#william kidd

Subject 2 - Zorro

Welcome back, well-travelled Trickster, to the Velvet Room. Here, as we look across the Compendium once more. This time, we shall set our eyes upon the roguish rapier wielding form of Zorro, as wielded by the team’s Mastermind, the meowing Morgana. Please bear in mind that though I shall endeavour to keep them to a minimum, spoilers abound and you can’t complain to me if you get certain events of a 10-year old game.

First Appearance and design

Morgana and, by extension, Zorro make their first appearance in the palace of the first boss Kamoshida. Upon being cornered by the castle guards, Morgana summons his Persona and helps to take down their opponents. Whilst teaching the pair of Joker and Ryuji how to use various tactics, Morgana proves invaluable in the ensuing struggle.

The figure’s appearance bears a somewhat exaggerated take on the outlaw’s famous all black ensemble of boots, a flowing cape and domino mask. But something to keep in mind is Morgana’s insistence that he is human, despite evidence to the contrary as in both the real world and the metaverse, Morgana takes on the form of a cat. Zorro’s hyper-masculine appearance could be representative of that long-held desire of Morgana to not only become a human, but be one impressive enough to win the hearts of the women he’s infatuated with.

An enormous figure clad all in black, wearing tall boots, a frilly shirt, leather gloves, flowing cape and the outfit is complete with a belt with an elaborate metal Z. In its hand, the figure bears a sword and the face is disguised by a combination of hat and mask, which mimics Zorror’s trademark moustache. In a very different manner than the one we hd just witnessed Joker perform to summon Arsene, Zorro slashes through the air in a very familiar Z like motion, seemingly without Morgana needing to declare his wish to rebel.

Inspiration

As one can guess from the name, this figure is inspired by one of the famous outlaws in fiction, Don diego de la Vega or better known as Zorro. Born from the stories written by Johnston McCulley, Zorro is a nobleman of Spanish and Native Californian Descent, fighting to defend the commoners and indigenous people of the land against the corrupt. Zorro has a high bounty on his head but, much like Arsene Lupin, is too skilled to be caught, as well as taking considerable delight in humiliating them.

Zorro resides with his father in his family’s vast Hacienda, armed with secret passages and tunnels leading to an underground cave that serves as headquarters for his operations. When in public life, Zorro hides his abilities behind a mask of foppish incompetence. Something to mention as I’m sure my nerd soul will not allow me to rest unless I do is Zorro was the inspiration behind Batman and it was even whilst leaving a showing of a film featuring the figure that Bruce Wayne’s parents were tragically shot. It’s not hard to see what parts of the character left an imprint upon the young man that he would carry onto his future persona.

Zorro first appeared in the Curse of Capistrano, a five part serialised story and though it was meant to be a single story, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford found it so appealing, they chose to have it be the inaugural picture for their new studio, United Artists, thus beginning the character’s cinematic legacy. In response to the success of the film, McCully wrote more than 60 Zorro stories and since then, the character has appeared in over 40 films and 10 tv series.

Final Thoughts and Personal Opinion

Captain Kidd in popular culture practically from the moment he died in 1701: An eeeevil pirate who sank 55555 ships and buried treasure in 69105 different places! What a nasty scoundrel! Hey I bet you could strike it rich if you foundhis buried treasure!

A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates (or A General History of Pyrates) by Captain Charles Johnson

firstly: captain charles johnson is not a person nor a captain. it’s a pen name. and we have no clue who he actually was. he probably chose “captain” to give himself a sense of credibility he did not have. (could possibly have been daniel defoe or nathaniel mist and you can actually find modern copies printed under both their names)

secondly: he made a lot of it up. he gathered whatever information was available and just made up the rest and anything he thought would make it cooler. that’s not even to mention the second volume where he made up several entire people. this dude was just making stuff up and it’s now the earliest history we have of these people and we’ve accepted it as fact.

thirdly: it was initially published in 1724. (golden age of piracy was 1650s-1830s, dude was writing about the present) several of the pirates he writes about were still alive. and the rest were very recently dead. (henry every is an outlier) he was literally making up facts about people who were very much alive likely while he was writing it.

Has everyone been enjoying the live action of One Piece on Netflix? We thought we might use this opportunity to discuss some similarities and differences between Captain Kidd, and a character in One Piece inspired by him, Eustass Kid. Similarities ~ Both are rather large and intimidating by appearance! But what male pirate in One Piece isn’t built like that? The key difference with Eustass Kid lies entirely on his raw strength, which is a rarity for characters this late in the series and for those who are as wanted and as deadly as Kid. He wouldn’t get devil fruit abilities until late in his pirate career.  This was likely inspired by the fact that William Kidd was a very strong man thanks to his size and experience as a hard working sailor.

