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May 25, 2011 Wednesday 9:41 AM EST
Real 'pirate of the Caribbean' was funded by London elite
By George Webster for CNN
London
Forget peg-legs, parrots and eye-patches -- the real pirates of the
Caribbean were much more complicated.
According to an eye-opening new exhibition near the bank of London's
river Thames, a number of Britain's most notorious buccaneers colluded
with high-profile politicians and businessmen during the "golden age"
of piracy in the 17th century.
"As Britain began to expand her empire, pirates could quite literally
be found walking the streets of London," said Tom Wareham, curator of
maritime and community history at the Museum of London Docklands. "It
was in this city that shady deals with mysterious and powerful
financial backers funded a great deal of piracy around the world."
The exhibition, titled "Pirates: The Captain Kidd Story," explores the
surprising truth of how London's corrupt political class was
entrenched in piracy, by examining the life of the controversial
swashbuckler.
Captain Kidd, as infamous as his bloodthirsty contemporary Blackbeard,
was hanged for piracy and the murder of a crew member at "Execution
Dock" on the Thames in 1701.
His body was covered in tar and dangled for years in an iron cage
above the river as a warning to wannabe corsairs.
But was he even guilty of any crime?
Vilified at the time as a cold-blooded killer and terror of the
high-seas from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, the exhibition
reveals that Kidd was in fact more of a puppet in the profit wars of
London's wealthiest elite.
"He was actually a privateer, a mercenary licensed by the government
to loot merchant ships flying the colors of England's enemies --
mainly France and Spain," explained Wareham.
According to Wareham, the practice was effectively a form of legitimate piracy.
Kidd was hired by a group of five leading government figures -- two
earls, two lords and the First Lord of the Admiralty -- in what was "a
particularly shady undertaking," said historian Angus Konstam, author
of several books on pirates, including "Piracy: The Complete History."
"They planned to ignore normal legislation governing privateering
contracts, and made their own unique deal, whereby they stood to gain
a fortune from Kidd's expertise as a privateer," Konstam said. "It was
an arrangement that stank of corruption."
Probably unknown to Kidd, however, was that his backers were rivals of
the powerful East India Company, the ruthless multinational
corporation that exported exotic goods from the Indian sub-continent.
When Kidd's activities in the East Indies, as it was then known,
threatened the East India Company's business interests, they secured
his downfall, said Wareham.
"After he attacked an Armenian merchant ship, the East India Company
pulled strings to have him arrested on the grounds that it was not a
legitimate target for a privateer -- even though it was sailing under
a French pass," he explained.
According to documents that form part of the exhibition, including his
personal notes and letters, Kidd was subjected to a sham trial in
which crucial reports proving his innocence mysteriously disappeared,
and he was barred from giving evidence.
"If abuse of power, lying in court, withholding evidence, bribing
trial witnesses and generally rigging a trial are evidence of
corruption, then the East India Company -- together with the Admiralty
-- were as corrupt as they come," concluded Konstam.
The exhibition includes Kidd's last letter, with a promise of hidden
treasure, the original inventory of all his plunder, and a genuine
pirate flag from the 17th century.
Wareham hopes that the display will resonate today because it
"illustrates the historical roots of the kind of corporate
exploitation we see today, as well as the double standards of
politicians," he said.
The curator is also keen that the exhibition, running until late
October, will help dispel some of the modern myths surrounding the
pirates of this "golden age."
"They have a bit of a bad rep in my view," Wareham said. "Many of them
were men who had been press-ganged into the navy during war-time, only
then to find themselves jobless when it was over. They didn't have
much else going for them and in many cases would have simply drifted
into a life of piracy."
But that's not the only modern misconception. Pirates in Captain
Kidd's time bore "almost no relation to our modern perception of
pirates," said Konstam, noting that everything we generally associate
with them was invented subsequently.
"You can't fault Robert Louis Stevenson for writing 'Treasure Island'
-- it remains one of the most enthralling children's books of all
time. However, he created treasure maps with 'X' marking the spot,
buried pirate treasure, and the black spot," Konstam said.
But surely some pirates were at least prone to impromptu cries of
"shiver me timbers?"
