The EIC's Forgotten Pirate: Captain Kidd's Secret Mission

In this episode, Lucas and Luna uncover the strange and tragic story of Captain William Kidd—not the romantic pirate of legend, but a privateer commissioned by the East India Company and the Crown to hunt pirates in the Indian Ocean. They explore how Kidd's mission went catastrophically wrong, leading him to turn pirate himself, and how his capture and execution became a propaganda tool for the Company. Along the way, they touch on the politics of privateering, the corruption of colonial governors, and the fragile line between legal plunder and outright piracy. The episode follows Kidd from his departure from England in 1696 aboard the Adventure Galley, through his fateful attack on the Quedagh Merchant, to his trial and hanging in London in 1701. Specific names and places include: Richard Coote (Lord Bellomont), the Quedagh Merchant, Robert Culliford, the Adventure Galley, St. Mary's Island, and the Indian Ocean piracy network. A fresh angle on the EIC's early maritime enforcement and its shadowy dealings. #CaptainKidd #Piracy #EastIndiaCompany #AdventureGalley #QuedaghMerchant #LordBellomont #RobertCulliford #IndianOcean #Madagascar #StMarysIsland #Privateer #1690s #WilliamIII #ExecutionDock #MaritimeHistory #ColonialHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo