1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from works 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm to 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:16,280 Speaker 1: bling a chalk reboarding and I'm stared out and we're 4 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: gonna start today's episode with a discovery. In two thousand seven, 5 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: a snorkeler off the southern coast of the Dominican Republic 6 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: stumbled across a group of sunken cannons and immediately alerted 7 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 1: Dominican officials, who in turn contacted a team of underwater 8 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: archaeologists at Indiana University that had been doing research in 9 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,160 Speaker 1: the area for several years. So when the Indiana team 10 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 1: checked it out, they realized that it wasn't just a 11 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: bunch of cannons down there, It was the wreckage of 12 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: a ship, and not just any ship. Because of the 13 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,599 Speaker 1: location of the find and the arrangement of the cannons, 14 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,519 Speaker 1: the Indiana researchers believed that they had found the remains 15 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 1: of the car A Merchant, which is sometimes also called 16 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: the quit A Merchant, a ship once belonging to a 17 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: seventeenth century pirate of notorious repute, Captain William kidd Are. 18 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: So this find was obviously significant, not just because of 19 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: its connection to a pirate. But because of the legend 20 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,320 Speaker 1: of this particular pirate supposed it lost treasure that's circulated 21 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,399 Speaker 1: throughout the years. It's a legend that started up around 22 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,320 Speaker 1: the time of kids death in seventeen o one and 23 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: persisted in the following centuries. The legend, of course, has 24 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: been the motivation behind numerous treasure hunts throughout the years, 25 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: from America's eastern seaboard to the Caribbean, to Madagascar to Asia. 26 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: In fact, Barry Clifford, who discovered the remains of the 27 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: Widow One, said quote, everyone who has ever walked a 28 00:01:39,959 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 1: beach from the Dominican Republic to Maine has looked for 29 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,479 Speaker 1: the pirate treasure of Captain Kidd. It's even inspired works 30 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: of literature, from Daniel Dafoe's Pirate Writings to Robert Louis 31 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: Stevenson's Treasure Island and post Story The Gold Bug. But 32 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 1: over the last century or so, historians have debated not 33 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: only the existence of anis dent of this lost treasure, 34 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: but whether Kid was ever really a pirate at all. 35 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: Crushing yeah, I mean, some believe that he acted only 36 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: as a privateer, who is a person legitimately hired by 37 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:14,000 Speaker 1: a government to attack enemy ships, so basically kind of 38 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: a pirate catcher or a wartime legitimate pirate sort of. Yeah, 39 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: So we're going to take a look at what's known 40 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: about kids life and how exactly his adventures on the 41 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: high seas went down to try to see how likely 42 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: either of these scenarios are. It's sort of tough, though, 43 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: looking for any pirate tendencies and kids early life, because 44 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 1: not a lot is really known about his youth. He's 45 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,400 Speaker 1: believed to have been the son of a Presbyterian minister 46 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: born in Sixtet in Greenick, Scotland. So a biographical article 47 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: about Kid by Richard Mean suggests that it might have 48 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: been because his father's death and his mother's subsequent remarriage. 49 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 1: Other sources suggest that maybe it was just because he 50 00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: grew up in a port town and had pretty easy 51 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: access to the sailor's life. But either way, it seems 52 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: that Kid left home and took to the sea at 53 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: a pretty early age, and according to the Encyclopedia of 54 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:10,239 Speaker 1: World Biography, though, the first verifiable record of him doesn't 55 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: pop up until about six eighty nine, when Kid was 56 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: already forty four years old, so there's a lot of 57 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 1: lost years in there. At that time, he was a 58 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: member of a French English pirate crew in the Caribbean 59 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: that Mute Need ditched their captain and went to the 60 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,959 Speaker 1: island of Nevis, an English colony. While they were there, 61 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: they renamed the ship the Blessed William and Kid was 62 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 1: made captain either by a vote or by the governor 63 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: of the