William Kidd and Eustass Kid had similar networking in their past. For Eustass Kid, he had large ties with other powerful allies being apart of a gang on the islands he lived. William Kidd’s networking in New York was thanks to his reputation as a war hero and he quickly became friends with other powerful merchants and governors. Being married to a wealthy and successful wife helped with this too.

Both Kidd and Kid have a big ego and crave success. Eustass Kid, like many pirates in One Piece, is strongly motivated by personal gain and seeking the One Piece. There is plenty of documentation that suggests William Kidd also was easily flattered and sought to claim fame and glory for himself, as his last voyage was an attempt to gain a higher ranking career since being a ship merchant Captain from New York was not enough for him. Differences ~ Eustass Kid is introduced with a very high bounty in the series due to the high amounts of casualties of civilians he was responsible for. While the real William Kidd did not have this experience, this could have been inspired by the infamous reputation about Captain Kidd, especially during the time right before his capture and execution - the world generally feared Captain Kidd due to many rumors that had spread across the seas. 

Eustass will eventually get a cybernetic left arm in the series. William never lost any limbs.

And the BIG difference - Eustass Kid is unquestionably a pirate. But William Kidd? He was no true pirate and was wrongfully accused of such!

Captain Kidd and the Bible

Ever since the privateer's turn to piracy in the late 17th century, tales of Captain William Kidd have long been connected with the Bible. This was spurred on by religious beliefs that this once-good man had turned to a life of crime and evil, turning his back on the ways of God.

This association very much so took hold after his capture and subsequent execution in 1701 in Wapping, England. During his captivity, the "Ballad of Captain Kidd" (also known by many unofficially as "My Name is Captain Kidd) was created, and leaflets of its lyrics distributed among the crowd during his execution to the public in attendance for the long-awaited spectacle. The song caught on nearly immediately, even across the Atlantic where Kidd had buried his treasure on Gardiner's Island and been captured. Throughout the years, the lyrics of the song change slightly here and there, namely its verses, but most versions of this highly popular song included at least a variation of the following metaphorical claims:

"I had the Bible in my hand, As I sailed, as I sailed, And I buried it in the sand As I sailed."

Or

"I'd a Bible in my hand when I sail'd, I'd a Bible in my hand, by my father's great command, And I sunk it in the sand, when I sail'd."

This song strengthened the association between Kidd and the Bible, which directly ties into much of his folklore, many tales of which state that those seeking Kidd's alleged remaining buried treasures will be unable to do so unless reading aloud particular entries of scripture during the digging process. It was said in passing legend he had actually buried his Bible, "ingratiating the evil one" or gaining the graces of the Devil himself, which would allow him unholy protection on the seas, or utilized to bind souls or demons to watch over his buried treasures. A 19th century depiction of Kidd even gained popularity titled "Kidd Burying his Bible," showing Kidd (albeit clad in clothes a bit late for his era) with a shovel and kicking his Bible into a hole along the coast.

The trope of pirates disrespecting the Christian Bible also stemmed from these associations with Kidd, such as the pirates featured in the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, in which pirates under the command of Long John Silver present him with the "black spot" - a circular piece of paper that had been blackened with ash as a sign they wished to depose him as their captain. This piece of paper in particular had been cut out of the Bible, specifically from the book of Revelation. Stevenson writes:

"It was around about the size of a crown piece. One side was blank, for it had been the last leaf; the other contained a verse or two of Revelation—these words among the rest, which struck sharply home upon my mind: "Without are dogs and murderers."

This all being said, a few Bibles have surfaced within the last century claiming to have been that of Kidd's. Pictured here is the primary one, from the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum, located in Florida.

This Bible's leather cover reads:

Kidd's Family Bible. Portland Farm, Leith, Edinburgh

The back of the book is imprinted with:

Capt. Wm. Kidd, Ship Adventure Galley.

Reputed to have come from his ship, Adventure Galley, these items were former possessions of Hubert Palmer, a lawyer and relic-collector, who had them as part of his private collection when he passed away in 1949. This Bible, along with a small wooden box of the same size, as well as a mirror, were sold by his house keeper and nurse for a total of £2,900, or $3,166.65. Today, as mentioned, its home is within the Pirate & Treasure museum of St. Augustine, Florida.

Kidd features as a large component of my upcoming book "Pirate Ghosts & Buried Treasures of the Northeast Coast: A Historical Assessment on Pirate Folklore," which releases on September 18, 2024 on Amazon and will be available for pre-order through this Shipwrecked page as of August 28th!