#mocha frigate

[pardoncaptainkidd]

Captain William Kidd and Captain Robert Culliford crossed paths multiple times in their lives. They first met when they worked together as hired privateers in the Caribbean. It was Robert Culliford and many others who stole Captain Kidd’s first ship, the Blessed William, out from under him when he turned pirate. 

Many years later when Captain Kidd was a pirate hunter on the Adventure Galley, he ran into Captain Culliford in St. Mary’s port when he was captain of the Mocha Frigate. Kidd tried to rally his crew to capture Captain Culliford, but he was outnumbered and his crew left him to turn pirate and join Culliford.  The last time these two crossed paths was during Captain Kidd’s trial in London, where Robert Culliford appeared to testify that Kidd was guilty of being a pirate. However, many of the acts that Kidd was charged with for piracy were acts that Culliford had committed himself.

Culliford received a pardon and walked away a free man. Kidd was hanged for piracy and made an example of.

[ltwilliammowett]

Captain William Kidd

You could say that Captain Kidd is the unluckiest pirate who has ever sailed the high seas! Because it was his bad luck to sail as a privateer, just when the rules changed and the pirate became an outlaw. In around 1654 William Kidd was born in Dundee, Scotland. He became a captain and his first ship was the Antigua. In the 1680s he emigrated to New York, where he met and married Sarah Bradley Cox Oort, a wealthy widow. Well it all could have gone so well....

Kidd aboard of the Adventure Galley by Howard Pyle in Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates: Fiction, Fact & Fancy Concerning the Buccaneers & Marooners of the Spanish Main 1921 -  William Kidd, privateer, pirate. 18th century portrait by Sir James Thornhill

During the war between England and France in the 1690s Kidd became a successful privateer, responsible for the ship Blessed William, defending the American and English trade routes with the West Indies. He was commissioned by the English government to lead an expedition against pirates in the Indian Ocean. Kidd's public mission was to rid the sea of pirates, but his investors (who had paid him the ship and crew, for which he had to give them the main part of the loot) probably knew that he would take every opportunity to capture enemy ships with valuable cargo. After all, he was still a privateer, albeit under the influence of his investors.

His ship was the Adventure Galley, it had 34 guns and a crew of 150. However, Kidd's enterprise was not a success. He had great difficulty in covering the costs; the contracts with his sponsors in England and America more or less condemned him to success. Legally, however, he was only allowed to attack French ships and pirates.

On 30 October 1697 a dispute arose with the gun master William Moore. In the ensuing battle Kidd threw a metal bucket at Moore's head and Moore fell down on the main deck and died. And then, poor Captain Kidd was not very skilled at finding pirates. The mood of his crew became unpleasant, and mutiny was in the air. Eventually his crew forced him to become a pirate himself. And that was the beginning of his end. The fact that they forced him to do so had to do with the fact that the crew did not sail on payment, as was gradually established on merchant ships at that time, but on a share basis. This constellation meant that they could only benefit from their work if enough loot was made in the end. If they did not capture any ships or only those on which there was little booty to be found, the voyage was a losing proposition for them. It is therefore very likely that they forced him to do so.

On 30 January 1698 he captured the Quedagh Merchant - an Armenian merchant ship apparently loaded with gold, silver, cloth and other valuables from the East Indies. As he approached the ship, he raised the French flag. The merchant ship then also identified itself as French because it was sailing under French protection. After capturing the ship, Kidd discovered that the captain was English, whereupon he tried in vain to persuade his crew to return the ship to its rightful owners. They were not very keen on that, first the English captain was killed and then he had to keep the Quedah Merchant because his actual ship had sprung a leak. In the past, one could have overlooked such acts, but the attitude towards piracy had changed in England and America, so such acts were no longer considered as warranted but as piracy and were punishable by death. Kidd reached Madagascar on April 1, 1698. Here he met the first pirate during his voyage, Captain Robert Culliford on the Mocha Frigate. He ordered the attack on the Mocha Frigate. Unfortunately for Kidd, his men not only refused to move against Culliford, but also defected to him in droves, taking weapons and equipment with them. Only 13 of them remained loyal to him. Finally, for his own safety, Kidd was forced to assure Culliford during a drinking session that he had nothing to fear from him.

"Captain" Kidd overseeing a treasure burial by Howard Pyle, 1921  - Pirate Captain William Kidd of Caribbean Treasure Map 1701

Kidd finally arrived in the West Indies in April 1699 and found that he was now considered a pirate and was arrested. However, he succeeded in obtaining a pardon from the English authorities for his actions, claiming that he had been forced into piracy by his crew. Kidd sailed to Boston and is said to have stopped along the way to hide the loot on Gardiners Island and Block Island. Some of the loot on Gardiners Island was later recovered by the Governor of New England himself, who was one of Kidd's investors.

