Transcripts For CSPAN2 Daphne 20240706

Takes you behind the scenes of the Nonfiction Book Publishing Industry with insider interviews. Find all the podcasts by downloading the free app wherever you get your podcast and on the website. Im happy to welcome those of you that have made it in person as well as those joining online. We have a Great Program this evening. One of the most notorious pirates. Secretly aided and abetted her husband fighting alongside him and accusers and more remarkably still went on to live a successful and productive liferk as one of the most predominant. Telling the story is historian, journalist and author. She holds a doctoraten and masters as well as a masters in Business Administration from George Washington university. She spent the last 15 years conducting research on pilots and their wives and archives, washington, new york, rhode island and massachusetts from the Massachusetts Historical Society anyone who might be joining us forst the first time. We have been collecting and preserving and making accessible the history of massachusetts in america. We maintain a fabulous Research Library that has a collection of close to 14 million manuscript pages and these include mothers, soldiers, artists, activists as well as u. S. President s. We make the collection available to the public for free and host a wide variety such as this evenings. The Program Season is wrapping up for the year but we still have a couple of programs left. Next monday we will host our film club discussing the film good will hunting and we will be joined by the former Deputy Director of the Massachusetts Film Office and next wednesday we will host the legacy of slavery and American Family with carrie from Tufts University we hope you will also support by becoming a member so without further ado please welcome our speaker this evening. [applause] thank you all. For coming. Its such a treat to be here in this beautiful space. I found the massachusettsts Historical Society resources to be of great help in my research and id like to thank everyone on the staff who maintain this valuable. Im grateful to speak about a book ive been working on for many years. Its the first ever direct account of the life of sarah kid the wife of the notorious pirate captain william kidd. She lived a long life and im going to give you a glimpse and do a reading from my book. I hope you all will find her to be as interesting and remarkable as her famous husband. Generations of readers the world over have known the story of captain william kidd the noble sea captain and privateer who turned ruthless pirates. The history of the golden ages. In which she played an outside part is replete with many stripes who wasted the merchant vessels bound for the west indies, west africa and north america. The story is particularly striking. In 1699, captain kidd became the subject of a deadly political scandal involving top officials on both sides of the atlantic including the king of england. There was a worldwide chase individual conviction and execution at the hands of colonial officials who may have been complicit in the darkest acts of piracy. It was a drama laced with lies, secrets, doubledealing, betrayal and buried treasure. Its been across the centuries in print, on stage, on screen, video games and even an epic ballot but our understanding of the legend is incomplete. What is largely unknown is that he had a partner and an accomplice ace behind the scenes player who enabled his plundering and helped him outpace his enemies. This accomplice was his wife the english born young well to do new york socialite whose extraordinary life is a lesson in reinvention and resourcefulness. Sarah was running a business in the seaport when she met captain kidd. The encounter set off a romance that often operated outside of the law while plundering the high seas, sarah was pirating in her own way within the confines of Society Working to ensure her husband never got caught and at the location of his buried Treasure State secret with bold determination to survive and protect her husband, sarah secretly aided and abetted her husband fighting alongside him against his accusers. The most impressive part is even after he was put to death for his crime, sarah remained in incredibly beloved figure securing the life of herself and for her family. Sarah knew how to persuade and hustle and found a way to ensure her future and protect her family but for more than 300 years the story has been all but erased from history. My journey into the world of pirates began in 2002 when i was commissioned by the New York Times to write a freelance piece for the Museum Special section about the museum in provincetown cape cod. The museum contained the artifacts recovered after a crash off the coast of cape cod in 1717. Prior to writing this article i didnt know much about pirates. Except what i had read in books and seen in movies. I thought all had a pet. [laughter] like Long John Silver and Robert Louis Stevensons Treasure Island or look like the handsome and 1935 movie or more recently walked, talked and were eyeshadow like jack sparrow in the movies pirates of the caribbean. Looking at the everyday artifacts recovered from the pirate ship silver coins, cutlery, pewter plates, the teapot with a shoulder blade of a pirate, pistols, navigational instruments, medical supplies and evena a size five shoe stocking i realized that these mythological figures were mere ordinary men the legend of the captain and his Love Interest told me pirates had connections on land, they had families and Community Links that we dont think much about. As i was researching my dissertation turned previous book, the pirate next door, the untold story of 18th century pirates wives, families and mmunities, i kept encountering evidence of a