colony, and they started working as legitimate privateers 64 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 1: for the governor of Nevis. France and England were at 65 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: war at the time, so the Blessed William's job was 66 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 1: to attack French ships and their payment was basically whatever 67 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: spoils they got from those ships that they attacked. Soon though, 68 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: Kid decided that he would join in to help the 69 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: Royal Navy in a sea battle with French warships, and 70 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: of course that meant there isn't a lot of treasure 71 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: on a war ship, and it means there's a lot 72 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: of danger fighting one. So Kid's crew wasn't too happy 73 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: about the situation, and so, led by a guy named 74 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: Robert Culifford, the Blessed Williams crew mutinied after the battle 75 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: and they stole the ship and sailed off to the 76 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: pirates life and the governor of Nevis gave Kid a 77 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: friendship to use, and Kid took off, and perhaps at 78 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:24,839 Speaker 1: first he was intending to hunt down his mutinous crew 79 00:04:24,839 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: and punish them, but ultimately he decided to set a 80 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,400 Speaker 1: course for a very different destination that was New York, 81 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: and Kid reached New York, which was also a British 82 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 1: colony at the time, in and while there his life 83 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,599 Speaker 1: took a very different turn. He met an english woman 84 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,359 Speaker 1: named Sarah Bradley Cox Ort, who was married to a 85 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:47,280 Speaker 1: very wealthy man named John Ort. John Ort died that year. 86 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: Apparently somewhat mysteriously, Kid and Sarah applied for a marriage 87 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: license just a couple of days later and were married 88 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: just a few days after that. According to the Encyclopedia 89 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: World Biography, historians think Kid might have even killed John Ort, 90 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: maybe even with Sarah's help. The timeline is certainly a 91 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:10,880 Speaker 1: little suspicious, and trust those Sarah's oh no, So regardless 92 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: though any suspicion, I haven't haven't done anything, don't look 93 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: at me to Blena. Okay, So, but regardless, any suspicions 94 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,600 Speaker 1: that anyone may have had at the time about Kid 95 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: or Sarah didn't really seem to affect them, and they 96 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: did set up a very nice, comfortable life together. Sarah 97 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,839 Speaker 1: had actually been married twice before kids, so she brought 98 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:33,240 Speaker 1: a lot of wealth to the table, and when they 99 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: were married, Kid basically had control over all of that, 100 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: including a number of business interests along the waterfront, and 101 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 1: he became the father to Sarah's two daughters. So a 102 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: very different life for him. Right. Suddenly it's this former 103 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,240 Speaker 1: sailor who has become rich, a New York business mogul, 104 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:54,239 Speaker 1: living in a stately home with his wife and kids. 105 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:56,599 Speaker 1: So it sounds like a pretty sweet set up. But 106 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:00,479 Speaker 1: kids still wanted more or something a little different. At least, 107 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: the sea still called to him. He still had the 108 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 1: urge to do some privateering, and according to Encyclopedia Britannica, 109 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 1: even while living in New York, Kid would get called 110 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,360 Speaker 1: upon from time to time because of his background as 111 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:15,599 Speaker 1: a seaman, to get rid of enemy privateers on the 112 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: New York and Massachusetts coast. But in six he and 113 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: his friend Robert Livingston hatched a bigger and potentially more 114 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: profitable plan. Pirates in the Indian Ocean and other areas 115 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,839 Speaker 1: were always interfering around this time with English shipping traffic, 116 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:35,840 Speaker 1: and Kid could sail potentially around pirate infested waters and 117 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: attack pirate ships, apprehending pirates and the loot that they'd 118 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,479 Speaker 1: taken from other ships. It would be profitable and adventurous first, though, 119 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: Kid needed them investors and of course, some sort of 120 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: official backing, otherwise he'd just be another pirate. So traveling 121 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,280 Speaker 1: to London that year, he got both of the things 122 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: he was looking for, and in a very big way 123 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:59,359 Speaker 1: to a group of key people supported kids plan. The 124 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:03,679 Speaker 1: Earl of Almont, who was the newly nominated Governor of Massachusetts, 125 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: Sir John Summers who was the Duke of Shrewsbury, and 126 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: the Baron of Romney, the Earl of Orford, all prominent 127 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 1: members of the Whig political party. But there was somebody 128 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: else who was in the mix, somebody who really landed 129 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: a certain cachet to this whole project, none other than 130 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:23,920 Speaker 1: the King himself, William the Third and Kids mission was 131 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 1: essentially a privateering expedition. He'd be attacking enemy French ships again, 132 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 1: but it was sort of privateering with a special twist. 