History Trivia Thread Reducks

[Drakken]

Yeah, bad call, Alex.

By all means, I'm offering you the chance to respond.

There are three completely unknown people placed in that list. To find another four would be quite a feat... 

Ok, I'm going with a stupid response: the king and the prime-minister were involved.

That's why I ask only for two on four. And my mention that Kidd's privateer commission was signed personally by the King was a clue.

Still, your response isn't that far off. While the King was not a direct financial backer and did not spend a personal dime on it (and there were no Prime Ministers until the Hanoverians), he did promote the idea of sending privateers in the Indian Ocean to alleviate the East India Company's constant requests for military intervention from London : He recognized the harm piracy was doing to Britain's prestige and trade in the region, but his personal crusade against Louis XIV meant he couldn't spare Royal Navy men-of-wars to send in such a far-away region.

Sadly, the pilot project would became a complete fiasco.

I'll throw a bone then: The reason why they wanted their identity to remain confidential is because all four of them were proeminent supporters of King William since the Glorious Revolution, and all four were among His Majesty's close personal friends.

So, only the names are needed.

[Drakken]

Hmmmm, I guess this time the question was a little bit too hard for most. 

[Alexandru H.]

Hmmmm, I guess this time the question was a little bit too hard for most. 

What gave it away? 

[Pat]

Well, it is hard to gauge difficulty of questions, I thought my question would be easy as well with the Napoleon link (seems to be a lot of people here with a special interest for the Napoleonic Wars)

[Drakken]

Well then, I'll give you the answer.

The four individuals were ALL holders of Offices of the Realm at the time, proeminent Whigs, and first-time supporters of William since he set foot on England's soil.

They were:

a) Sir John Somers, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
b) Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, Secretary of State
c) Sir Edward Russell, First Lord of the Admiralty
d) Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, Master-General of Ordnance

You can now understand why Kidd's antics became a huge political scandal in Parliament when the identity of these backers became known.

As an aside, when Kidd was brought back to London he was summoned before a Parliamentary committee to see if he could be used as a key witness for an eventual impeachment, in exchange for a Parliamentary pardon which would save his neck. Weirdly, while his inexcusable nigh-on piratic antics and the links with the backers were widely known,  Kidd stauchily maintained he had committed no piracy despite clear evidence of the contrary, which made them consider him useless as an unreliable witness. Hence the word of one member of Parliament: "I had thought him only a knave. Now I know him to be a fool as well". 

And I checked, it wasn't mentioned on Wiki in the bio of any of these great individuals. 

I cede the floor.

[garbon]

By all means, I'm offering you the chance to respond.

There are three completely unknown people placed in that list. To find another four would be quite a feat... 

Ok, I'm going with a stupid response: the king and the prime-minister were involved.

Obscure is not the same as cryptic.  Your questions are cryptic as the only correct answers are the ones chosen by you.

[Drakken]

My bad, it was in Captain Kidd's bio on Wiki. 

Four-fifths of the cost for the venture was paid for by noble lords, who were among the most powerful men in England: the Earl of Orford, The Baron of Romney, the Duke of Shrewsbury and Sir John Somers. Kidd was presented with a letter of marque, signed personally by King William III of England. This letter reserved 10% of the loot for the Crown, and Henry Gilbert's The Book of Pirates suggests that the King may have fronted some of the money for the voyage himself. Kidd and an acquaintance, Colonel Robert Livingston, orchestrated the whole plan and paid for the rest. Kidd had to sell his ship Antigua to raise funds.

[Pat]

Let's get this thread going again with an easy one.


Almost 95% of Bali's population adhere to a variety of Hinduism, and being in Bali reminds you of being in India in many ways. The island became Hindu after being made a colony of a vast Hindu empire. What's the name of the empire?

[Pat]

No-one? It was founded after the failed Mongol invasion of Java.

[Caliga]

Khmer?

[Pat]

Nope

[Caliga]

Balikpapan?

[Pat]

Nope

[Caliga]

argh... yeah I do recall some Indonesian empire now that you mention it but it had a weird ass name.

um.... Suvaryaman or something?

[Pat]

Nope. You might be thinking of Srivijaya (which directly precedes this empire)