Rebecca Simon | Santa Monica College (original) (raw)
Uploads
Conference Presentations by Rebecca Simon
Pirates were a common problem throughout the early modern Atlantic, especially as new colonies we... more Pirates were a common problem throughout the early modern Atlantic, especially as new colonies were established in the Caribbean and North America. Over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, captured pirates were sent to London to await trial by the High Court of Admiralty and their subsequent death sentence, which was carried out at Execution Dock in Wapping. By the turn of the eighteenth century, pirates had grown so numerous that it became economically unfeasible to transport all captured pirates to London. The solution was for the British authorities to establish new courts of Admiralty in the West Indies and North America to try and execute pirates as they would in England. English legal jurisdiction thus spread to the colonies under the command of local governors. This caused new complications for the colonies, as many governors happily aided and abetted the pirates who brought in stolen goods barred from trade due to the Navigation Acts. Additional geographic, political and economic factors forced colonial leaders to adapt the English laws to suit their own needs to prevent further harassment from pirates and other criminals. Locals continued to harbour pirates in major cities such as Philadelphia, Boston and Charleston while merchants suffered heavy losses from pirate attacks, the effects of which trickled down to the colonies. News of pirates and orders from the Crown took weeks or even months to travel throughout the colonies, so local governors and courts were often forced to make their own legal judgements without the consent of their authorities. Ultimately, this paper will argue that the establishment of Admiralty courts to try and execute pirates in the West Indies and North America led to new American identities in the way of the law and subsequently emerging notions of autonomy.
Pirates were a common problem throughout the early modern Atlantic, especially as new colonies we... more Pirates were a common problem throughout the early modern Atlantic, especially as new colonies were established in the Caribbean and North America. Over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, captured pirates were sent to London to await trial by the High Court of Admiralty and their subsequent death sentence, which was carried out at Execution Dock in Wapping. By the turn of the eighteenth century, pirates had grown so numerous that it became economically unfeasible to transport all captured pirates to London. The solution was for the British authorities to establish new courts of Admiralty in the West Indies and North America to try and execute pirates as they would in England. English legal jurisdiction thus spread to the colonies under the command of local governors. This caused new complications for the colonies, as many governors happily aided and abetted the pirates who brought in stolen goods barred from trade due to the Navigation Acts. Additional geographic, political and economic factors forced colonial leaders to adapt the English laws to suit their own needs to prevent further harassment from pirates and other criminals. Locals continued to harbour pirates in major cities such as Philadelphia, Boston and Charleston while merchants suffered heavy losses from pirate attacks, the effects of which trickled down to the colonies. News of pirates and orders from the Crown took weeks or even months to travel throughout the colonies, so local governors and courts were often forced to make their own legal judgements without the consent of their authorities. Ultimately, this paper will argue that the establishment of Admiralty courts to try and execute pirates in the West Indies and North America led to new American identities in the way of the law and subsequently emerging notions of autonomy.
Captain Kidd was one of the most famous pirates to be hung at Execution Dock in 1701 for crimes o... more Captain Kidd was one of the most famous pirates to be hung at Execution Dock in 1701 for crimes of piracy and murder. Having been captured in Boston in 1699 and transported back to London for trial, his name was known on both sides of the Atlantic and he was the first pirate to receive consistent coverage and public awareness. The paper I am presenting today is an extension and continuation of the one I wrote for this conference in May. In that paper I argued that the trial and death of Captain Kidd in 1701 changed the way pirates were viewed by the public media through the power of print and propaganda. Today I expand on this argument by examining the legacy of Captain Kidd as his tale continued to be published in newspapers well into the twentieth century. The focus of this study is the power Captain Kidd held over authorities and the public. Kidd was one of hundreds, if not thousands of pirates, to have been executed for his crimes and yet his is one of the very few names of which we are still familiar with today because Kidd was the first condemned pirate to cause effective change in government policy and receive transatlantic media coverage.
In 1699, Captain William Kidd was captured off the coast of New York on suspicion of murder and p... more In 1699, Captain William Kidd was captured off the coast of New York on suspicion of murder and piracy. After sitting in a New York prison cell for nearly two years, he was transported to London to be put on trial at the High Court of Admiralty. Kidd was found guilty of five counts of piracy and murder and ultimately hanged at Execution Dock on 23 May 1701. The trial transcripts and reports of his execution were immediately printed for public distribution and his crimes quickly became legendary on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean; but Kidd was already a household name. In the year leading up to his capture, English officials fed newspapers information about his acts of piracy, playing him up as a villain. These were printed throughout London and Colonial North America, allowing the public on both sides of the ocean to simultaneously become aware of a notorious pirate. As people became more familiar with Kidd’s presence in the press, his reputation soared to infamy leading to demands in London and the colonies for more up-to-date and reliable news materials. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries witnessed a rapid rise in printed information leading to an increase in literacy throughout the Atlantic World. Using Captain Kidd’s capture, trial and execution as a case study, this paper will examine how the expanding news networks within London and Colonial North America contributed to the public’s increasingly romantic fascination with piracy that continues to this day.
