# data[].attributes.body
Captain Kidd was commissioned to hunt pirates, going on a mission to rid the seas of piracy. As a privateer, Kidd's task was to capture and eliminate pirate threats, serving the government or private entities that hired him. “Kidd’s role was to suppress the pirates who thrived in the lawless Atlantic waters between New York and Madagascar” (Chapter 1, Page 9).

# data[].attributes.body
Captain Kidd departs from London on a mission to hunt pirates. He aims to make the seas safer. “On April 4, 1696, William Kidd stood on the main deck of the Royal Navy’s Antelope, hugging his wife, Sarah, and his ten-year-old daughter, Elizabeth” (Chapter 2, Page 24).

# data[].attributes.body
The Adventure Galley has challenges during its voyage, testing Captain Kidd's leadership and the crew's resolve. From bad weather to enemies. “Adventure Galley was never seaworthy. She was slow and unresponsive in calm weather and downright dangerous in storms” (Chapter 3, Page 34).

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd captures the Quedagh Merchant, an achievement of his. The victory adds to Kidd's reputation as a good adversary of maritime criminals. “On January 30, 1698, Kidd made his most famous capture, the Quedagh Merchant, an enormous Armenian ship flying French colors” (Chapter 7, Page 77).

# data[].attributes.body
The crew of the ship turns mutinous, rebelling against Captain Kidd. Kidd faces a struggle to maintain control and maintain order. “By August 1698, they [the crew] were openly mutinous” (Chapter 9, Page 96).

# data[].attributes.body
The Adventure Galley is abandoned by its crew, leaving Captain Kidd stranded. With his ship deserted, Kidd makes a new plan to continue his mission. “The bilge pumps could not cope with the leaks, and soon the Adventure Galley was foundering” (Chapter 11, Page 125).

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd raids ships, but he gets accused of piracy, messing with his mission and reputation. Kidd's actions lead to criminality, putting him into a legal and moral quagmire. “By June 1698, Kidd’s crime spree had become a terror to all maritime nations” (Chapter 11, Page 123).

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd becomes a wanted man, hunted by authorities. Forced to avoid capture and clear his name, Kidd faces a journey with lots of danger as he tries to prove his innocence and regain his reputation. “In early 1699, Kidd sailed west with the intention of seeking protection in the familiar waters of the Caribbean” (Chapter 12, Page 139).

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd returns to the Caribbean searching for protection from threats against him. Kidd hopes to find allies and safety to help him survive. “When Kidd landed in New York on July 3, 1699, he was not a free man. He was a prisoner” (Chapter 12, Page 145).

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd is betrayed and arrested in New York, facing the consequences. Kidd is brought to face trial for his actions.

“With no legal jurisdiction in the colonies, the New York assembly had turned Kidd over to the custody of the Royal Navy, which transported him to England” (Chapter 12, Page 147).

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd is transported to England to stand trial. He prepares to confront the legal proceedings in the courts of England.

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd's trial news in spread fast, gathering the public's attention. The courtroom drama unfolds, the court figures what his punishment should be.

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd is found guilty of piracy and sentenced to death, marking an end to his career. The news was put as a warning of the consequences for those who go into piracy.

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd meets his death at Execution Dock, where he is hanged for his crimes of piracy, bringing an end to his story. His execution serves as a warning to would-be pirates and stands as a reminder of the penalties waiting for those who would try to break the law.

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd's body is left in chains as a warning to others once again, serving as a scene intended to avoid future acts of piracy. His remains hanging at Execution Dock symbolize the consequences.

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd's trial and execution make a debate over the piracy and privateering, making discussions about the legitimate maritime activities and criminal behavior. The case makes raises of questions about the ethics and legality of their actions.

# data[].attributes.body
Rumors of Kidd's hidden treasure spread quickly, having treasure hunters and adventurers want it. Gossip of his riches buried or hidden away by Kidd before his death fueled a frenzy of competition and attention to find the treasure.

# data[].attributes.body
Expeditions are sent on the quest to locate Captain Kidd's rumored treasure, with adventurers and historians also on the journey to find the treasure. The riches draws hunters to far shores and onto waters and Kidd's legacy starts to grow.

