Captain Kidd review

Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal by Samuel Marquis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Who hasn’t heard of Captain Kidd? His name is forever associated with murder and piracy, for which he is hanged (twice) after a trial of the century. A fitting end to a pirate, and a just one according to the law. But what if this simplistic recounting only tells a small part of the story and is viewed only through the eyes of those who had a specific end goal in mind – one that included making William Kidd a scapegoat?

Instead of beginning with Kidd’s birth and early years, Marquis opens with a declaration of war in 1689. Thirty-four-year-old Kidd, and seven compatriots, including Robert Culliford, serve aboard a French privateer. Sooner or later, it will become an “us against them” situation, so the Englishmen stage a mutiny. This seizure and subsequent events in the Caribbean set Kidd on a path that eventually elevates his standing within society and takes him to New York, where he weds the love of his life, Sarah. The way proves rockier than expected, for not all of his fellow mutineers agree with his intentions. They are also jealous because he has what they do not. One night, Culliford and others steal his ship and his hard-earned wealth and go a-pirating.

Despite such setbacks, Kidd lands on his feet and helps put down a rebellion in New York, attends a beheading on his wedding day, becomes a successful and respected merchant sea captain, and dotes on his two daughters. His acquaintance with Robert Livingston, a prosperous merchant with connections in the Red Sea trade, nets Kidd an offer of a pirate-hunting expedition while visiting London. The more he learns, the less successful the venture seems, but he is among powerful men who know how to get what they want no matter what. As a result, Kidd becomes captain of Adventure Galley. Soon after he and his men set sail, trouble begins and it proves to be only the start. Before long, he is declared a pirate, even though he steadfastly refuses to cross that line. Later, while his backers and men like Culliford go free, he pays the ultimate price.

The book begins with short biographies of the historical players connected to Kidd, either in principal or peripheral ways. Covering the years 1689 through 1701, these include New Yorkers, royal governors, monarchs, government officials in both England and India, naval officers, privateers, pirates, and pirate associates. The book includes three maps. Two show the West Indies, the Indian Ocean, and Madagascar. The third map depicts Kidd’s outbound and return voyages between 1696 and 1699.

Marquis divides Kidd’s story into five segments: The Making of a Sea Captain, The New York Gent and King’s Pirate Hunter, The Fateful Voyage, Treasure Fever, and The Trial of the Century. Each of these contains three to six chapters.

There are two drawbacks to this book, especially for those wishing to use it for research. The first is that there is no index. This means one must either be familiar with Kidd’s story enough to know approximately where in the book to look for the information or read the book from cover to cover in hopes of finding the sought-after information. The second involves the endnotes and bibliography. I am told these appear in the ebook version, but those who purchase the hardback must go online to acquire a PDF of the source(s) Marquis consulted. Sometimes, an endnote is a simple citation. Other times, a single sentence in the narrative may include multiple citations, which makes it difficult to know which source provides which information. In his acknowledgements, Marquis describes this book as “a scholarly work.” (354) While he relies predominantly on primary sources, with some reputable secondary sources, this is not a book written for scholars because of these omissions. Instead, the primary audience is lay readers, who will find a wealth of information about Kidd and others here. Whether they concur with Marquis’s conclusions or not will be up to each individual.

Marquis’s gift of storytelling shines through in this biography of his ninth-great-grandfather. He breathes life into Kidd, so readers see him as he is rather than as how propaganda, history, and myth portray him. Many historical persons intersect Kidd’s path, but throughout the narrative Marquis keeps the focus on Kidd, interspersing relevant details about others where the information is relevant. As fiction is separated from fact, Kidd’s complexity emerges complete with foibles and virtues.


(This review originally was posted at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/adult-bio-...)



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