This paper will explore how early modern print culture and propaganda led to the romanticisation ... more This paper will explore how early modern print culture and propaganda led to the romanticisation of pirates using Captain William Kidd as a case study. Captain Kidd was executed in 1701 for murder on the high seas and crimes against the East India Company. His public execution was reported throughout the Atlantic World as a demonstration of state power against maritime crime. Despite this, Kidd’s crimes became legendary for the next two hundred and fifty years. At the time of his death, his name was known throughout the Atlantic World because for two years newspapers had printed articles about his crimes of piracy against the East India Company. His fame did not end with his death, however. Twenty years later, newspapers reported that captured or hunted pirates said they refused to ‘go by the way of Kidd,’ indicating that Kidd had become a symbolic martyr for pirates. Despite Kidd’s crimes, ballads about his life became popular and were sung throughout the nineteenth century. His infamy would prove so fascinating that in the 1950s, a map emerged in London depicting the location of Kidd’s lost treasure in the China Seas. This proved to be fraudulent, but it was an act of fraud so clever that it was verified as a valid document by the British Museum and the Crown granted funding for an expedition. Using early modern documents and the police reports about the fraudulent map, I will separate fact from fiction between the real Captain Kidd and the idea of Captain Kidd. Ultimately, this paper seeks to demonstrate how state power and the proliferation of propaganda led to the romance and legends of pirates that continues to this day.
Lectures by Rebecca Simon
Papers by Rebecca Simon
Journal for Maritime Research, 2016
This article focuses on British maritime law to discuss the challenge of transferring Admiralty l... more This article focuses on British maritime law to discuss the challenge of transferring Admiralty law to Britain’s Atlantic colonies, considered through the lens pirate trials and executions. Colonial governors in North America and the West Indies tolerated piracy during the seventeenth century to obtain goods barred from the restrictions imposed by the Navigation Acts. These deals were largely ignored, but the increasing piratical insults against the Crown and pressure from foreign competitors, such as Spain, forced British officials to crack down on piracy. Unfortunately, years of tolerating pirates had allowed these criminals to become too numerous for British officials to transport captured pirates back to England for trial and executions. As a result, by 1700 they had to establish their maritime legal ruling body, the Admiralty Court, throughout the American colonies under the jurisdiction of local governors. However, complex geographical challenges in the Caribbean and religiously influenced social laws in North America forced colonial governors to alter the English system to fit their needs and create autonomous legal networks. This article argues that the establishment and maintenance of British Admiralty law in the Atlantic colonies led to the development of early American ideas of autonomy.
The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Vol. 6, Mar 2012
Book Reviews by Rebecca Simon
Journal of Maritime Research, 2016
Pirates were a common problem throughout the early modern Atlantic, especially as new colonies we... more Pirates were a common problem throughout the early modern Atlantic, especially as new colonies were established in the Caribbean and North America. Over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, captured pirates were sent to London to await trial by the High Court of Admiralty and their subsequent death sentence, which was carried out at Execution Dock in Wapping. By the turn of the eighteenth century, pirates had grown so numerous that it became economically unfeasible to transport all captured pirates to London. The solution was for the British authorities to establish new courts of Admiralty in the West Indies and North America to try and execute pirates as they would in England. English legal jurisdiction thus spread to the colonies under the command of local governors. This caused new complications for the colonies, as many governors happily aided and abetted the pirates who brought in stolen goods barred from trade due to the Navigation Acts. Additional geographic, political and economic factors forced colonial leaders to adapt the English laws to suit their own needs to prevent further harassment from pirates and other criminals. Locals continued to harbour pirates in major cities such as Philadelphia, Boston and Charleston while merchants suffered heavy losses from pirate attacks, the effects of which trickled down to the colonies. News of pirates and orders from the Crown took weeks or even months to travel throughout the colonies, so local governors and courts were often forced to make their own legal judgements without the consent of their authorities. Ultimately, this paper will argue that the establishment of Admiralty courts to try and execute pirates in the West Indies and North America led to new American identities in the way of the law and subsequently emerging notions of autonomy.
Pirates were a common problem throughout the early modern Atlantic, especially as new colonies we... more Pirates were a common problem throughout the early modern Atlantic, especially as new colonies were established in the Caribbean and North America. Over the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, captured pirates were sent to London to await trial by the High Court of Admiralty and their subsequent death sentence, which was carried out at Execution Dock in Wapping. By the turn of the eighteenth century, pirates had grown so numerous that it became economically unfeasible to transport all captured pirates to London. The solution was for the British authorities to establish new courts of Admiralty in the West Indies and North America to try and execute pirates as they would in England. English legal jurisdiction thus spread to the colonies under the command of local governors. This caused new complications for the colonies, as many governors happily aided and abetted the pirates who brought in stolen goods barred from trade due to the Navigation Acts. Additional geographic, political and economic factors forced colonial leaders to adapt the English laws to suit their own needs to prevent further harassment from pirates and other criminals. Locals continued to harbour pirates in major cities such as Philadelphia, Boston and Charleston while merchants suffered heavy losses from pirate attacks, the effects of which trickled down to the colonies. News of pirates and orders from the Crown took weeks or even months to travel throughout the colonies, so local governors and courts were often forced to make their own legal judgements without the consent of their authorities. Ultimately, this paper will argue that the establishment of Admiralty courts to try and execute pirates in the West Indies and North America led to new American identities in the way of the law and subsequently emerging notions of autonomy.