133 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: He'd also be hunting down pirate ships who were causing 134 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: trouble for England. As he had originally planned, any booty 135 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 1: that Kid happened to confiscate from pirate ships would be 136 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: divided up among his investors. According to an article by 137 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: Eric Mills and Naval History, even the King would be 138 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:52,320 Speaker 1: taking a ten percent cut of whatever pirate loot they got. 139 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 1: But some a little morally questionable that it does. And 140 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:59,080 Speaker 1: I mean we should point it out because you might think, Okay, 141 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: hunting pirate doesn't sound so bad, right, That sounds like 142 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,200 Speaker 1: a legitimate thing to do in any case. But the 143 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: sketchy thing to point out about this plan here is 144 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:11,520 Speaker 1: that Kid and his investors were technically proposing stealing stolen 145 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: stuff and then claiming said stolen stuff as their own 146 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: instead of just turning it over to the government or something. 147 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: So thanks to that influential group though behind him, Kid 148 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,600 Speaker 1: was able to set fail in a thirty four gun 149 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:29,600 Speaker 1: ship called the Adventure Galley with an official commission, complete 150 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,960 Speaker 1: with a new Great Deal of England patent and all 151 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 1: of those things just granted his mission legitimacy. So even 152 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: with the official paperwork though, and the powerful backers, including 153 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 1: the King himself, Kid and his Adventure Galley had some 154 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: trouble right from the start, So he set fail in 155 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: April of s with about a seventy to eighty man crew, 156 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: and he had plans to pick up about eighty more 157 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: men when he was in New York, but he got 158 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,040 Speaker 1: into trouble before he even got out of the tempt Yeah. 159 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:01,880 Speaker 1: First off, he passed a Royal Navy ship without dipping 160 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: his colors, which was a really important custom at the 161 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: time to show deference to a Navy vessel, So not 162 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: doing so was a real sign of disrespect. And who 163 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 1: knows why he failed to do this, if it was 164 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 1: just an acc out of practice right, or perhaps he 165 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: just thought that he didn't need to because he had 166 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:24,239 Speaker 1: such important backers. The Navy vessel, in either case, responded 167 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,320 Speaker 1: by sending a cannonball in their direction, and according to 168 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:31,439 Speaker 1: mills article, Kid's crew then responded to that by quote 169 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: turning around and slapping their backsides at the Navy vessel. 170 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:37,760 Speaker 1: This is kind of the early version of road rage. 171 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:42,640 Speaker 1: This encounter, though, led to the Navy taking away twenty 172 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: of kids best men, and when Kid complained about it, 173 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: the Navy gave him back twenty men, but not the 174 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: good ones that they had taken. They brought him a 175 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:54,360 Speaker 1: bunch of no good troublemaker type, and Kid didn't really 176 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: fare much better in the crew department when he made 177 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,960 Speaker 1: it to New York either, because New York also had 178 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,080 Speaker 1: a share for good for nothing pirate types hanging around 179 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: about this time, and these were the type of recruits 180 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: that Kid was able to get, not top quality guys, 181 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: and according to Mills article, again, Governor Benjamin Fletcher called 182 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 1: these men described them as quote men of desperate fortunes. 