cover of episode 198. The Pirate Trial of the Century

198. The Pirate Trial of the Century

2024/10/29
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Empire

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Anita
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William
一位在UCSF从事生物化学和分子生物学研究的科学家。
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William: 我认为威廉·基德是一个被卷入权力斗争的无辜之人,他被叛变的船员逼上了绝路。他最初是奉命追捕海盗的私掠船长,但由于各种原因,他未能完成任务,船员们开始不满。在一次冲突中,他杀死了船员威廉·摩尔,这成为了他走向海盗之路的转折点。此后,他袭击了多艘船只,其中包括东印度公司的船只,这使他与东印度公司和英国政府结怨。他试图通过获得官方支持来洗脱罪名,但最终失败了。在马达加斯加,他的船员再次叛变,他失去了船只和大部分财宝。他试图逃回美国,但最终被捕并送回英国受审。在审判中,他始终否认自己是海盗,但他的船员们都作证指控他。最终,他被判处死刑并被处决。尽管他的行为确实触犯了法律,但我认为他的遭遇是权力斗争和背叛的牺牲品。 Anita: 我认为威廉·基德是一个蓄意为恶的海盗,他杀害了船员,袭击了商船,并残酷地折磨了俘虏。他最初是私掠船长,但很快便背叛了英国政府,开始为自己的利益而行动。他袭击莫卧儿船只的行为严重触犯了东印度公司的利益,这使得他成为英国政府和东印度公司的眼中钉。他杀害威廉·摩尔的行为表明他是一个冷酷无情的人,而他随后对船只和船员的袭击则进一步证明了他的罪行。他试图通过贿赂来逃脱惩罚,但这最终失败了。在审判中,他虽然否认自己是海盗,但证据确凿地证明了他的罪行。他最终被判处死刑并被处决,这是他罪有应得的下场。

Deep Dive

Chapters
This chapter explores the early life of William Kidd, his transition from privateer to pirate, and the various accounts of his actions. It examines the pressures he faced, including a mutinous crew and the lack of pirate activity in the Indian Ocean, and the conflicting narratives surrounding his violent acts and his motives.
  • William Kidd's career transition from privateer to pirate.
  • The mutiny on Kidd's ship and the killing of William Moore.
  • Accusations of Kidd attacking Mughal vessels and the political implications.
  • Conflicting accounts of Kidd's actions and the challenges of historical interpretation.

Shownotes Transcript

William Kidd, a respectable Scottish privateer during the late 17th century, tasked with hunting down pirates on the orders of a murky cabal of British aristocrats, but with the crown’s blessing, finds himself and his crew frustrated by the absence of pirates in the waters off Madagascar during October 1696. With mutiny brewing on his ship The Adventure, Kidd - ever mercurial in his willingness to abandon the law - brutally killed one of his crew with a bucket, before attacking an apparently French Trading vessel captained by an Englishman - illegally. From that point onwards Kidd went rogue, attacking vessels hither and thither, drubbing and torturing as he went, or so the stories say… So, was Kidd really a devious, thieving pirate, whose innocence was but a calculated ruse, or a truly blameless man, caught up in powers and intrigues above his head, and pushed to the brink by a traitorous mutiny? 

Join William and Anita as they discuss William Kidd’s burgeoning pirating career and his turn to the dark side: his spate of violent pillaging, his time on the run from the British government and the famous treasure hoards he buried along the way; culminating in the most famous trial of the century, and a gibbet on Execution Dock….

To buy William's book: https://coles-books.co.uk/the-golden-road-by-william-dalrymple-signed-edition)

Twitter: @Empirepoduk

Email: [email protected]

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Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett

Producer: Callum Hill

Exec Producer: Neil Fearn

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