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd's true involvement in piracy becomes the main subject of the debate among historians and scholars, with accounts and interpretations mixing up his legacy. Some argued that Kidd was a victim of circumstances, while others said that he was a ruthless pirate going as a privateer.

# data[].attributes.body
Kidd's legend inspired tons of books, films, and folklore, having his story part of popular culture and imagination. From tales of adventure to historical accounts, Kidd's story interests many people around the world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Captain William Kidd - From Privateer to Pirate Hunter to Pirate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The History of Captain William Kidd and his lost Pirate Treasure Pirate History

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Review: The Pirate Hunter by Richard Zacks

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Reading Richard Zacks’ rumbustious romp, The Pirate Hunter, Kevin Rushby follows in the stormy wake of Captain Kidd

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd

By Richard Zacks

Hyperion, 426 pages, $25.95

No two words better conjure up the image of a pirate than "Capt. Kidd." Just say the name in the right tone of voice, and you can send a shiver down the spine of a sleepy child. Capt. Kidd was the most famous pirate of them all. Right?

Not according to his latest biographer, Richard Zacks, the author of a couple of irreverent books on famous historical figures. We've gotten William Kidd all wrong. He was no pirate; he was a pirate hunter. He was no bloodthirsty, hard-drinking buccaneer; he was a good family man, a doting father, a loving husband. He was kind to servants and slaves. He wasn't a thief; he was a brave and honest man helping the king of England rid the high seas of dangerous pirates. He wasn't an evil autocrat of a pirate; he was a democratic captain done in by his greedy men. He was an enterprising businessman, duped by his fickle, rich backers. He was even a sort of proto-American, a man fighting a revolution against corrupt aristocrats. He was just a century too early.

Kidd also has to be one of history's unluckiest characters. In "The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd" Zacks lays out the whole chain of bad luck that led Kidd to the gallows on the banks of the Thames. Kidd was executed in 1701, but even death wasn't punishment enough for him: For years his bleaching bones hailed the seamen who headed down the Thames, a grim reminder of the end that awaited those who turned to piracy.

Those sailors took their lessons to heart and handed Kidd's infamy down to us with tales of buried treasure. For the last three centuries, we have pretty much accepted the Admiralty Court's verdict that Kidd was guilty of murder and piracy. Kidd would probably have been better off, Zacks tells us, if he had been a pirate:

"If he had only acted like a pirate and run off with the gold, he would have been fine and free. His confused tiptoeing between legitimate privateering and outright piracy had tripped him up."

Worse, he never had a chance to defend himself. He was overmatched by wily lawyers and done in by poor justice. "The Pirate Hunter" gives us the character defense Kidd was never able to muster.

Zacks has a complicated story to tell, and sometimes his taste for anecdotes gets the better of the narrative. The watery world of the 1690s was beset by political and religious rivalries. In fact, the whole meaning of piracy was changing as economic powers like England's East India Co. set out to make the world safe for commerce. In this early chapter of globalization, a world grown large in the era of exploration was shrinking into areas of interest. To tell this larger story of the changing meaning of piracy, Zacks was able to borrow from Robert Ritchie's excellent "Captain Kidd and the War Against Pirates," but Zacks' chief interest here is in Kidd the man and not the emerging world system that his pirate hunting threatened.

When Kidd sailed out of New York harbor in 1696, he thought he had a valid license from the king of England to hunt pirates, particularly French pirates. As a pirate hunter he would help protect the interests of England, ridding the seas of thieves who preyed on rich merchant ships. Kidd was also a sort of privateer, a civilian captain enlisted by the king to seize ships sailing under enemy flags. Because Protestant England was at war with Catholic France, Kidd figured he could seize ships sailing under French passes, no matter their country of origin. A cleverer man than Kidd would have guessed that by taking up pirate hunting and privateering, he would look a lot like a pirate to those he attacked.

It was a slippery world Kidd entered. He promised his backers a good return on their investments, and he promised his crew a cut of the profits. If he didn't capture pirates or seize enemy ships, no one would make money from the voyage. Zacks argues in Kidd's defense that his restless crew forced him to go after the ships that got him into trouble. He gave up chasing pirates and took two ships carrying French passes.

