'My ancestor wasn't a pirate'

David Bateman • Published 24 Jun 2009 14:00

A GREENOCK man who claims to be an ancestor of an infamous pirate has joined a campaign to clear his name.

Captain William Kidd, below, has been known over the last three centuries as a notorious buccaneer famed for his acts of piracy and murder.

Now a campaign has been launched calling for a revised version of the Greenock-born sea-farer"s life. And it has been backed by a local man who claims to be his relative.

William Kidd Petersen, 85, of Gray Street, said: 'I would fully back the motion to clear my ancestor"s name.

'My uncle was informed by his grandfather that he was a descendent of William Kidd, who was born on Waverley Street and later moved to Jamaica Street.

'He then wrote a book about this, which details that Captain Kidd wasn"t a bad pirate. He was sent out to America by the government and accused because of incidents being interpreted wrongly.

'For instance, a row broke out on one of his ships and in the process a man was accidentally hit on the head with a bucket and died and Kidd was later tried for murder because of this.'

MSP Bill Kidd, who is no relation to the pirate, has lodged a motion appealing for the Scottish Parliament"s seal of approval to clear Captain Kidd"s name.

American researchers Dan Hamilton and Chris Macort provided the research which SNP man Bill Kidd is using to clear his namesake"s reputation.

The historians claim Kidd was set up by King William, who was trying to portray himself as a strong opponent to piracy while seeking the treasure Kidd had plundered.

They say Kidd was not the swashbuckling pirate figure he became known as, but was in fact a businessmen who travelled the seas transporting goods. Captain William Kidd refuted the allegations against him which saw him hanged in 1701, saying at his trial he was acting on behalf of King and country in looting ships outwith the British Empire.

Captain Kidd was the inspiration behind Robert Louis Stevenson"s classic novel Treasure Island. For centuries, people have searched the globe to find the resting place of a supposed hoard of treasure which Kidd indicated was present in treasure maps.

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This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 24 Jun 09

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