Pirate William Kidd, executed in Wapping, returns on Twitter

‘Tweeters’ bored of Stephen Fry or Lady Gaga’s latest thoughts can turn to a notorious voice from the past as he is resurrected on Twitter.

Captain William Kidd has set aside the inconvenience of being dead for 309 years to keep the modern world in touch with his voyages around the world.

The Scottish sailor, who was executed in Wapping in 1701 for piracy after returning from the West Indies, will feature in Pirates: The Captain Kidd Story, an exhibition which opens on May 20 at the Museum of Docklands.

Researchers and curators at the West India Quay museum have painstakingly recreated the Captain’s thoughts from journals and logs at the museum and from external research and will share them on Twitter ahead of the exhibition.

Having welcomed his crew aboard on January 19, the Captain, who faced questions before the English Parliament before his execution, tweeted today that he had taken ‘a great prize’: ‘chests of opium, sugar and silk.’

He is the subject of some historical controversy as to whether he should be considered a pirate at all.

John Joyce, who works on the museum’s Web communications, said: “The tweets will highlight that Captain Kidd was at times actually an employee of the government.

“The twitter account will hopefully spark interest in the exhibition.”

The museum previously used Twitter to publicise the diary of Oscar Kirk, a 14-year-old messenger boy who worked at the London Docks at the start of the 20th century.

The exhibition will include artefacts and archaeological finds including a real pirate flag and an early 18th century cannon.

To follow Captain Kidd’s adventures, visit twitter.com/#!/William_Kidd.