Oldest pirate ever Captain William Kidd claimed he was forced into career by mutiny
Pirating is generally thought of as a young man’s game.
What with all the pillaging, sword fights, and cannon explosions, there were plenty of occupational hazards that meant most pirates only lived into their mid-30s.
But one man who defied the odds was Captain William Kidd – the oldest pirate to ever sail the Seven Seas.
Believed to have been born in Dundee, Scotland around the year 1645, he plied his trade until the age of 54, and was executed by hanging at the age of 56 on 23 May 1701.
Kidd, who later settled in New York City, US, had actually had a distinguished career at sea as captain of the Antigua before later going on to work as a privateer.
An 18th century portrait of Kidd by Sir James Thornhill. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Privateer ships were privately owned warships that had permission from the government to attack enemy ships. Whatever they raided, they would share with officials.
In the 1690s, Kidd was in charge of vessel Blessed William during the war between England and France, defending American and English trade routes in the West Indies.
It’s said that Kidd took his mission to rid the sea of pirates very seriously, but that sadly he wasn’t very good at finding them.
Sometime around 1698, he was forced to become the thing he hated when his crew turned mutinous and forced him to turn pirate.
Early that year, the crew spotted the Quedah Merchant in India and attacked, taking the ship and its cargo – silk, sugar, iron, some other materials, and a rumoured £70,000, equivalent to more than £10 million today.
Captain William Kidd welcoming a young woman on board his ship in the New York Harbor. Credit: United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division/Wikimedia Commons
Kidd kept the ship and renamed it Adventure Galley, abandoning the one he had been on that was now leaking and sinking.
Read more stories about people who’ve broken a record due to their age in our Human Body section.
Just two years into his pirating career, attitudes shifted in England and piracy was now being viewed as a criminal act, but by claiming his crew had forced him to become a pirate, Kidd negotiated a pardon from English authorities.
Sailing back to the US, he knew he was a marked man and stopped along the way to bury his booty in various locations.
In 1699, Kidd was arrested on the orders of New England governor, Lord Richard Bellomont, and sent back to England, where he was put on trial for the murder of one of his crew members, William Moore, and multiple acts of piracy.
Kidd on the deck of the Adventure Galley. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The Governor had lured him to Boston with false promises of mercy but had planned all along to send him back to England in chains over fears that he would be implicated in piracy himself otherwise.
The conditions in which Kidd was imprisoned are said to have been exceptionally harsh. His wife, Sarah, was also arrested and imprisoned separately and they never saw each other again. Kidd was left in such horrible conditions that he’s reported to have been driven temporarily insane.
He was found guilty in a trial that many claimed was rigged and was hanged on 23 May 1701. Reports say the money for Kidd’s defence was misplaced until the morning of his trial and that he only had time for a very brief conversation with his lawyers before the trial started.
Kidd was shocked to find out at the trial that he was being accused of murder and argued that Moore had been trying to stir up mutiny against him and that his death had actually been an accident.
Kidd overseeing a treasure burial. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
His body was placed in a gibbet at the mouth of the Thames to serve as a warning to anyone thinking about a career in piracy. It hung there for three years.
After his death, stories about his buried treasure spread far and wide. Could some still be out there?
At the other end of the scale, the youngest pirate was John King, who was aged between eight and 11 when he bargained for a spot on notorious pirate Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy’s ship.