| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner | Coirgi |
| Fate | Sunk c. 1698 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 350 tons |
Quedagh Merchant (/ˈkwiːdɑː(x)/;Armenian:Քեդահյան վաճառականQedahyan Waćařakan), also known as theCara Merchant and theAdventure Prize,[1] was an Armenianmerchant vessel famously captured byScottishprivateerWilliam Kidd on 30 January 1698.
The ship was originally owned by a man named Coirgi, a French corruption of "Kurji", aKhoja name common inGujarat. After the ship's capture, Kidd attempted to return to New York to share in the treasure with the governor of that colony, then on toEngland to pay off his backers.
The capture ofQuedagh Merchant, as well asRouparelle, caused a scandal throughout the British Empire, hurting Britain's safe trading status along theAfrican and Indian coasts. Although Kidd felt that both of these captures were legal in accordance with his commission by his Lords, word spread quickly that Captain Kidd was a pirate. Kidd was later imprisoned and ultimately executed for alleged acts of piracy, as well asmurder.
The fate ofQuedagh Merchant rested in the hands of merchants hired by Captain Kidd to guard the ship and await his return to the Caribbean in three months' time. During Kidd's long imprisonment in New York and later in England, New York GovernorLord Richard Bellomont attempted to extract a confession for the location of the ship, which was left anchored in a lagoon alongSanta Catalina. When word reached New York that the merchants had sold off most of the goods, burned the ship, and sailed to Holland, Lord Bellomont sent a ship to verify that it had indeed been burned. The exact location of the remains ofQuedagh Merchant were a mystery until December 2007, when they were discovered off the coast ofCatalina Island, Dominican Republic.
In April 1696, a group ofArmenian merchants hired the 350-tonQuedagh Merchant, owned by an Indian man named Coirgi. Operating out ofSurat in north-western India, theArmenians were assisted by Augun Peree Callendar, a local EnglishEast India Company representative who freelanced to help supplement his income.[2] For the voyage, the ship was captained by John Wright, had twoDutchfirst mates, aFrenchgunner, more than 90 Indiancrewmen, and 30 Armenian merchants.[2]
After several delays, the crew loaded the ship withcotton, and departed from Surat, travelled around the tip of India, and reachedBengal in late 1697.[2] There, the Armenian merchants sold their cotton for 1,200muslins and other cloths, 1,400 bags ofbrown sugar, 84bales of rawsilk, 80 chests ofopium, and other items such asiron andsaltpetre.[2] For safe passage, the group applied toFrancois Martin, the representative for theFrench East India Company. The request was granted promising him the protection of the French Crown.,[3] and the ship began its return trip around the tip of India.[2]
On 30 January 1698, Captain Kidd, aboard his shipAdventure Galley, spottedQuedagh Merchant about 25leagues fromCochin, and raced to catch up with it.[2][4] After approximately four hours,Adventure Galley caught up withQuedagh and hoisted a French flag for its colours, and Kidd commanded the other captain to board his ship.[4] A Frenchman came over by boat, and when he stepped aboardAdventure Galley Kidd gave the command to hoist an English flag. The Frenchman, upon seeing the flag change, reportedly replied, "Here is a good Prize."[4]
Kidd's mission to capture any enemy and pirate ships was commissioned by several EnglishLords. Kidd was to seize all loot and return to England to split the treasure among himself, his crew, and the Lord investors. TheQuedagh Merchant was Indian owned, flying Armenian colours, captained by an Englishman, and had a mostly Indian crew, so seemed to not fit Kidd's commission; but the fact that it had been promised safe passage by the French, an English enemy, technically made this seizure a legal capture.[4]
When Kidd and his crew began the inspection ofQuedagh Merchant, while inventorying the loot, the Frenchman mentioned that he was not actually the captain of the vessel, but that Mr. Wright was indeed the man in that role.[5] Kidd located Captain Wright below deck, and he denied being the captain, although the French pass identified him as the captain with the inscription "pilot Rette".[5] Wright also informed him that an agent for the English East India Company hadbrokered the voyage. Kidd, acknowledging that looting this ship could raise concerns back in England, decided that the crew vote on whether to take the ship and its cargo, or sell it back to the Armenians.[5][6] A man named Cogi Baba offered to buy the ship and its cargo back for what amounted to 1/20 of the actual value of the cargo, but the men of Kidd's crew rejected the offer. Kidd did not fight the vote, knowing that this was a legal capture.[6]
Kidd did not know that hundreds of the bales below deck belonged to a nobleman, Muklis Khan, who was close to theGrand Moghul.[6][7] The crews ofAdventure Galley,Quedagh Merchant, andRouparelle, another ship captured by Kidd and renamedNovember, set sail for Cochin and Kalliguilon harbour to sell some of the goods to finance his trip back to England.[6] After selling much of the cargo for gold, he left the harbour hurriedly to escape four ships of the Dutch East India Company that were attempting to capture him.[8] Kidd gave orders that if his group of three ships broke up, to meet atSt. Mary's Island,Madagascar.[9]
