William Kidd — Privateer, Pirate, or Scapegoat?
William Kidd — Captain Kidd — was a Scottish privateer commissioned in 1695 by a consortium of powerful English aristocrats to hunt pirates in the Indian Ocean and protect English merchant shipping. He was hanged for piracy in London in 1701. Whether he was genuinely a pirate, a privateer who made desperate decisions under impossible circumstances, or a man deliberately sacrificed to protect politically connected backers who needed a scapegoat more than they needed him — is a question historians have debated for three centuries without resolution.
Kidd’s story is compelling precisely because it resists resolution. The documents that might have proven his case — the French passes that would have shown his key captures were lawful prizes — disappeared from the Admiralty records before his trial and were not found again until 1910, in the Public Record Office. By then Kidd had been dead for two centuries. Whether they were deliberately removed to ensure his conviction, or simply misfiled, is unknown. The case against him rested in part on evidence that may have been suppressed. He was hanged anyway.
The commission and the backers
Kidd’s 1695 commission was unusual in its political connections. His backers included the Earl of Bellomont — the incoming Governor of New England — Lord Somers (the Lord Chancellor), the Earl of Romney, the Duke of Shrewsbury, and the Earl of Orford. These were not merchants; they were among the most powerful political figures in England.
The arrangement was a private investment: backers provided capital, Kidd provided the operation, and prizes would be shared according to agreed proportions. Kidd purchased the Adventure Galley — a 34-gun vessel capable of rowing as well as sailing — and recruited a crew in New York with the understanding that their pay would come from prize money rather than wages. This arrangement, standard in privateering, meant the crew had strong incentive to take prizes and strong frustration if they did not. It created pressure on Kidd to find targets regardless of their legal status.
The voyage and the Quedagh Merchant
The voyage to the Indian Ocean was commercially disastrous for most of its duration. The Adventure Galley was plagued by crew illness and desertion. Kidd found no pirates worth attacking. His frustrated crew repeatedly pressured him to take ships outside his commission. He shot and killed his gunner, William Moore, during an argument about a potential target.
In January 1698, Kidd captured the Quedagh Merchant — an Armenian-owned vessel carrying French passes that Kidd argued made it a lawful prize under his commission to take French ships. The capture was worth an estimated £70,000. It was also the action that sealed his fate. His backers, by the time the Quedagh Merchant news reached England, had concluded that Kidd was a liability. The political climate had shifted; powerful men did not want to be associated with a pirate scandal. Kidd was expendable. His backers — who had funded the voyage — declined to defend him.
Arrest, trial, and the missing passes
Kidd sailed to the Caribbean in 1699 knowing he was wanted. He made contact with the Earl of Bellomont in Boston, apparently believing his commission and the French passes from the Quedagh Merchant would protect him. Bellomont arrested him.
At his trial in London, Kidd claimed the French passes proved his captures were lawful. The passes were not produced — they had disappeared from Admiralty records. His backers provided no support. His counsel was inadequate. He was convicted of murder for the killing of William Moore and of piracy for several of his captures. He was hanged at Execution Dock in Wapping on May 23, 1701. The rope broke twice before he died on the third attempt. His body was hung in a gibbet over the Thames at Tilbury Point, where it remained as a warning for years.
Pirate or scapegoat?
The historical consensus has shifted significantly since the discovery of the French passes in 1910. Most modern historians consider Kidd a privateer who made some decisions that stretched his commission, operating under extraordinary pressure from a crew that expected prizes, backed by powerful men who abandoned him when he became inconvenient. His conviction depended on evidence that may have been suppressed and on the absence of backers who had the political power and motivation to save him but chose not to. He is not the only figure in the history of privateering to have been sacrificed this way — but his case is the most thoroughly documented and the most thoroughly unresolved.
Related on TheSea
Was William Kidd a pirate or a privateer?
Legally, he was convicted as a pirate. Historically, the question is genuinely disputed. He held a valid Letter of Marque and made captures he argued were lawful under its terms. The key evidence — French passes from the Quedagh Merchant — disappeared before his trial and were found in 1910. Most modern historians consider him a privateer who was sacrificed by politically connected backers who needed a scapegoat.
Who were Captain Kidd’s backers?
His commission was backed by some of the most powerful men in England: the Earl of Bellomont (Governor of New England), Lord Somers (Lord Chancellor), the Earl of Romney, the Duke of Shrewsbury, and the Earl of Orford. They provided capital for the voyage and were entitled to a share of the prizes. When Kidd became politically inconvenient, they declined to defend him and he was hanged.
Did Captain Kidd have buried treasure?
He buried a cache on Gardiners Island before his arrest, which was found and recovered by the authorities. The larger question — whether a substantial treasure remains hidden — has no reliable documentary basis. The bulk of the Quedagh Merchant’s cargo was reportedly destroyed on Hispaniola. No significant Kidd treasure has ever been confirmed.
What were the French passes?
Documents found aboard the vessels Kidd captured, showing they were sailing under French authority. Under Kidd’s commission, French ships were lawful targets. He argued these passes made his captures legal. They disappeared from Admiralty records before his trial. They were discovered in the Public Record Office in 1910, 209 years after his execution, in the papers of one of his prosecutors.
How did Captain Kidd die?
He was hanged at Execution Dock, Wapping, London on May 23, 1701. The rope broke twice before he died on the third attempt. His body was then hung in a gibbet — an iron cage — over the Thames at Tilbury Point, where it remained as a deterrent to other sailors for years.
Blane Perun has been exploring Earth’s oceans and marine life for over 25 years. Founder of TheSea.Org in 1999, underwater photographer, coral aquaculture pioneer, and explorer of 80+ countries.
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