mysterious woman who seemedddly on the periphery of the story of the notorious captain even the influential and authoritative early source book on pirates called it g general history of e robberies and murders of the most notorious pirates by Charles Johnson and it didnt include sarah in the chapter on captain kidd. She was alive at the time the book was published in london in 1724 and it would have been possible for the offer to interview her or people who knew her. Finding the initials scratched on a colonial document and archive in boston started me on a thrilling journey. I wanted to know more about her. I would soon learn her initials marked the spot where love and law divide. Women left little record of their affairs most including sarah could not write. Men owned all the property and exercised most of the rights of the time. I read the contextual history of pirates and of the time period to turn the political, economic and cultural friends that shaped her life. Imi was able to find some important primary sources such as her petition to the governor of new york and massachusetts lord belmont to regain the property and i also found her last will t and testament. The sources that i relied on were handwritten and i transcribed over 250 of them to make them easier to work with. Including those in new york, boston andde rhode island. I traced the steps especially where she spent most of her life. I also found great resources in the papers at the National Archives in london. I founde a rich cache of lettes that were in the sea chest when it was captured by a british privateer in 1699. The letters were in the pirates mailbag and contained a few letters from the crewmen aboard the galley. They are dated from 1695 to 1699 and showed the correspondence wasos conducted thousands of mis across the globe between the indian ocean pirates and north american colonists and they were successful direct communications between new york and madagascar are and back again. No letters from sarah or the captain were among these letters and nonene have survived but the is every likelihood that they communicated during the three year voyage through the mail service located on Ascension Island a remote outpost in the atlantic. New york merchant captains stopped for fresh supplies of turtle meat and dropped off and collected the mail left under a rock with a hole in it near the harbor. Ma this letter was especially informative. She wrote june 5th, 1698 and told her husband, quote, we hear abundance concerning you. This meant the word had spread from port to port and ship to ship and that there was trouble aboard the adventure galley. At that trouble we would later learn was murder, mutiny and piracy. To further understand the Maritime World i attended a workshop at the National Archives in london and conducted research with scholars from papers project at the National Archives with the university of wittenberg and germany and open documents captured by the british in war time in the 1,718th century. I examined the trial records, depositions, personal correspondence, cargo inventories and even a mariners personal f journal the manuscrit room at the library was a terrific resource and the own recorded statements gave strong evidence of his love and devotion. Archivists and other historians were enthusiastic and helpful during the research cavalier king charles spaniel named for jeremiah higgins. Here he is inspecting the galleys. There are nono contemporary paintings. She cant be seen that way but in 1911, the artist created this painting in new york harbor. The attractive beautifully dressed Woman Holding the captains hand on the deck of his ship is an interesting rendition of a woman whose captured the attention. As lovely and accomplished and the woman inn this painting is certainly lovely the historically accurate depiction of the entire period and what he would have one as a successful sea captain. His gesture towards his lovely visitor and warm glass of her hand with the charming demeanor he was known to display. We didnt knowah the story of sarah and captain kidd. There is coincidentally some historical semblance of truth. Born around 1670, the future arrived in new york from england with her father and two brothers when she was 14yearsold. A much older wealthy merchant named william cox when he died tragically for years later in 1699, sarah was 19yearsold and did what any woman would do at that time. She married again. She married age wellrespected gentleman with whom she began an acquaintance. Considered one of the most eligible and sought after women in new york when she married two days after her second husbands death. So soon after the demise they were stellar members of polite new york society and they were new yorks power couple. The sea captain who spoke with a hint was one of the most respected men in manhattan and was a celebrated war hero and sought after privateer to plunder and sees enemy ships. He was a legal pirates. During the wartime the resources were stretched to the limit and privateers were extra hired hands who owned their own vessel and served as an auxiliary to englands navy. A privateers assignment as detailed in a document called the f marque and reprisal. He had investors and captured prizes and cargo shared for his investors. There was sometimes a fine line between a legal privateer and outlaw pirate. Beyond the reach of the authorities turned to avoid having to share. There were other reasons. An attractive alternative for some especially those with wives and families because they lived in a highly civilized democratic society. They were well paid when the going was good and treated fairly. Each had to sign his name or if he could not write he left his mark with amex and this was to show he joined the crew of the pirate ship. With that commitment