When Kidd arrived at St. Mary's Island aboardAdventure Galley, he spotted a ship that belonged to noted pirate,Robert Culliford,Mocha Frigate.[10] Since Kidd's mission was to capture pirate treasure, he immediately began a battle plan, but he felt undermanned, so he decided to wait for his other two ships,November andQuedagh Merchant, to arrive before attacking.[10][11] Six weeks passed before bothNovember andQuedagh Merchant arrived at St. Mary's Island.[12][13]
After a short time, Kidd called for all of his crew to gather onQuedagh Merchant. He told his men to ready themselves for battle, but the crew, wanting to get paid after two years with Kidd, voted 100 to 15 to mutiny over to Culliford.[14] The following morning, the mutinied crew began to off-load the treasure aboardQuedagh Merchant. Kidd, after a show of force and personality, was able to convince his former crewmen to give back his, and his few remaining loyal crew, their share of the treasure.[14][15] Culliford's men proceeded to strip all three ships of anything of value, including weapons,sails,rigging, andanchors.[16] Before Culliford departed St. Mary's Island, his crew sankNovember, leaving Kidd with two stripped down ships, and a skeleton crew.[17] Surprisingly, one of the men that chose to stay was an old rogue seaman namedJames Gilliam, who was a pirate at one time, but like Kidd, also believed that the mission was noble and had refused to turn pirate.[18][19]
Kidd decided that there were enough sail parts, rigging, and metalwork available left onAdventure Galley, and moved everything toQuedagh Merchant, the ship he chose to be his vessel to travel back toNew York.[16] It was during this time that Kidd insisted on callingQuedagh Merchant theAdventure Prize.[20] The first stop on his return journey was Port Dolphin, 600 miles (970 km) down the coast of the Madagascar, then over toTulear, also along the Madagascar coast, to buy provisions, and find more crew members.[20][21]
Feeling that his ship appeared stolen, which could cause him problems, even though he had his documents to prove otherwise, he decided to avoid the main shipping ports. He planned to head to the obscurity ofAnnobón off centralAfrica.[21] From there he planned on going straight to theCaribbean, then up to New York.[21] He arrived in the Caribbean a full ten months after his crew had mutinied, and anchored his vessel along the coast ofAnguilla, the northernmostLeeward Island.[22][23] It was here that he first learned that he was now a wanted pirate, with manygovernors having orders to arrest Kidd and his crew.[23]
With nowhere to go, withQuedagh Merchant leaking and "too stolen looking", Kidd decided he needed a new ship.[24] He moved his ship and what was left of his crew toMona Island, aSpanish held Caribbean island.[25] With help from a passing merchant, Henry Bolton, Kidd was able to sell some of his treasure for provisions and enough money to buy Bolton'ssloop,St. Antonio.[26][27][28]
Kidd decided his best plan was to sail to New York, in his new ship, and convince one of his backers, Governor Bellomont, that he served honourably, and that the stories of his piracy were not true.[29] He authorized Mr. Bolton to stay and guardAdventure Prize, which was now in a lagoon on the small island ofSanta Catalina, along with the authorization to sell more of the cargo if he was able to get a good deal.[29] Kidd promised to return in three months, then whatever merchandise was sold, the shares would be divided then.[29]
When Kidd arrived in New York, he was arrested, but would not reveal the location ofAdventure Prize, believing that the treasure aboard the ship could be used as barter to free him.[30] Bellomont tried to get together two ships, one of which wasSt. Antonio, to sail back to the Caribbean to retrieve what was left of Kidd's loot.[31] As the planning stage for this voyage was nearly completed, a sloop arrived in New York, claiming that the merchants aboardAdventure Prize had sold off most of the goods, set fire to the ship, and left the Caribbean to sail to Holland.[31] After hearing this news, Bellomont approved Captain Nathaniel Cary, aboardSt. Antonio, to return to the Caribbean to verify that the ship was indeed burned off the coast ofHispaniola, and attempt to reclaim the cargo from the local governments, includingCuraçao.[1][31] According to local records, the men Kidd entrusted with his ship reportedly looted it, and then set it ablaze and adrift down theRio Dulce.[32]
In December 2007, 70 feet (21 m) off the coast ofCatalina Island in theDominican Republic, the remains of a shipwreck were discovered by a local resident and then investigated by archaeologists fromIndiana University.[33] The team was surprised that this ship, that had been sought after by many a treasure hunter over the centuries, was located so close to shore in shallow, crystal clear water. Confidence among the investigators was high that this was the remains ofQuedagh Merchant due to consistencies of historical records, and the cannons found in the wreckage.[33] The Indiana University team has been licensed to investigate the site, and convert the site into an underwater preserve, where it will be accessible to the public.[32]
Since the ship is an important symbol of Armenian commercial history, attempts to find the ship had for some time been made by Armenian scientists as well.Ayas Nautical Research Club led by Karen Balayan, who in 2004-6 had sailed around Europe in a replica of the 13th-century Armenian vesselKilikia, published a paper in March 2007, saying they would undertake an expedition to the Caribbean Sea aboard a 46-foot yacht,Anahit, sailing under the flag ofArmenia.[34]
