Customer Reviews

Captain Kidd and the War against the Pirates

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It is ironic that Captain Kidd is one of the most famous pirates of all time considering that he was probably one of the worst and most unlucky pirate of them all. This book chronicles the adventures of those most "notorious of pirates" and gives an excellent account of the times that came to be known as the Golden Age of Piracy from about 1695-1730. Here are found names like Edward Teach, or Blackbeard as he is better known, Bartholomew Roberts, Edward England, and their ilk. Armed with tales of hidden treasure and cold steel cutlasses, Robert Ritchie weaves a wonderful tale of the time of the pirates as they plundered shipping and coastal towns from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean in search of excitement and riches. The book focuses on the exploits of William Kidd, a man hired as a pirate hunter in a time when crime on the high seas was taking its toll on an emerging global commerce. Kidd is a poor pirate hunter, but when his crew evetually threatens to mutiny, he is forced to turn to piracy himself. We see Kidd slowly spiral into oblivion as his crew and his life are pulled into the blackest depths of self-destruction. Kidd is finally captured by treachery and put on trial as a scapegoat for the financial ruin and embarrassment he has caused his secret aristocratic backers; made the victim of a conspiracy gone awry. This is a great book on a fascinating subject that has too often been shrouded in myth.

Robert C. Ritchie's "Captain Kidd and the War Against the Pirates" is definitely a classic text on pirate history, fundamental for those interested in serious investigation on the theme. It deals with the chapter known as "The Pirate Round", when some pirate captains decided to abandon the Caribbean and search for plunder in the Indian Ocean. They were specially looking for the Muslim Fleets that travelled to Mecca in pilgrimage, with huge treasures and just a few soldiers. Some pirates achieved ever-lasting fame when they plundered the Muslims, the most notorious were Henry Avery and Thomas Tew. Captain William Kidd was sent in a special mission to supress piracy and ended up becoming a pirate himself. Professor Ritchie has accomplished the impossible when he wrote the biography of Captain Kidd, since pirates are obscure figures in history and all the facts known about them has to be uncovered and separated from thousands of myths. This is an accurate biography of one of the most notorious pirates, were the myth and the reality are well stablished and separated. It also provides an excellent description of the maritime world of the time, the East India Company and the political intrigues in the British Parliament that led to the hanging of Captain Kidd in 1701. It is definitely one of the most useful books in pirate history.

Professor Ritchie's book is extensively researched, reads like a novel, and gives the reader a complete sense of the farce of a pirate we all know as Capt. Kidd. I found the book to be invaluable to understanding any pirate or sailor of the day.

The endnotes would lead you to believe this is just another popular pirate saga but it is actually much more. Ritchie actually tells a tale more concerned with the political, social, and economic realities of 17th century England than piracy and wayward ambition. His presentation is easily read, very well documented, and a bit shocking in its revelations of political corruption and backstabbing. Ritchie clearly possesses an impressive working knowledge of the source material available in the British Museum and the Colonial Office of which any scholar would be jealous. It is unfortunate that material is lacking to permit a better examination of Kidd's character and motivations and Dr Ritchie is often left to delve into the hazardous realm of speculation and supposition in this regard. Overall, however, he deftly uses Captain Kidd as a blank canvas while the overlaying picture he paints of merry olde England is what really makes the book worthwhile. PS-The more you read the better it gets.

Ritchie does an extremely able job of refocusing the story of Captain Kidd away from being a personal drama. Instead, he builds an image of the world where Kidd was one of many trying their luck at this (then) semi-legal trade. Piracy was the only place left for a sailor who loved the sea but not the navy.

As a reader, it was interesting to see Kidd transformed from the pirate figure of legend into a semi-competent adventurer who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in British history. Ritchie also provides a fascinating look at the 17th-18th century justice systems.

Ritchie is less of a writer than a historian, unfortunately. There were a number of places at the beginning of the book where I felt lost as to where he was trying to go. However, as another reader notes, this improves later on in the book.

Recommended for readers with a particular interest in pirates.

A scholarly treatment of the William Kidd case and times. The author switches back and forth between presenting biographical information about Captain Kidd and an evolution of the declining use of privateers and pirates as tools of foreign policy. The writing is smooth and well thought out, providing an entertaining read.

I found the information on the attitudes toward pirates during the late 17th and early 18th centuries interesting and chock full of little know tidbits. The biography of William Kidd was eventful and conforms with what I have read in other sources. The author takes the story from early accounts to Kidd's first appearance in the Caribbean to the arrival in New York and on through the fateful trip that sealed his fate. Ritchie uses the general information on the attitude toward pirates to reinforce the conclusion that Kidd was doomed from the moment he surrendered in New York, and to provide some insight into why Kidd did surrender.

My one complaint revolves around the author's conclusion that Kidd was actually guilty of piracy and should have been convicted. It is not that the author reaches that conclusion, after all the evidence can point to that conclusion, however, I had the feeling from the first page that the author's intent was to prove Kidd guilty. Casting off the guise of impartial historian that early in the book has to raise the question - has the author's attitude spilled over into the data presented? That said, it is important to read multiple views to get a better understanding of the history, and I did find this book to be both entertaining and informative.

For an alternate view of the William Kidd story try The Pirate Hunter by Richard Zacks. P-)

This is a very interesting and very readable account of the career of William Kidd a sea captain who found himself caught up in the larger political machinations of early 18th century Britain and the East India Company. In short, Kidd left London a privateer with papers giving him permission to give the French and their merchants as much trouble as possible and came back 5 years later as the English crown's public enemy number 1 accused of piracy and a host of other depredations. The book does a good job of tracking Kidd's voyages and unraveling some of the more confusing parts of the account of what happened during the trial and the disposition of Kidd's treasure. The author makes a strong case to the point that while Kidd was by no means completely innocent of what he was accused of, he was also very much a victim of the changing climate of the British Empire and the wider world of maritime trade. This book is highly readable account and is a great companion to Rediker's Villains of all Nations.

This book makes you hostage from start to finish Was the captain out on the seas in quest for something other than treasure You Decide Great read

This book makes you hostage from start to finish Was the captain out on the seas in quest for something other than treasure You Decide Great read

For any American interested in our thousand times billion dollar "defense" budgets, this book belongs with O'Connell's SACRED VESSELS and Hagan's THIS PEOPLE'S NAVY, to which it is a prequel. Contradicting the dogmas of big ship navalism, Professor Ritchie's swashbuckling subject and informative style conceal the extent to which his brilliantly researched facts demolish orthodox "naval history." His opening view of maritime conflict through the ages documents the case that capital ships--though very costly--never won wars. Over time it was the raiding commerce- hunters of history who did. [A role to be assumed by 20th century submariners in 'War I and II.] He then tells us how the eponymous Kidd and his fellow entrepreneurs were betrayed by an emerging commercial establishment, with its national navies, who hated such successful competition and the unique seagoing democracy which made it work so well for so long.