William Kidd, a Scotsman, lived his early life near the sea. His home, in fact, was a short distance from the docks near Dundee, Scotland. From this proximity, William developed his love of the high seas and his enthusiasm for naval life. He was raised by a minister father who died when William was five years old. His family moved to New York, then a British colony.
To The Glory and Honor of the British Navy
Though he remained a British loyalist, William took up acquaintance with several prominent colonial governors. He was given a British Commission to command a ship, "The Adventure". His chief duties were to rid the North American coastline of pirates. During the late 1600's, the North American coastline was besieged by buccaneers and pirates who looted ships coming into harbors all along the New England Coast. These buccaneers and pirates operated largely without any prohibition for their notorious acts. William Kidd was enticed by a venture sponsored by prominent citizens of the era to expunge the pirates who had virtually brought a halt to commerce and trade as a result of pillaging ships coming into ports along the Atlantic coast. From Northern New England to New York, trade was effected by the dastardly pirating. Vast sums of money, jewels and other valuables were looted by single means of deliberately guiding ships to shore with signal lamps set atop rock cairns on bluffs high above rocky coasts. Over time, the mighty Atlantic sea bottom became littered with the remains of pirated ships.
Inlets and Rivers Havens For Pirates
The small and often shallow inlets and rivers along New York harbor and the Raritan Bay made ideal locations where pirates could sell their looted goods. Spanish lace, jewelry, old European furniture and other treasure was sold by pirates who reaped fortunes from their ill-gotten gain. Strangely enough, these pirates later used their fortunes to provide endowments to the churches of Middletown and Shrewsbury, New Jersey. It was in Middletown that another famous pirate, Edward Teach, also known to the world as "Black Beard" landed his pirate crew at Middletown and sent them on a foraging expedition in nearby Holmdel. The bounties captured by colonial pirates surely enriched others along the way in their dealings with these "seafaring rovers", the laundered reference to pirates of the day.
William "Captain Kidd" In The Caribbean
It has been said that the glitter of gold can turn an honest man into a thief. Or, in the case of William Kidd, a pirate. Perhaps, this was the magnet that caused 44 year old William Kidd to become part of a mutiny while aboard ship bound for the island of Nevis in the Caribbean. In typical mutinous fashion, the captain of the ship was thrown overboard, at which point Kidd's venture into the world of pirates was solidly begun. He and his crew sailed on to a French Island, destroying and looting its only town. Their deeds reaped more than 2,000 lbs Sterling.
Ever the English gentleman sailor, Kidd found himself often at odds with not only his crew but with also the Royal Navy. He had no taste for violence, often ignoring his pirate crew's murderous behavior. Whenever an attack was imminent, Kidd made every effort to avoid a confrontation. This type of attitude ran afoul of his persona as a pirate and mutineer. Historical documents allude to his marriage to Sarah Cox, a local girl from the Raritan Bay. Certain of his men followed suit, marrying local girls like their Captain. When Kidd returned to New York, he learned his colorful reputation as a pirate preceded him. On July 6, 1699, Kidd and his wife Sarah were both imprisoned. Kidd spent most of his time at the Stone Prison in Boston in solitary confinement. He was returned to England where he was found guilty of murder and hanged on May 23, 1701.