183 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: By the time the Adventure Galley made it out to 184 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: the Indian Ocean, by early seven, they lost about thirty 185 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,800 Speaker 1: more crewmen too illness, and they had to replace those 186 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:29,760 Speaker 1: guys with former pirate crew members that they picked up 187 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: at various ports of call in the area. These were 188 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 1: basically the only sailors that were hanging around were people 189 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 1: who would have worked on pirate ships, So the Adventure 190 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 1: Galley had a bit of a motley crew going on. 191 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:44,000 Speaker 1: But for a long time, Kid's biggest problem wasn't really that, 192 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:46,680 Speaker 1: It was just that he couldn't find any ships to attack, 193 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 1: and this in turn made his crew really restless and 194 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 1: n happy because they hadn't taken any loot and they 195 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,199 Speaker 1: were running out of supply, so Kid really started to 196 00:10:55,240 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 1: get desperate, desperate enough to become a pirate. Perhaps what 197 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:02,559 Speaker 1: we're gonna see. So according to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, 198 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: it's unclear whether Kid really intended from the beginning to 199 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,760 Speaker 1: stick to the plan of only attacking England's enemies, but 200 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 1: other sources, including Mills article, suggests that he proved as 201 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 1: much on certain occasions. So for example, on August fourteenth, 202 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: he started to attack what appeared to be a mobile convoy. 203 00:11:23,679 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 1: Um it was kind of a sketchy attack of his 204 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:30,680 Speaker 1: because he attacked flying a crimson flag, which was basically 205 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: a sign of piracy and mint surrender no quarter. But 206 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: the convoys English captain hoisted the colors of the East 207 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,160 Speaker 1: India Company and so Kid backed off. But his crew 208 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: wasn't really happy with that move. No, they were ready 209 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:47,440 Speaker 1: for something to happen. That October, Kid got into an 210 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,679 Speaker 1: argument with a crew member named William Moore, who was 211 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 1: unhappy that the captain would only attack non English ships. 212 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: He was still supposedly trying to keep within the original 213 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: parameters of his mission at this time, so during their fight, 214 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:03,960 Speaker 1: Kid ended up picking up a bucket and smashing it 215 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 1: over Moore's head and more died the next day from 216 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: the wounds that he got from that encounter. And it's 217 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: after this point that sources really start to diverge a 218 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: lot over the point of whether Kid really took to 219 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: outright piracy. Just a few examples of different things that 220 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,719 Speaker 1: people put out there. According to the Encyclopedia World Biography, 221 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: Kid considered any ship that came across fair game after 222 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: this because he really wanted to regain the respect of 223 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:32,359 Speaker 1: his crew. I mean, murdering a crew member, even if accidentally, 224 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 1: isn't the best way to win more support. So he 225 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,600 Speaker 1: really had something to me. They needed to be put 226 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:42,080 Speaker 1: to work quickly, and according to Means Biography, Kids set 227 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:45,560 Speaker 1: out still trying to find enemy friendships. Then he captured 228 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:50,079 Speaker 1: what he thought was an enemy friendship, the Ruparel that November. 229 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,199 Speaker 1: The ship's Dutch captain, though, told him that they were 230 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: under the command of the East India Company, but Kid 231 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:00,079 Speaker 1: commandeered the ship anyway, So you know, kind of a 232 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,679 Speaker 1: murky ground there with that one, right, And other sources 233 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: don't really indicate that he ever changed his intent to 234 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: stick to his commission, his original plan of only attacking 235 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 1: French ships and pirate ships regardless, one thing that they 236 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,439 Speaker 1: can all agree on is that in January, Kid in 237 00:13:17,480 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: the Adventure Galley came across what appeared to be an 238 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 1: India built Armenian owned ship called the Car Merchant archival research. 