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KF5JRV > TODAY 23.05.19 11:31z 40 Lines 2094 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 36812_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - May 23
Path: HB9ON<IW2OHX<IR1UAW<F1OYP<ON0AR<GB7CIP<N3HYM<KF5JRV
Sent: 190523/1128Z 36812@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
At London’s Execution Dock, British privateer William Kidd, popularly
known as Captain Kidd, is hanged for piracy and murder.
Born in Strathclyde, Scotland, Kidd established himself as a sea captain
before settling in New York in 1690, where he bought property and
married. At various times he was commissioned by New York and other
American colonies to rid the coast of enemy privateers. In 1695, while
on a trip to London, the recently appointed governor of New York
commissioned him to defend English ships from pirates in the Red Sea. In
1696, Kidd sailed to New York aboard the Adventure Galley, enlisted men
for the mission, and set sail for the Indian Ocean. The expedition met
with little success and failed to capture a major prize until February
1698, when the Quedagh Merchant, an Indian vessel allegedly sailing
under a French pass, was taken. Word of Kidd’s capture of the boat,
which was loaded with gold, jewels, silk, sugar, and guns, aroused
significant controversy in Britain, as the ship had an English captain.
Suspicions that he had turned to piracy were apparently confirmed when
he sailed to St. Mary’s, Madagascar, an infamous pirate haven. From
there, he traveled to the West Indies on the Quedagh Merchant, where he
learned of the piracy charges against him. Intending to clear his name,
he sailed to New York and delivered himself to the colonial authorities,
claiming that the vessels he had attacked were lawful prizes. He was
arrested and taken to London.
In 1701, he was tried on five charges of piracy and one charge of
murdering a crewman. The Tories used the trial as a political
opportunity to embarrass his Whig sponsors, and the latter chose to give
up Kidd as a scapegoat rather than back his possibly correct claims to
legitimacy. Convicted on all counts, he was executed by hanging on May
23, 1701. In later years, a colorful legend grew up around the story of
William Kidd, including reports of lost buried treasure that fortune
seekers have pursued for centuries.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@GMAIL.COM
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