William Kyd (fl. 1430-1453)
Many know of the famous Captain William Kidd who sailed the seas during the 17th century. But William Kyd was an English pirate who flourished starting in 1430. He operated out of Southwest England and sailed with immunity for nearly twenty years due to the support of corrupt customs officials. He first gets mention in 1431 as the master of balinger La Trinite of Exmouth. His name appears on a list of pirates that was published that year and it was known that in 1430 he was one of a number of pirates active in West Country and that he had seized a Breton ship off the coast of Guernsey. He continued to join forces with other pirates including William Aleyn. In 1433, he and William Aleyn, along with several other pirates were able to capture four ships that were carrying provisions bound for Rouen. Over the next few years sailing alone and with other pirates he established a bit of a reputation for himself.
In 1436, he was sailing into the harbor of Saint-Pol-de-Leon in Brittany and though he had eight barges and balingers with him, the Seynt Nunne caught his eye. The ship was under safe conduct by local authorities but that did not stop William Kyd from taking it for himself. He sailed away with the ship and took it to Plymouth along with £100 of goods belonging to Thomas Horewoord. It would be another decade of piracy before William Kyd did anything that was particularly of note since pirates were more or less accepted during the time. In 1448, he got attention by capturing the La Marie of London. The ship was bound for Flanders but he took command and sailed it to the Isle of Wight where he sold it.
In 1453, he got significant attention once again when he captured the biggest prize of his career The Marie of St. Andrews. When William Kyd sailed into Exmouth, the ship was noticed by a Scottish knight, Sir William de Kanete. He decided he wanted the ship for himself and went to Thomas Gille who was the controller of customs of both Exeter and Dartmouth. William de Kanete pretended he was the brother of the Bishop of St Andrews and that he was the true owner of The Marie.
William de Kanete conspired with Gille in order to get a commission for the delivery of the ship in which they would share the goods on board. They issued a complaint with the local authorities and a commission was granted. The ship was seized by authorities and then all the goods on board were given to William de Kanete. The paperwork and records for this event get extraordinarily complicated and there are even those who believe it was Kyd working with Gille to get the commission. Whatever came of his event it is the last time that William Kyd gets much mention in the historical record. What became of him after is unclear.