James Kelly (pirate)
James Gilliam, also known as James Kelly, was an English pirate active in the Indian Ocean during the 1690s and was a longtime associate of Captain William Kidd. Prior to his association with Kidd, he sailed with George Raynor and Edward Davis aboard the Batchelor's Delight. One of Kidd's earliest crew members, Gilliam was a participant in the mutiny on board the Mocha and the subsequent murder of Captain Edgecomb who was killed in his sleep. After taking command of the East Indiaman, Gilliam and the Mocha, under successive Captains Ralph Stout and Robert Culliford, assisted in the capture of several ships in the Indian Ocean. Gilliam was arrested after returning to New England with Kidd in 1699; he had taken shelter in the home of Francis Dole, a fellow pirate who had once sailed with John Hoar. Transported to Great Britain, he was tried at the Old Bailey and found guilty of piracy. While in prison, he wrote A full and true Discovery of all the Robberies, Pyracies, and other Notorious Actions, of that Famous English Pyrate, Capt. James Kelly which included references to the as yet undiscovered Galapagos Islands before his eventual execution on July 12, 1701.