239 00:13:24,679 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 1: As we mentioned that there, you might hear a different 240 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: name for the ship at times, but archival research has 241 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 1: since confirmed that this is the correct name for the ship. 242 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: Kid flew a French flag is kind of a disguise 243 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:38,000 Speaker 1: for his own ship, and the Car Merchant, even though 244 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,000 Speaker 1: it actually had an English captain, turns out did the 245 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:45,079 Speaker 1: same thing, according to Mills article, just to protect the ship. 246 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 1: They thought, okay, we need to at least put the 247 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,959 Speaker 1: face forward that we are French, right. The captain of 248 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: the Car Merchant also sent a French gunner over to 249 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,400 Speaker 1: Adventure Galley with a French pass or paper of safe conduct, 250 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:01,920 Speaker 1: and this supposedly convinced Kid this was a legit capture. 251 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: This was a friendship, totally fair game for him to attack. 252 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,440 Speaker 1: But it was only after capturing the ship that Kid 253 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 1: realized it was in fact carrying East India Company cargo 254 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 1: and the captain was English. So what is he going 255 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:19,720 Speaker 1: to do now? It looked like a friendship, but turns 256 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: out it's not. Well. At this point, the Adventure Galley 257 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:26,160 Speaker 1: Crew was so desperate for some sort of loot that 258 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:28,960 Speaker 1: they ended up keeping it, selling some of it off, 259 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,120 Speaker 1: and dividing it for profits. So they went ahead with 260 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: the plan even after they found back they found out 261 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:35,920 Speaker 1: they had made a mistake, and after that they ended 262 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,560 Speaker 1: up going to Madagascar, which was kind of a hotbed 263 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 1: for pirates at the time, and there they ran into 264 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: Kids old crew member from his pre New York days, 265 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: Robert Culifford. Seems like the perfect opportunity to both catch 266 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 1: a pirate which is part of their mission, and get 267 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 1: some revenge at the same time. Right, So well, yeah, 268 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: that's what it seems like, And it would have been 269 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 1: if the majority of Kids Crew didn't decide that it 270 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: was also the perfect time to desert Kid and join 271 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 1: up with Clifford instead. And according to mills article, they 272 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: wanted to work for somebody who represented pure piracy, who 273 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: they knew, they knew where he stood, rather than some strange, 274 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:18,760 Speaker 1: half cocked hybrid version of piracy privateering special mission. And 275 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 1: if that wasn't bad enough, you know, losing your your 276 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:25,960 Speaker 1: guys to your old enemy Kids ship, the Adventure Galley, 277 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 1: was also falling apart by this point. Yeah, He and 278 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:33,040 Speaker 1: the small remaining crew just figured it was a lost 279 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: cause and they decided to sink the ship and make 280 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 1: the car a merchant their main ship. Then they headed 281 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: for the West Indies. When they reached there, though, Kid 282 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:44,160 Speaker 1: discovered that the British government had declared him a pirate 283 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 1: and he was a wanted man. According to Mills, part 284 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: of what was behind this was that the car merchants 285 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: for investors were blaming the East India Company for what 286 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: had happened, and England needed to protect the company's reputation. 287 00:15:57,280 --> 00:15:59,720 Speaker 1: I mean the East India Company. That's an important part 288 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 1: of an In's economy. They have to stay face at 289 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:05,800 Speaker 1: this point. The other thing was that the Tories had 290 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: taken over Parliament from the Whigs, so Kids, once very 291 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,920 Speaker 1: influential friends, weren't as influential anymore and they didn't want 292 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:14,760 Speaker 1: to go out on a limb for him. The King, 293 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: of course, didn't even step up to a pirate, and 294 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: so Kid thought that he could prove his innocence, especially 295 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,400 Speaker 1: since he still had that French pass that he had 296 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: collected from the English captain of the car merchant to 297 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:31,280 Speaker 1: prove that he thought that the ship that he was 298 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,840 Speaker 1: attacking was French, at least at first. So he ditched 299 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: the car a merchant near Hispaniola and headed off to 300 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: New York in a more discreet boat, because of course, 301 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 1: in this India built boat, they would have been drawing 302 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 1: attention to themselves all over the place in that region 303 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: of the world. And he headed back to try to 304 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:50,920 Speaker 1: clear his name. By the time he got there, though, 305 