"No."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
May 25, 2011 Wednesday 9:41 AM EST
Real 'pirate of the Caribbean' was funded by London elite
By George Webster for CNN
London
Forget peg-legs, parrots and eye-patches -- the real pirates of the
Caribbean were much more complicated.
According to an eye-opening new exhibition near the bank of London's
river Thames, a number of Britain's most notorious buccaneers colluded
with high-profile politicians and businessmen during the "golden age"
of piracy in the 17th century.
"As Britain began to expand her empire, pirates could quite literally
be found walking the streets of London," said Tom Wareham, curator of
maritime and community history at the Museum of London Docklands. "It
was in this city that shady deals with mysterious and powerful
financial backers funded a great deal of piracy around the world."
The exhibition, titled "Pirates: The Captain Kidd Story," explores the
surprising truth of how London's corrupt political class was
entrenched in piracy, by examining the life of the controversial
swashbuckler.
Captain Kidd, as infamous as his bloodthirsty contemporary Blackbeard,
was hanged for piracy and the murder of a crew member at "Execution
Dock" on the Thames in 1701.
His body was covered in tar and dangled for years in an iron cage
above the river as a warning to wannabe corsairs.
But was he even guilty of any crime?
Vilified at the time as a cold-blooded killer and terror of the
high-seas from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, the exhibition
reveals that Kidd was in fact more of a puppet in the profit wars of
London's wealthiest elite.
"He was actually a privateer, a mercenary licensed by the government
to loot merchant ships flying the colors of England's enemies --
mainly France and Spain," explained Wareham.
According to Wareham, the practice was effectively a form of legitimate piracy.
Kidd was hired by a group of five leading government figures -- two
earls, two lords and the First Lord of the Admiralty -- in what was "a
particularly shady undertaking," said historian Angus Konstam, author
of several books on pirates, including "Piracy: The Complete History."
"They planned to ignore normal legislation governing privateering
contracts, and made their own unique deal, whereby they stood to gain
a fortune from Kidd's expertise as a privateer," Konstam said. "It was
an arrangement that stank of corruption."
Probably unknown to Kidd, however, was that his backers were rivals of
the powerful East India Company, the ruthless multinational
corporation that exported exotic goods from the Indian sub-continent.
When Kidd's activities in the East Indies, as it was then known,
threatened the East India Company's business interests, they secured
his downfall, said Wareham.
"After he attacked an Armenian merchant ship, the East India Company
pulled strings to have him arrested on the grounds that it was not a
legitimate target for a privateer -- even though it was sailing under
a French pass," he explained.
According to documents that form part of the exhibition, including his
personal notes and letters, Kidd was subjected to a sham trial in
which crucial reports proving his innocence mysteriously disappeared,
and he was barred from giving evidence.
"If abuse of power, lying in court, withholding evidence, bribing
trial witnesses and generally rigging a trial are evidence of
corruption, then the East India Company -- together with the Admiralty
-- were as corrupt as they come," concluded Konstam.
The exhibition includes Kidd's last letter, with a promise of hidden
treasure, the original inventory of all his plunder, and a genuine
pirate flag from the 17th century.
Wareham hopes that the display will resonate today because it
"illustrates the historical roots of the kind of corporate
exploitation we see today, as well as the double standards of
politicians," he said.
The curator is also keen that the exhibition, running until late
October, will help dispel some of the modern myths surrounding the
pirates of this "golden age."
"They have a bit of a bad rep in my view," Wareham said. "Many of them
were men who had been press-ganged into the navy during war-time, only
then to find themselves jobless when it was over. They didn't have
much else going for them and in many cases would have simply drifted
into a life of piracy."
But that's not the only modern misconception. Pirates in Captain
Kidd's time bore "almost no relation to our modern perception of
pirates," said Konstam, noting that everything we generally associate
with them was invented subsequently.
"You can't fault Robert Louis Stevenson for writing 'Treasure Island'
-- it remains one of the most enthralling children's books of all
time. However, he created treasure maps with 'X' marking the spot,
buried pirate treasure, and the black spot," Konstam said.
But surely some pirates were at least prone to impromptu cries of
"shiver me timbers?"
"No."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress