Pirates in the Indian Ocean- Captain Kidd

Captain William Kidd was born in Greenock, Scotland in 1645. He moved to New York at the age of 5 and grew up in the bustling, nationally and ethnically diverse colony. He was even an active member of Trinity Church, near modern Wall Street.

He was captured an enemy privateer in the War of Grand Alliance and was given a commission to hunt pirates in the Indian Ocean. His ship Adventure Galley did not begin its voyage with class and polish. When they were exiting the channel in London, where they received their commission, they failed to salute a Navy Ship, instead jeering and slapping their backsides. They were consequently stopped by a larger Royal Navy ship and most of Kidd's crew was pressed into naval service.

Kidd Sailed for New York City, capturing a French vessel on his way. One thing that sets Kidd apart in history is that his second-in-command was a man named Van-der-Heul who may have been black.

In September of 1696 Kidd finally arrived in Madagascar and began hunting pirates. Kidd however is said to not have been very picky in who he attacked, several times attacking ships carrying goods to England under the protection of the Fleet of the British East India Company. He battled with mutinies and accusations of savagery by former crew members and prisoners alike.

Oh January 30, 1698 he raised French colors and attacked the Armenian Ship the Quedah Merchant a treasure ship laden with silks, gold, silver and east Indian merchandise. When word returned to England that he kept the ship for his crew it was seen as an act of open piracy and the government revoked his marque to privateer. He renamed the Quedah Merchant the Adventure Prize and sailed for New York City.

Kidd was sent to England and tried for piracy. He was hanged on May 23, 1701.

My name was Captain Kidd, when I sail'd, when I sail'd, And so wickedly I did, God's laws I did forbid, When I sail'd, when I sail'd. I roam'd from sound to sound, And many a ship I found, And then I sunk or burn'd, When I sail'd. I murder'd William Moore, And laid him in his gore, Not many leagues from shore, When I sail'd. Farewell to young and old, All jolly seamen bold, You're welcome to my gold, For I must die, I must die. Farewell to Lunnon town, The pretty girls all round, No pardon can be found, and I must die, I must die, Farewell, for I must die. Then to eternity, in hideous misery, I must lie, I must lie.

Pirates in the Caribbean- Stede Bonnet

Stede Bonnet is often referred to as "The Gentleman Pirate" turned to piracy later in life. A wealthy landowner, he had some militia experience as a young man but mostly lived high on the hog in Barbados for years. Unfortunately, his career as a planter was marked by failures and at the age of 29 he put together a ship and a crew and set his sights on brigandage. Caribbean

"There is also or has been lately over on the [North American] Coast, a pirate sloop from Barbados commanded by one Major Bonnet, who has an Estate on that island," Candler wrote his superiors in London in the summer of 1717. "The sloop is his own. This advice I had from a letter from thence, that in April last [1717] he ran away out of Carlisle Bay in the night and had aboard 126 men and 6 guns... and ammunition enough."

-Captain Benjamin Candler of the HMS Winchelsea

His ship, The Revenge, plied the coasts around Barbados and along the Eastern American Seaboard until he was seriously injured on his way to Nassau. In Nassau he met Blackbeard, and most of his crew defected to join Blackbeard's crew aboard Queen Anne's Revenge. For a time while he was recovering, Bonnet joined Blackbeard aboard his ship as a guest.

The next summer he set out again, this time as a privateer commissioned by the Governor of North Carolina to plunder Spanish shipping. He adopted the alias "Captain Thomas" and changed his ship's name to the Royal James. While the ship was being careened on the Cape Fear River, a group of pirate hunters from South Carolina led by Captain William Rhett captured Bonnet and his crew after a battle of a few hours.

Bonnet was hanged for two counts of piracy on December 10, 1718 in Charleston.

What Have Pirates Done For Me Lately? -Bicameral Legislature

The Pirate Utopia of Salé on the Moroccan coast was a truly independent state for decades in the 16th century. While the rest of North Africa was being carved up among the Ottomans and various Sufi princes, democracy of a kind was flourishing.

Salé was ruled by the Taiffe Reisi or Council of Captains and the Divan, which was populated by former commander-in-chiefs. Becoming a voting member of the legislature was as simple as staying alive long enough to rise through the ranks of corsairs. Every two months a new commander-in-chief, "Agha of Two Moons," took over as head of the corsair fleet. This gave an unprecedented level of opportunity to men who took up the vocation of corsair. A man, regardless of birth, could rise to the highest levels of government.

This form of government was the first democratic government after Greece and heavily influenced European Democracies that would follow it.

Modern Salé and Rabat