Adventure Galley
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Adventure Galley'', also known as ''Adventure'', was an English
merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...
captained by Scottish sea captain
William Kidd William Kidd (c. 1645 – 23 May 1701), also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd, was a Scottish-American privateer. Conflicting accounts exist regarding his early life, but he was likely born in Dundee and later settled in N ...
. She was a type of hybrid ship that combined
square rig Square rig is a generic type of sail plan, sail and rigging arrangement in which a sailing ship, sailing vessel's primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spar (sailing), spars that are perpendicular (or wikt:square#Adjective, square) to t ...
ged sails with oars to give her manoeuvrability in both windy and calm conditions. The vessel was launched at the end of 1695 and was acquired by Kidd the following year to serve in his privateering venture. Between April 1696 and April 1698, she travelled thousands of miles across the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
and
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
s in search of pirates but failed to find any until nearly the end of her travels. Instead, Kidd himself turned pirate in desperation at not having obtained any prizes. ''Adventure Galley'' succeeded in capturing two vessels off
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and brought them back to
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, but by the spring of 1698 the ship's hull had become so rotten and leaky that she was no longer seaworthy. She was stripped of anything movable and sunk off the north-eastern coast of Madagascar. Her remains have not yet been located.


Design and purchase

The vessel was acquired for Kidd by a consortium of investors who backed a scheme to hunt down pirates, recover their booty and redistribute it among the investors. He had enlisted the support of
Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont (1636 – 5 March 1700/01In the Julian calendar, then in use in England, the year began on 25 March. To avoid confusion with dates in the Gregorian calendar, then in use in other parts of Europe, d ...
and governor-general of the British
Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...
and the ambitious Robert Livingston the Younger, who later became the mayor of
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
. With Coote's backing, Kidd obtained a commission from King William III to operate as a privateer. The other investors who came aboard the scheme after it met with the king's approval were the
Earl of Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere, 1st Earl of Oxford, Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. De Vere family, His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half cen ...
, the Earl of Romney, the Duke of Shrewsbury, the
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
, Sir Edmund Harrison and John Somers. The king himself was not an investor but was nonetheless entitled to one tenth of the proceeds. The vessel was purchased for £8,000 (£ today) in August 1696. Donnelly, p. 10 She had been launched on 4 December 1695 from Captain William Castle's dockyard in
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
on the outskirts of
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Graham, p. 106 Her design combined sails and oars, an unusual combination for warships at that time, that incorporated three ship-rigged masts and two banks of oars. This allowed her to make under full sail and under oar. Although rowing was slow it enabled the ship to manoeuvre against the wind, or in calm conditions where other vessels that relied on sails alone could not make any progress. A number of British warships had been built to similar designs following the lessons learned from the wars against the
Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...
of
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
, whose galleys had proved formidable opponents, and trading companies such as the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
(EIC) also built oared frigates. Castle's yard, where ''Adventure Galley'' was built, was one of the largest private shipyards in England and was a supplier of vessels to the EIC. ''Adventure Galley'' was well-armed with a complement of 32 guns (
saker Saker may refer to: * Saker falcon (''Falco cherrug''), a species of falcon * Saker (cannon), a type of cannon * Saker Baptist College, an all-girls secondary school in Limbe, Cameroon * Grupo Saker-Ti, a Guatemalan writers group formed in 1947 * C ...
or light
cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...
). It is not clear whether she was in fact a new vessel or had originally been intended for the navy; she may have been a commercial vessel under refit at Castle's yard before she was acquired by Kidd's consortium. She does not appear to have been particularly well-built, to judge from the problems that Kidd faced with her seaworthiness during her short career in his service. It was not uncommon for shipyards to cut corners and use sub-standard materials, and to pocket the difference in costs as extra profit. Graham, p. 107 Although no picture has survived of ''Adventure Galley'', HMS ''Charles Galley'', which was recorded in contemporary paintings, provides a good example of how the English adapted the oared frigate design for warfare.


