Page "William Kidd" Paragraph 11

Among Kidd's officers was his quartermaster, Hendrick van der Heul.

The quartermaster was considered ' second in command ' to the captain in pirate culture of this era.

It is not clear, however, if Van der Heul exercised this degree of responsibility because Kidd was nominally a privateer.

Van der Heul is also noteworthy because he may have been African or of African-American descent.

A contemporary source describes him as a " small black Man.

" However, the meaning of this term is not certain as, in late seventeenth-century usage, the term negro would have been normally used, and the phrase " black Man " could mean either dark-skinned or black-haired.

If van der Heul was indeed of African ancestry, this fact would make him the highest ranking black pirate so far identified.

Van der Heul went on to become a master's mate on a merchant vessel, and was never convicted of piracy.