- Byname:
- Captain Kidd
William Kidd
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Who was William Kidd?
William Kidd, born in Scotland around 1645, was a privateer and pirate whose story has become legend. After sailing as a legitimate privateer for England, he received a royal commission in 1695 to capture pirates.
In 1697, Kidd turned to piracy and attacked various ships. After he killed his gunner, William Moore, a Dutch ship attack was unsuccessful. In 1698, he took the Armenian ship Quedagh Merchant as a prize.
Later denounced as a pirate, Kidd was arrested and sent to England. Despite suppressed evidence, he was convicted of murder and piracy in 1701 and hanged. Some of his treasure was recovered, and his name became synonymous with the romanticized pirate figure in Western fiction.
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What is William Kidd most famous for?
William Kidd (c. 1645–1701) is most famous for being a 17th-century privateer and later a semilegendary pirate. He is celebrated in English literature as one of the most colorful outlaws of all time, with fortune seekers hunting in vain for his buried treasure for centuries.
Initially, Kidd sailed as a legitimate privateer for England, but he later turned to piracy. After seizing the Armenian ship Quedagh Merchant, Kidd was denounced as a pirate. Upon his return to New York, he was sent to England for trial. Despite questions about the evidence, Kidd was found guilty of murder and piracy, and he was hanged in 1701.
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How did William Kidd become involved in piracy?
William Kidd's path to piracy wasn't straightforward. Initially, he sailed as a legitimate privateer for England, targeting French ships in the West Indies and off North America after 1689. By 1690, he was a respected sea captain and shipowner in New York City, even commissioned to rid the coast of enemy privateers.
However, in 1695, Kidd received a royal commission in London to apprehend pirates who were harassing ships of the East India Company in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. It was after arriving at the Comoro Islands off East Africa in February 1697, without having taken a prize ship, that Kidd turned to piracy.
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What major events happened during Kidd's pirate career?
William Kidd, born in Scotland around 1645, began his sea career as a privateer, sailing for England against the French in the West Indies and off the North American coast after 1689. By 1690, he was a shipowner and captain in New York City, tasked by New York and Massachusetts to clear the coast of enemy privateers.
In 1695, Kidd received a commission in London to apprehend pirates who were harassing East India Company ships in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. In February 1696, he sailed from Deptford on the Adventure Galley, arriving at the Comoro Islands off East Africa by February 1697. After failing to take a prize ship, Kidd turned to piracy. In August 1697, he unsuccessfully attacked ships sailing from Yemen and later took smaller ships. Two months later, his refusal to attack a Dutch ship led to a mutiny, during which Kidd killed his gunner, William Moore. In January 1698, he seized his most valuable prize, the Armenian ship Quedagh Merchant, and scuttled his own ship.
Upon reaching Anguilla in April 1699, Kidd learned he was denounced as a pirate. He was later found guilty of Moore's murder and five piracy indictments and was hanged.
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Why was William Kidd put on trial?
William Kidd was put on trial and found guilty on May 8 and 9, 1701, for the murder of William Moore, his gunner, and on five indictments of piracy. Despite questions raised by some observers about the sufficiency of the evidence, he was convicted. Kidd's trial occurred after he learned he was denounced as a pirate and attempted to persuade the earl of Bellomont, the colonial governor of New York, of his innocence. Instead, Bellomont sent him to England for trial.
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How has William Kidd's legacy influenced pirate stories and legends?
William Kidd, a 17th-century privateer and pirate, has become a celebrated figure in English literature, embodying the romanticized concept of the swashbuckling pirate. Stories of his buried treasure have been popularized in Western fiction, such as Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Gold Bug," inspiring fortune seekers for centuries. Kidd's story is part of a larger genre of popular romantic and children’s literature that was inspired by the exploits of pirates during the "golden age" of piracy in the Caribbean and the waters off the American colonies.
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William Kidd (born c. 1645, Greenock, Renfrew, Scotland—died May 23, 1701, London, England) was a 17th-century privateer and semilegendary pirate who became celebrated in English literature as one of the most colourful outlaws of all time. Fortune seekers have hunted his buried treasure in vain through succeeding centuries.
Kidd’s early career is obscure. It is believed he went to sea as a youth. After 1689 he was sailing as a legitimate privateer for England against the French in the West Indies and off the coast of North America. In 1690 he was an established sea captain and shipowner in New York City, where he owned property; at various times he was dispatched by both New York and Massachusetts to rid the coast of enemy privateers. In London in 1695, he received a royal commission to apprehend pirates who molested the ships of the East India Company in the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean.
Kidd sailed from Deptford on his ship, the Adventure Galley, on February 27, 1696, called at Plymouth, and arrived at New York City on July 4 to take on more men. Avoiding the normal pirate haunts, he arrived by February 1697 at the Comoro Islands off East Africa. It was apparently some time after his arrival there that Kidd, still without having taken a prize ship, decided to turn to piracy. In August 1697 he made an unsuccessful attack on ships sailing with Mocha coffee from Yemen but later took several small ships. His refusal two months later to attack a Dutch ship nearly brought his crew to mutiny, and in an angry exchange Kidd mortally wounded his gunner, William Moore.
Kidd took his most valuable prize, the Armenian ship Quedagh Merchant, in January 1698 and scuttled his own unseaworthy Adventure Galley. When he reached Anguilla, in the West Indies (April 1699), he learned that he had been denounced as a pirate. He left the Quedagh Merchant at the island of Hispaniola (where the ship was possibly scuttled; in any case, it disappeared with its questionable booty) and sailed in a newly purchased ship, the Antonio, to New York City, where he tried to persuade the earl of Bellomont, then colonial governor of New York, of his innocence. Bellomont, however, sent him to England for trial, and he was found guilty (May 8 and 9, 1701) of the murder of Moore and on five indictments of piracy. Important evidence concerning two of the piracy cases was suppressed at the trial, and some observers later questioned whether the evidence was sufficient for a guilty verdict.
Kidd was hanged, and some of his treasure was recovered from Gardiners Island off Long Island. Proceeds from his effects and goods taken from the Antonio were donated to charity. In years that followed, the name of Captain Kidd has become inseparable from the romanticized concept of the swashbuckling pirate of Western fiction. Among other stories concerning caches of treasure he supposedly buried is Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Gold Bug.”