THE BALLAD OF CAPTAIN KIDD

Captain Kidd is well-known, but has a less well-known connection to Dundee. He was born here in 1645 and became a Privateer, given permission by the government to attack enemy ships.

Kidd was accused of being a pirate because he Kidd was accused of being a pirate because he murdered a member of his crew after an argument, and captured a protected Armenian ship. Kidd was arrested and tried. A lack of legal help and lost documents, along with his crew members bribed to testify against him meant he was found guilty and sentenced to death in 1701. Lost documents were later found, which could have helped him. helped him.

The ballad started life as a broadside at the time of the execution, which meant it was printed and made public. The tune became very popular in the colonies, and although it has changed slightly over time, is still the ‘first and truest fiction of Kidd’.