Captain Kidd was one of the most famous pirates to be hung at Execution Dock in 1701 for crimes o... more Captain Kidd was one of the most famous pirates to be hung at Execution Dock in 1701 for crimes of piracy and murder. Having been captured in Boston in 1699 and transported back to London for trial, his name was known on both sides of the Atlantic and he was the first pirate to receive consistent coverage and public awareness. The paper I am presenting today is an extension and continuation of the one I wrote for this conference in May. In that paper I argued that the trial and death of Captain Kidd in 1701 changed the way pirates were viewed by the public media through the power of print and propaganda. Today I expand on this argument by examining the legacy of Captain Kidd as his tale continued to be published in newspapers well into the twentieth century. The focus of this study is the power Captain Kidd held over authorities and the public. Kidd was one of hundreds, if not thousands of pirates, to have been executed for his crimes and yet his is one of the very few names of which we are still familiar with today because Kidd was the first condemned pirate to cause effective change in government policy and receive transatlantic media coverage.
In 1699, Captain William Kidd was captured off the coast of New York on suspicion of murder and p... more In 1699, Captain William Kidd was captured off the coast of New York on suspicion of murder and piracy. After sitting in a New York prison cell for nearly two years, he was transported to London to be put on trial at the High Court of Admiralty. Kidd was found guilty of five counts of piracy and murder and ultimately hanged at Execution Dock on 23 May 1701. The trial transcripts and reports of his execution were immediately printed for public distribution and his crimes quickly became legendary on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean; but Kidd was already a household name. In the year leading up to his capture, English officials fed newspapers information about his acts of piracy, playing him up as a villain. These were printed throughout London and Colonial North America, allowing the public on both sides of the ocean to simultaneously become aware of a notorious pirate. As people became more familiar with Kidd’s presence in the press, his reputation soared to infamy leading to demands in London and the colonies for more up-to-date and reliable news materials. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries witnessed a rapid rise in printed information leading to an increase in literacy throughout the Atlantic World. Using Captain Kidd’s capture, trial and execution as a case study, this paper will examine how the expanding news networks within London and Colonial North America contributed to the public’s increasingly romantic fascination with piracy that continues to this day.
This paper will explore how early modern print culture and propaganda led to the romanticisation ... more This paper will explore how early modern print culture and propaganda led to the romanticisation of pirates using Captain William Kidd as a case study. Captain Kidd was executed in 1701 for murder on the high seas and crimes against the East India Company. His public execution was reported throughout the Atlantic World as a demonstration of state power against maritime crime. Despite this, Kidd’s crimes became legendary for the next two hundred and fifty years. At the time of his death, his name was known throughout the Atlantic World because for two years newspapers had printed articles about his crimes of piracy against the East India Company. His fame did not end with his death, however. Twenty years later, newspapers reported that captured or hunted pirates said they refused to ‘go by the way of Kidd,’ indicating that Kidd had become a symbolic martyr for pirates. Despite Kidd’s crimes, ballads about his life became popular and were sung throughout the nineteenth century. His infamy would prove so fascinating that in the 1950s, a map emerged in London depicting the location of Kidd’s lost treasure in the China Seas. This proved to be fraudulent, but it was an act of fraud so clever that it was verified as a valid document by the British Museum and the Crown granted funding for an expedition. Using early modern documents and the police reports about the fraudulent map, I will separate fact from fiction between the real Captain Kidd and the idea of Captain Kidd. Ultimately, this paper seeks to demonstrate how state power and the proliferation of propaganda led to the romance and legends of pirates that continues to this day.
Journal for Maritime Research, 2016
This article focuses on British maritime law to discuss the challenge of transferring Admiralty l... more This article focuses on British maritime law to discuss the challenge of transferring Admiralty law to Britain’s Atlantic colonies, considered through the lens pirate trials and executions. Colonial governors in North America and the West Indies tolerated piracy during the seventeenth century to obtain goods barred from the restrictions imposed by the Navigation Acts. These deals were largely ignored, but the increasing piratical insults against the Crown and pressure from foreign competitors, such as Spain, forced British officials to crack down on piracy. Unfortunately, years of tolerating pirates had allowed these criminals to become too numerous for British officials to transport captured pirates back to England for trial and executions. As a result, by 1700 they had to establish their maritime legal ruling body, the Admiralty Court, throughout the American colonies under the jurisdiction of local governors. However, complex geographical challenges in the Caribbean and religiously influenced social laws in North America forced colonial governors to alter the English system to fit their needs and create autonomous legal networks. This article argues that the establishment and maintenance of British Admiralty law in the Atlantic colonies led to the development of early American ideas of autonomy.
The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Vol. 6, Mar 2012
Journal of Maritime Research, 2016