Voyages of ''Adventure Galley''

After leaving Deptford on 6 April 1696, Kidd brought ''Adventure Galley'' along the coast to
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
in south-western England. He set sail from there on 23 April, bound for New York, and reached the city around 4 July. The ship was accompanied by a French fishing vessel that Kidd captured during the Atlantic crossing. He had the French boat condemned in New York as
prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.
, and recruited more crewmen and set sail again on 6 September, heading for the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. ''Adventure Galley'' called at
Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
(reached on 8 October) and
Boa Vista, Cape Verde Boa Vista (Portuguese language, Portuguese for "good view"), sometimes incorrectly spelled Boavista, is a desert-like island that belongs to the Cape Verde Islands. At , it is the third largest island of the Cape Verde archipelago. The island of ...
(on 19 October) to pick up supplies ''en route''. Kidd's Narrative, p. 82 The long voyage down the western coast of Africa and around the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
took the rest of the year and it was not until 27 January 1697 that ''Adventure Galley'' made landfall at Tuléar (now
Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in southern Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of the national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name ...
),
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. By this time ''Adventure Galley'' was in need of fresh sail and rigging. The fact that the ship's existing supplies had barely lasted eight months suggests that the dockyard may have installed substandard equipment. After staying a month in Tuléar, ''Adventure Galley'' sailed on to Johanna (now
Anjouan Anjouan () is an autonomous volcanic island in the Comoro Islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, part of the Comoros, Union of the Comoros. It is known in Comorian languages, Shikomori as Ndzuani, Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and, until the early twentie ...
) in the
Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...
on 18 March, where East India Company ships often refitted. However, Kidd was unable to obtain credit from local merchants to buy new rigging or sails, and chose instead to take ''Adventure Galley'' to another island – either
Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...
or Mohéli – for careening, to clean her hull of encrusted barnacles and weeds. This was accomplished successfully over the course of a month but up to a third of her crew died in an outbreak of an epidemic disease, possibly
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
or yellow fever. Kidd sailed back to Johanna to find replacement crewmen and this time was able to raise the credit for new sails and rigging. According to Kidd's testimony, he "steered for India" on 25 April 1697. By now he was a year out of London and had no prize money to show for his efforts. He had failed to find any pirates and turned his own hand to piracy. ''Adventure Galley'' did not go immediately to India but travelled to the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the mouth of the
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
, where she is said to have unsuccessfully tried to attack a Mughal convoy. In September 1697, ''Adventure Galley'' arrived on the
Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...
of India, where Kidd finally managed to capture two ships travelling under French passes – a pair of merchantmen, ''Rouparelle'' and ''Quedah Merchant''. Unfortunately for Kidd, the latter ship was captained by an Englishman and when news of her capture reached London he was publicly condemned as a pirate. ''Adventure Galley'' next and final stage of her voyage took her to the Île Sainte-Marie, a pirate haven off the north-east coast of Madagascar. By now, according to Kidd's narrative, "his gally was very leaky", probably because of a rotten hull. The ship arrived there about 1 April, accompanied by the ''Rouparelle'' (renamed ''November'') and ''Quedah Merchant'' (renamed ''Adventure Prize''). On arrival, most of the crew promptly deserted to another pirate captain, Robert Culliford and sank ''November''. Kidd was left with only thirteen men to crew ''Adventure Prize'' and the now-unseaworthy ''Adventure Galley''. According to one of her crew, William Jenkins, after the rest of the crew had deserted Kidd "run ''Adventure Galley'' on shoar in Madagascar. They stript her furnishings and set her on fire to get her iron worke." This is contradicted by Kidd's own account, which stated that his skeleton crew "could not keep the galley from sinking, and went on board of the prize .e. ''Quedah Merchant''" No more is currently known about the ship's fate and last position. The
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...
commissioned Barry Clifford, a well-known underwater explorer, to find ''Adventure Galley'' as part of its "Quest" series in 1999–2000. He identified what were believed to be the wrecks of ''Adventure Galley'' and ''Rouparelle/November'', as well as Culliford's ''Mocha Frigate'', William Condon's ''Flying Dragon'' and Captain Chivers' ''New Soldado''. Excavations recovered timbers made from English oak and a few scanty artifacts which were identified by Clifford as coming from ''Adventure Galley''. In 2015, Clifford recovered a metal bar from the site, which was marked with the letters S and T and was claimed to be made of silver. The accuracy of Clifford's conclusions about the wrecks remain debated in the scientific community. A
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
expert team subsequently rejected Clifford's conclusions, declaring the apparent shipwreck site to be only a broken part of the port constructions and identifying the metal bar as being 95% lead and probably a piece of ballast.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{Pirates Pirate ships Shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean Privateer ships of England 1690s ships Ships built in Deptford 1999 archaeological discoveries William Kidd Galleys