Shift #25 - Collections Research
Monday, June 17, 2024 | 8:30-10 pm CST/9:30-11 pm EST (1 hr 30 min)
Tonight, I spent my shift looking at a source "Criminal calendar, or An awful warning to the youth of America : being an account of the most notorious pirates, highwaymen and other malefactors who have figured in this hemisphere". There are different profiles in this book so I selected one to begin with - Robert Kidd. He was not an American and didn't stand trial or face execution in America. His life began as a privateer in the West Indies and he had good reputation for being a fair officer, brave and had good character; he was recommended by the governor of Barbados to be an officer who could put a stop to piracy and given a ship (the Adventure Galley) to command for the very purpose of fighting pirates. During this time, pirates were already gaining notoriety and plenty of riches/wealth. Kidd was entrusted to help fight pirates and take back stolen goods and money. He ended up being commissioned by the King William the Third of England to bring justice upon the pirates who have stolen from the kingdom. This book actually shows the verbiage of the official commission of Kidd as a "private man of war" in 1695. In his commission, he was called out to specifically capture Capt. Thomas Too, John Ireland, Capt. Thomas Wake, and Capt. William Maze (or Mace). If they did not surrender, then Kidd had the authority to force them to do so. He was given aid and assistance to do his duty. Kidd was also required to keep a journal of everything that happened during his journey and take down names, ship names, crew names, type of goods acquired and the number of each good as well as estimated value. In the commission, he was also specifically tasked not to "offend or molest our friends or allies".
Along with that commission, Kidd also had a separate other one that gave him the authority to seize French merchant ships, should he run across them during his travels, because England was at war with France during that time. He left Plymouth for New York in May 1696 and had a crew of 80 men and 30 guns at their disposal. Kidd caught a French merchant ship en route to New York. There he enlisted more men and grew his crew to 150 men due to the financial incentives he offered them (a portion of goods/money seized after a deduction of 40 shares for himself and his superiors). He then traveled to the western coast of Africa to an island for supplies, and continued on to Madagascar but didn't find any pirate ships there. He kept traveling, towards the southwest coast of India and traveled around there for a while but still didn't find any pirate ships. Eventually he ran out of supplies again and also needed to have his ship repaired. There is nothing in records that indicate Kidd began thinking about and intended to plunder ships as a pirate but it is noted that his first offense was when he took over a ship in the Red Sea and robbed the natives of their supply of corn. To be continued! (I also wondered, perhaps since he wasn't successful in capturing any pirates, and his supplies kept dwindling, it was this that made him turn to piracy?)
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