to be true to his brother and up the coast each had an equal vote and most were given an equal share. There was a form of health insurance, a form of Life Insurance and retirement benefits. The community was designed to support and maintain the relationships on land while they were at sea. If a pirate died in action his share was smuggled halfway around the world to be given to his family who was so much in need. It was a risky and dangerous choice but for some a married life and a short one was his motto. The wedding took place in manhattan on a a rainy saturday 1691. It was a day of high drama and grisly justice. England was at war with france, pirates were plundering the high seas and to traders the selfappointed governor were hung for treason in the public square. Was an event everyone turned out for and it was a source of entertainment. The stark contrast of the day, a love match and execution for shadow to the dark drama that would be their life together. Located on the corner of pearl andr hanover street and manhattan. The waterfront property faced the wall in the financial district of manhattan. Coincidentally, their home was just a few blocks from the offices of my publisher, Hanover Square press and imprint of harpercollins. 1692 she gave birth to a daughter, elizabeth and 1694 she had another daughter, little sarah. It was a social and bonding event where women looked after oneld another. Her babies would have been born at home in a separate area away from the main living quarters. Men were not involved in the birthing process so he would have been busy elsewhere it was the job of the women to act as midwives and special brewing plans were laid out. She would have used a stool as she progressed. In the early stages, she would have acted as the hostess. It was an old english tradition for mothers to serve a suite of nutritious baked good made of spices, rum, apples and carrots and to go with it, beer. [laughter] as they waited for the blessed moment, the women entertain themselves with gossip, jokes and stories. Eain 1696, captain kidd was givn a dream job, to privateering commissions from king william the third and some of the most important men in england were his investors including the newly appointed governor of new york and massachusetts. The complicated relationship would lead to the tragic downfall. His brandnew ship one that looks like this the adventure galley was a 280ton worship. It was ayb hybrid ship called te galley. His job was to hunt and rib the scenes of pirates who disrupted hiinternational trade. His commissions were for one year. The voyage led toti frustration individually turned to piracy. Turning from privateer to pirate she and their daughters spent time on the pirate ship and sarah helped him hide his stolen treasure. She was arrested and imprisoned with him in boston. Once released, sarah helped construct the narrative. And even to help plot and escape. After executed in 1701, sarah lived another 40 years. She reinvented herself and managed to go from one house back to a high society socialite. She secured her familieses inheritance, remarried, had more children and lived the rest of her life as a prominent respectable citizen and learned how to write her name. A rare example of the kind of life pirates wives lived during the gilded age of piracy. Hers is a tale about love, marriage, motherhood and survival. Sf her life and particularly transformation from new york socialite to a stateless outlaw sheds light on the political, economic and cultural events of the 17th and 18th centuries. From her we learn about the economic hardships, the political repercussions of piracy, the effect of war on the colonies, the businesss of slavery. Her life till they brought a story about certain women were able to assert their will and reclaim their Agency Within the colonial america. She lived through seven british monarchs, 21 new york governors and experienced firsthand the golden age of piracy. She survived for husbands and three of her five adult children. The pirates wife the remarkable true story of sarah cast from a diabolical pirate who tried to please his investors and protect his wife and family but not one with a black h heart. The initials scratched on a few documents gave clues to her assistance. These bolda pen strokes reveal a history that we have only imagined the dangerous, difficult and thrilling life of a pirates wife. They shed light onyo a young colonial woman caught up in a world of politics, passion and grisly 18th century justice. The unknown sk is finally identified. [applause] id like to close by reading a passage from the pirates wife. She lay in a weakened estate in the bedroom of her manhattan mansion. A highly contentious legal disease raged through the colonies striking young and old, rich and poor, black and why it. It was september 12th, 1744 and the 74yearold sarah had first taken to her bed to get warm under the soft quilts and to rest her head on the pillows. Then the chills, fever and fatigue set in. She was nearly certain she contracted the deadly disease everyone called diphtheria. As a precaution she asked her family and friends to stay at a safe distance. She arranged for soft food and a tsoothing drink made from the medicinal herbs in her garden to be left outside of her bedroom door. Her mind wandered and the fever induced haze she closed her eyes and remembered herself in another time and place. She was a young woman with her husband on his pirate ship a vessel laden with gold, silver and jewels. As his closest confidant she learned he buried some of his stolen treasure for safekeeping and described to her where its was hidden. She wasnt to tell a soul. For more than 40 years since his death in 1701, the pirates wife kept the secrets is safe not en her five children knew. She did