirates were most likely to be Europeans or early European-Americans as a result of their close connections with America. Pirates in the Indian Ocean, though, could be from any nation. These were dangerous seas and the East India Company was in constant awareness of pirates and privateers.
Perhaps the most notorious pirate to incur the wrath of the East India Company was Captain Kidd, Sir John Gavin wrote to the Company in London that Kidd was a pirate who has done much mischief in those parts.” (Cabell, Craig, Graham A. Thomas, and Allan Richards. Captain Kidd: the Hunt for the Truth. Pen & Sword, 2010, page 63)
William Kidd is believed to have been born around 1645 in Dundee, Scotland. He was later known as Captain Robert Kidd. He became a privateer in the West Indies during King William’s War (1689–97), but was also an experienced smuggler, trader and seaman. He spent nine years in the Caribbean and New York as a privateer. In the style of a poacher turned gamekeeper, Kidd was given a king’s commission to “apprehend, seize, and take into your custody” pirates (and their bounties) at the instigation of Lord Bellomont, then governor of Barbadoes. He sailed from Plymouth in 1696, after having buried his Bible, knowing that his future escapades would stray far from the Christian path.
On 30 October 1697, following an argument, Kidd killed one of his own crewmen, gunner William Moore, by dropping an ironbound bucket on him which fractured his skull. Kidd believed he would get away with this crime. However, by this date, he had been declared a pirate and he was aware that English men-of-war were searching for him.
By 1699, Kidd’s notoriety was such that Belloment feared being implicated in piracy through his association. To avoid this he lured Kidd to Boston where he was arrested. After being imprisoned in America for a year, Kidd was sent to England. There he refused to cooperate with the Tories and was sent to trial before the High Court of Admiralty for charges of piracy and the murder of William Moore.
In May 1701, Captain Kidd was found guilty of piracy and robbery on the high seas, as well as for murder. He was summarily executed at Execution Dock in Wapping. He was hanged twice as the first rope broke under his weight. Until the end of the 18th century, the bodies of pirates at Execution Dock were not immediately cut down. Kidd’s body was hung up in chains down the river Thames at Tilbury, where it remained exposed for three years.
Sources
- International Talk Like A Pirate Day website
- Cabell, Craig, Graham A. Thomas, and Allan Richards, Captain Kidd: the Hunt for the Truth. (Pen & Sword, 2010)
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