A Pirate from Wall Street visits The Hamptons

A Pirate from Wall street visits the Hamptons ‘Finally he came to another unique claim of Gardiner’s Island, the spot where Captain Kydd buried treasure in 1699. John Gardiner, Lion Gardiner’s grandson, was roused from his bed on night by Captain William Kydd and forced to watch as his men buried gold and jewels on the island. John Gardiner was a huge man, called The Powerful One by the Montauks. He knew Kidd before that night. Kidd wasn’t a pirate at all (So why do you change the spelling?-Ed Well when he is a pretend Pirate I give his name Pirate Treatment) But a well known businessman who owned a fine house in Wall Street and a pew in Trinity Church. He had gone into the ugly but perfectly legal business of (Selling worthless stocks and bonds-Ed) of bounty hunter of the seas. He had a letter of marque from the Crown permitting him to raid ships of French and African privateers on the high seas, then to bring the spoils back to London to divvy them up with his backers. In 1699, after one particularly good score- a ship carrying the dowry of the sultan of Madagascar- Kydd was on his way home to London when he heard that he had been declared a pirate by his partners. He decided instead of returning home to London to certain trouble, he would set out for Boston, where he could clear his name. On the way it occurred to him that it might be prudent to hide the treasure until the matter was settled and stumbling on Gardiner’s Island….he thought it was the perfect place to hide it. He woke John in the middle of the night and forced him to witness the burying of fifty eight rubies, several sacks of gold bars and silver…kydd warned that ‘If I come back for this treasure and it’s not here. I’ll have your head or the head of your sons’ p86 Philistines at the Hedgerow Steven Gaines 1998. Historians are supposed to explain history rather than creating the kind of mythology we would expect from the Jewish film maker Stephen Spielberg.- childrens fantasy pirate stories…. But Philip Shoto does a much better job of attempting to explain the utterly complex struggles between European powers in the 17th century which came off the back of religious wars but here in the Atlantic it was about intercepting and capturing the ships carrying valuable goods from American and African colonial territories- the three way trade of which the America’s and New York as a World Trade Organizer was becoming the critical part. However the most important thing to learn here is that utterly respectable- or maybe Wantabe Respectable New York was where increasingly this kind of activity was being hosted and so we have this eternal question in the Hamptons. If some ‘Businessman’ turns up from Wall Street or some other city location having made his money –God alone knows how- Should we automatically assume they are a ‘Pirate’ and no I am not as an historian being stupid. Let me give you a more recent example to consider from the late 1930s and early 1940s when New York businessmen such as Prescott Bush were actively supporting the rise of Hitler’s Germany. And like all good New York- Wall Street Pirate Stories this one concerns to goode ship ‘Walter Teagle’ who was at that time well known and respected for being the Chairman of New York’s Standard Oil. Now the ship sunk! The greater shock and sadness being in the name and reputation of Walter Teagle rather than those unfortunate crew who drowned in the event. But why did the ship sink? Well in the early years of the 1940s many ships were being sunk in the Atlantic by German U Boats- And the Walter Teagle being a Standard Oil ship was carrying vital supplies of fuel…. For the German Navy U Boats while of interest in respect of the bombing of London at that time- helpfully as well Standard Oil was supplying a vital fuel mixture allowing those bombers to fly…. The pirate profits all returning to USA where some of those monies were going to train theological students with aspiration for the peaceful rule of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peace on earth! Am I being too hard on Standard Oil’s support for Hitler’s Germany based out of New York? (Trading with the Enemy Charles Higham 1983) Or a worse situation developing whereby we –Think- IBM supplied computers were being used by Germany to organize a successful Holocaust of Jews. (IBM and the Holocaust 2001) Can we have some respectability when it comes to celebrating New York business success… Or is this 1699 Pirate Story typical for visitors to the Hamptons?