not identify elsewhere. She worried about the consequences of her children were caught with stolen pirate flute. Her strong instincts told her it was best to leave well enough alone and as she fought back not all of her memories were fond ones. Especially the time when she was the pirates wife but the memory of the hardships and heartbreakr had softened and she wouldnt have traded it for anything. She felt proud to have been a pirates wife and she wore the title as a badge of honor. She repeated a prayer as her condition worsened. Have mercy on my soul and pardon and forgive me all my sins and opens his so that ima after this miserable life arrive with our savior, jesus christ. She became delirious from the fever and shook uncontrollably. The thought of the secret weight oncr her as the secrets often d. As she prayed for forgiveness she may have thought it was time to identify elsewhere. It wasnt long before she developed a sore throat that felt like a razor when she swallowed. It hurt so much she could only whisper. Her daughter peeked through to check on sarah the once vigorous woman now appeared very small among the furnishings and tasseled curtains. She looked pale in her clothes and so frail on her side facing the door. Elizabeth saw her mothers lips moving but she couldnt hear her. She strained to hear what she might be whispering. She called for her brothers who had stepped outside on the front stoop. The cry of the seagulls seemed to signal the alarm. Elizabeth told them to hurry. Each took a turn at the keyhole lookingg and listening. The breathing was loud and strained as she gasped for air the three of them looked at each other with tears in their eyes when the room fell silent. There wasnt a sound not even a whisper. For over 300 years, Treasure Hunters scoured the north american eastern seaboard trying to find where elsewhere is. That secret is with her buried in the churchyard of Trinity Church hill wall street in manhattan. Thank you. [applause] [inaudible] there is no evidence of how he died or where he died so it is suspect because she only married him two days later but there was no evidence to support that they did whatn they didnt because they were such stellar members no one ever launched an investigation. She was released from jail because the governor couldnt find a reason to keep her there. It wasnt because of the connections in high society. It was simply he couldnt hold her there any longer. [inaudible] over 80 pirates had wives which is new to me and i think it is new to the literature because peoplele dont think tht pirates have wives so that is one of the biggest takes from my research did you get to meet them . Not that i know of. I was hoping i could interview somebody. [inaudible] when i learned it i was very surprised because peoplele dont think of pirates as very smart but they think of them as kind the low life of society but the structure of the community is so sophisticated and fair that i kind of admire it the fact thatra there is a golden ae of piracy is a foreign concept to me. Where were these communities . Are they that common . It seems like an amazing thing so thats why i am mystified. There were certain colonies that were pirate havens. Of madagascar car was a very big one and in the caribbean there was also a pirate haven. Benjamin fletcher allowed them in for various reasons hoping to increase the economic benefits because the colony was in bad shape due to the war with france so he allowed them to come in and served a benefit to the colony because at the time they were experiencing strong trade restrictions that were authorized by the authorities in london. They were called at the navigation acts and what it meant was that they had to send their goods from the colonies first to england and ascend to the other places around the world which was very time consuming and expensive so it was bad for business for the merchants the economy was suffering and there was a shortage of gold and silver coins. There were bags and bags of stolen loot so it was good for the economy but they also brought in exotic goods from the other parts of the world and they could sell it to the merchants at a rockbottom price and then they would develop because they could build homes and startt businesses so it was an economic benefit for pirates to be in the colonies any certain time. [inaudible] they were not part ofs the grou. She was able to reclaim the inheritance. Can you speak more about how she accomplished this . That is one of my favorite questions because after he was tried and convicted and executed, sarah lost everything. All her belongings were taken from her and she was a social outcast and was destitute. It was later when she restored sarah to her rightful place and that happened many years after captain kidd died. Did that answer your question . [inaudible] thats another really good question. What interested me is first i couldnt identify her. She was referred to by two colonial governors and the first one said in a letter to the authorities that he may be available for a local private during the voyage but he took many h smaller ones. Throughout that i thought who is this. So that started me to wonder who she was. I didnt know the names and it wasnt until i found her in the massachusetts state archive on the petition and of the piece i showed you where i found her initials that i was really taken to learn more about her. The archivist in the archives was so kind and let me hold the document and for a second touch her initials. I could feel how she had scratched intome the document ad as you saw her letters were labored and its hard for her to move the pen. I thought shes working so hard to make herself visible and there she is. There was her name and i thought i need to know more about her. [inaudible] [applause]