The governor of New England, Lord Richard Bellomont, had him arrested in Boston on 7 July 1699, as he did not want to be associated with his actions. He was sent to England on board the frigate Advice in February 1700.

The Arrest of Kidd and the Trial in London

The shamelessly rigged trial began on 8 May and was concluded the following day - the verdict was that Kidd was guilty of the murder of William Moore and of several acts of piracy. Captain William Kidd was hanged on 23 May 1701. The first rope wrapped around his neck broke, so he had to be hanged a second time. His body was placed in a gallows at the mouth of the Thames and left to rot, as an example to other would-be pirates. Although his English Investors were damaged by the pirate scandal, they retained their possessions and power.

Captain Kidd’s body on display at Tilbury Point on the Thames, 1701, by William Gilkerson and an engraving from  The Pirates Own Book, by Charles Ellms 1837 

Whether he was really just a victim or whether he really was a pirate, this decision is up to each individual.

[heroofshield]

Best Hot Drink (ME; G)

This prompt is from MEffictober and addresses the ‘pumpkin spice vs apple spice vs peppermint mocha’ debate. Also an AU where both Ashley and Kaidan survive Virmire because that choice was BS.

--

“You’ll love Vancouver, Commander. Best clams on the West Coast.” Kaidan said with a smile as the shuttle began it’s final descent into Alliance Headquarters.

The Normandy had finally made it back to Earth after Soverign’s attack on the Citadel and Kaidan was itching to get his feet on solid ground after being in space for so long.

“Don’t say that in San Francisco, LT.” Ashley said as she gazed out from the viewport. Glancing back, she saw that Shepard was equally distracted by the view and couldn’t help but smile. “Not many chances to visit Earth Commander?”

Shepard shook her head, “Nope. Downside of being a Spacer. Other than a few times with my mo-Captain Shepard, Academy training, and N school it’s been one frigate after another. First time I experienced actual weather change...well let’s just say I still get vids from my Academy squad about it.”

Ashley bit back a smile and noticed that Kaidan was doing the same. They knew that the Commander wouldn’t bring up her Academy days if she didn’t mind the ribbing she got from her former squadmates.

“Think they’ve started serving pumpkin spice latte’s at the chain stores yet, LT?” Ashley asked after they disembarked and were hit with the chill in the air that signaled fall was underway.

“They’ve probably been selling it for a few months already.” Kaidan remarked after briefly glancing at his omni-tool. “Although I prefer apple spice.”

Ashley made a face at the mention of the other drink, “Of course you would. Sir.”

“Oh and drinking melted candle wax that vaguely smells like pumpkin is better?”

“Better than drinking something that turns into apple juice when it gets cold.”

Shepard listened to Kaidan and Ashley good naturedly rib each other over their preferred drink and was glad that she’d managed to save both of them on Virmire. Each brought something different to the team that would have been lost if she’d been forced to choose only one to save on that planet.

Kaidan’s empathy made Shepard remember not to take herself so seriously and to try and help as many as she could while Ashley’s tactical knowledge was handy during a firefight. During the hunt for Saren, they both reminded Shepard of what she was fighting for and that had payed off in the end.

“Commander?”

“Hm? Sorry, I was just thinking about something.” Shepard sheepishly admitted, feeling her face heat up slightly at getting sidetracked.

“What you’re favorite hot drink? Other than black coffee, that is.” Kaidan gently teased while glancing to see if any Alliance brass was around. Seeing that they were alone for the moment, he lightly brushed his fingers against hers.

They were still trying to sort through their feelings and he hoped that if they got leave after all the debriefs, they could go somewhere to fully sort it out.

Shepard smiled at Kaidan’s subtle movement and intertwined a few of her fingers with his. “Neither. I prefer peppermint mocha.”

Ashley raised an eyebrow at the answer, “Care to explain, Commander?”

Shepard shrugged, “It’s hard to explain. Maybe because it was the first coffee drink I had on Earth when I was old enough. Or because it smells so wonderful-the chocolate and peppermint mixed together with the whipped cream. I just like that over the other two.”

“Now I want to have one.” Kaidan smiled, cautiously letting go of Shepard’s hand as they rounded the corner. “If I remember correctly there’s a chain coffee shop nearby. How about after we get our quarters we meet there and settle this once and for all?”

Shepard smiled, “Sounds good to me. I’ll even buy.”

[johncarsonlesterjr]

(Where's the volcano, Mocha)? Bong Go victim of ‘rumors;’ ask Rappler — Mocha Uson | Inquirer News

(Where’s the volcano, Mocha)? Bong Go victim of ‘rumors;’ ask Rappler — Mocha Uson | Inquirer News

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/969783/breaking-news-bong-go-rappler-mocha-uson-rappler-frigate-deal