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:54,560 Speaker 1: the rumor mill had already been working against him. According 306 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 1: to an article by Willard Helen Bonner, the rumors that 307 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:00,440 Speaker 1: were spread around this time about kids activities and his 308 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: associations with other pirates and his supposed treasure actually made 309 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:08,920 Speaker 1: it into official newsletters works of journalism at the time 310 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: and informed a lot of what people knew about Kid 311 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: for years after, and maybe even up until this day. 312 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 1: Some of those ideas are still mixed into the William 313 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 1: Kids stories that we know. Yeah, and that reputation definitely 314 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:23,800 Speaker 1: caught up with him. Kid was arrested. He was imprisoned 315 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:27,159 Speaker 1: in a colonial jail in Boston for several months, and 316 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:29,080 Speaker 1: then he was sent off to England, where he was 317 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: locked up in Newgate Prison, which was a really horrible, dirty, 318 00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: disease ridden place to be. And in the meantime, that 319 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: crucial French path that was supposed to prove his innocence 320 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,879 Speaker 1: was conveniently misplaced. According to Mill's article, it didn't resurface 321 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:49,440 Speaker 1: until the twentieth century. And on May eight s one, 322 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,800 Speaker 1: Kid was brought to trial for William Moore's murder and 323 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:56,879 Speaker 1: for piracy. Yeah, and I mean the odds were really 324 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 1: stacked against him. He had to defend himself basically without 325 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:05,159 Speaker 1: any evidence because that French pass was missing. Basically someone 326 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,119 Speaker 1: had to take the fall for this situation with the 327 00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:10,960 Speaker 1: East India Company, and the trial was over by the 328 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: next day. He was scheduled to be executed on May 329 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:18,120 Speaker 1: twenty three, seventeen o one, with some other accused pirates 330 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:21,680 Speaker 1: near the Thames, and Kid was supposedly very drunk when 331 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:25,119 Speaker 1: they were all transported out to be hanged, which was 332 00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:27,879 Speaker 1: a real disappointment to the prison pastor who had hoped 333 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,919 Speaker 1: that Kid would repent and confess before dying. When the 334 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,080 Speaker 1: hangman tried to hang Kid the first time, the rope 335 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,000 Speaker 1: broke Kid was the only prisoner for which this happened. 336 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: They were all kind of hanged at the same time, 337 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 1: and his was the only one. The rope that was 338 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,600 Speaker 1: holding him was the only one that broke, and while 339 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:46,720 Speaker 1: the hangman was wringing up a new rope for Kid, 340 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:50,359 Speaker 1: according to the Encyclopedia World Biography, he prayed with the 341 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,399 Speaker 1: pastor and finally repented, so the second time he was hanged, 342 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,879 Speaker 1: Kid did die. His body was then tarred or wrapped 343 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:00,119 Speaker 1: in chains and putting a cage that was strung up 344 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:02,879 Speaker 1: along the banks of attempts for years after that as 345 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: a warning to others, don't be a pirate. It does 346 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:09,679 Speaker 1: not pay no. So the search for the car merchant 347 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:14,960 Speaker 1: and for kids treasure, of course, began well before his execution, though, 348 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,920 Speaker 1: and according to mills article in Naval History, his old supporter, 349 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:23,360 Speaker 1: Lord Belmont, unsuccessfully sent a ship to the West Indies 350 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:25,680 Speaker 1: to try to track it down while Kid was still 351 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:27,600 Speaker 1: in prison. That sounds like kind of a mean thing 352 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 1: to do. I don't know. It's generally believed that kids 353 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:35,160 Speaker 1: remaining crew members burned and thanked the ship after taking 354 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:38,520 Speaker 1: whatever valuables were on board, but that inability to find 355 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:40,639 Speaker 1: the ship is one of the things that fueled the 356 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:43,399 Speaker 1: treasure hunts over the years, you know, where where is it? 357 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:45,919 Speaker 1: Where could it be? Yeah, And since two thousand seven, 358 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: the Indiana University team has confirmed that the shipwreck found 359 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:54,280 Speaker 1: was indeed the car Merchant. Incidentally, it was found about 360 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:57,359 Speaker 1: seventy feet off of the shore of Cataleen Island and 361 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:01,119 Speaker 1: only about ten ft below the surface, so it's actually 362 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:05,439 Speaker 1: kind of exactly. It was very It's kind of strange 363 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:08,399 Speaker 1: that nobody found it before then. But last year the 364 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:11,880 Speaker 1: underwater shipwreck site was dedicated as a quote living museum 365 00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:14,600 Speaker 1: of the sea on May three, which is I think 366 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 1: the anniversary of kids hanging. But there is one more 367 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: thing to add to the story, and it's a conspiracy. 368 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 1: So according to an article by Erling Hole and Geographical, 369 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:30,680 Speaker 1: at least one man iss the door. Pawanski believed that 370 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,640 Speaker 1: kid didn't die in seventeen o one. He thought kid 371 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:36,840 Speaker 1: was able to bribe the keeper of the Newgate prison 372 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:40,560 Speaker 1: with promises of hidden treasure, and that's why the rope 373 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,600 Speaker 1: really snapped. Yeah, he just asked those questions, Why did 374 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,160 Speaker 1: the rope snap? Why did all of a sudden Kid 375 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,000 Speaker 1: change his mind when he wasn't willing to confess and repent, 376 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,000 Speaker 1: and then later when he came out the second time, 377 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:56,320 Speaker 1: he was ready to repent and confess. So just was 378 00:20:56,359 --> 00:20:59,360 Speaker 1: there a switchero potentially? Is that what he suggested? Yeah, 379 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:04,439 Speaker 1: he suggested that they switched guys and that the second 380 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:08,200 Speaker 1: guy was not Kid, and so he was more willing 381 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 1: to talk to the pastor right that That's why his 382 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: sentiments had sort of changed, because he wasn't in fact 383 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: the same man at all. Kid's widow. There's another aspect 384 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:20,200 Speaker 1: of to this. Kid's widow remarried a man named Christopher 385 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: Rousby and s three and moved to New Jersey for 386 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:26,239 Speaker 1: some reason, even though she had this big, stately New 387 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,119 Speaker 1: York mansion and it didn't seem like there would be 388 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,640 Speaker 1: any reason why she'd want to move to New Jersey. 389 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:34,600 Speaker 1: Paiwanski believed that Rousby was really Kid, and he wrote 390 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,200 Speaker 1: a book to this effect that I believe was released 391 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 1: earlier in the two thousands. Needed to get out of town. 392 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 1: Maybe maybe so, I mean, you know, it's a maybe 393 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: a long shot theory, but an interesting one to entertain 394 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:52,199 Speaker 1: just in case. I always like it when we have 395 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:56,239 Speaker 1: the very slim chance LEAs that the subject of our 396 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:59,239 Speaker 1: podcast did not die. In fact, it's it's kind of 397 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 1: elvith ish and went on to have a life along 398 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: life in Jersey. Maybe maybe so. Um, it was definitely 399 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,399 Speaker 1: interesting to learn a little bit more about one of 400 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:11,919 Speaker 1: the most famous pirates. We've got quite a collection of 401 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:16,160 Speaker 1: pirate episodes now, we do well. We did Shipwrecks last year. 402 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: We covered a lot of shipwrecks and we talked about 403 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: I think a couple of pirates and that, and of 404 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:24,560 Speaker 1: course we've talked about black Beard and who else lady pirates, 405 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:28,240 Speaker 1: some lady pirates. Oh that's right, Cheny sal and Grace O'Malley. 406 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:30,800 Speaker 1: So we do have quite a collection going, but there 407 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,359 Speaker 1: are still so many more. If any of you want 408 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 1: to request any more pirates, you always know where to 409 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:38,439 Speaker 1: find us because we love to do those stories. We 410 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:42,920 Speaker 1: do so we are at History Podcast at Discovery dot com. 411 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:46,160 Speaker 1: We're also on Twitter at Misston History, and we're on Facebook. 412 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,480 Speaker 1: All good places to um share your thoughts, let us 413 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: know about pirate issues, on your mind, whatever, and if 414 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:55,440 Speaker 1: you want to find out a little bit more about 415 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,479 Speaker 1: the topic we discussed today, we have an article on 416 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:00,800 Speaker 1: our website called how Pirates Work, and I believe it 417 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,000 Speaker 1: even covers modern piracy a bit as well. You can 418 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:06,760 Speaker 1: find that by searching our homepage, which is at www 419 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:12,919 Speaker 1: dot how stuff works dot com. For more on this 420 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,600 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, is it how stuff Works 421 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:39,919 Speaker 1: dot com