Kidd's project was doomed before he took his first ship. He was confident he had strong support from wealthy friends and aristocratic backers, but theirs was a scheme bound to fail. Kidd and his backers had intended to divvy up the profits from the sale of whatever pirate treasure they seized. Kidd would be retrieving stolen property, but no one pledged to track down the original owners. That's why Kidd got into so much trouble. How could England build a commercial empire if upstanding merchants, like some of Kidd's backers, could arm a ship and send men out to seize stolen property with no intention of returning it to its legitimate owners? How could England permit a man like Kidd to seize the treasure of a boatload of Muslim pilgrims sailing under a French pass when the prosperity of English traders depended on the goodwill of India's grand mogul? And guess whose name the grand mogul had come to associate with piracy?

The unsuspecting Kidd sailed into a torrent of gossip that had already branded him a pirate. The political winds began to shift before he or his men had a chance to act on his commission. A whole world system was in flux, and the pirate hunting and privateering that had once seemed to serve the interests of warring European governments was now to be condemned and vilified.

Kidd was a literate man, but the fact that he could write did not mean he left abundant sources for a future biographer. Zacks wants to take us inside Kidd's head. He wants us to feel for the filthy man rotting in solitary confinement in Newgate Prison:

"Kidd could not resist the bitter thoughts: He had tried hard not to turn pirate; he had tried to play by the privateer code, perhaps a shade fast and loose, but just a shade, and now he would be a symbol of piracy for years to come. His name would be `pirate.' "

That we believe Kidd may have thought these sorts of thoughts is a tribute to Zacks' skill. To reveal Kidd's character, he uses stories of Kidd's contemporaries. Kidd was not as corrupt and scheming as double-dealing American merchant Robert Livingston, not as randy and violent as pirate James Gilliam and not nearly as lucky as his rival Robert Culliford, a man who was every bit the pirate Zacks insists Kidd was not. Culliford's story is crucial to Zacks' biography. Culliford shared Kidd's world but not his fate. The two crossed paths time and again, but Culliford prospered where Kidd failed. Culliford was a pirate, but he managed to secure a pardon from the king and got away with the treasure.

Zacks has a few ticks that sometimes trip up the compelling story he sets out to tell. He has based much of his book on work in the archives. Where the archives fail him, he has only informed speculation. For the most part, Zacks is a skilled and persuasive speculator, but a little too often for my taste he introduces his speculations with the phrase "no doubt": "no doubt many acted like drunken jerks." "Little Sarah no doubt explored her father's face." "No doubt, Robert Culliford partook in one way or another of the charming women who ventured to the punch houses in the harbor." Did they do these things? I wonder.

Zacks has also constructed Kidd's life as a kind of disaster story-a version of the narrative style made so popular in Sebastian Junger's "A Perfect Storm" and Jon Krakauer's "Into Thin Air." We watch Kidd make the decisions that will lead to his doom; we watch his enemies close in on him. But too many characters and too many forces shaped Kidd's fate for the simple structure of impending disaster to work well.

I confess I sometimes lost my way in watery anecdotes. Men jumped ship; pirates rechristened ships they had seized. Zacks backs up and fills in the pieces, nesting so many stories within stories that the great pirate yarn sometimes disappears.

As I was reading this book, I kept remembering those important first lessons in book reviewing we all picked up in 3rd grade. Here's how I would end my book report: Some of you might get confused by all the mixed-up tales, but if you really like pirate stories, you'll love this book.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A story of Capt. Kidd for lovers of pirate yarns

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd By Richard Zacks Hyperion, 426 pages, $25.95 No two words better conjure up the image of a pirate than "Capt. Kidd." Just say the name in the right tone of voice, and you can send a shiver down the spine of a sleepy child.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
A Spotlight on a Primary Source by Robert Livingston, William Kidd, and Richard Blackham

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A secret agreement between pirate hunters, 1696 | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A secret agreement between pirate hunters, 1696 | | Maritime trade and exploration in the colonial era created an environment ripe for piracy. One of the most famous pirates in history, Captain William Kidd, was commissioned by William III of England in 1695 as a privateer to hunt and capture pirates. Robert Livingston of New York engineered the arrangement, in which Kidd and Livingston were to receive a 10 percent share of the profits recovered from any treasure obtained from pirates. Privateers would turn over a tenth of their treasure to the king, a third to the Admiralty for doing the paperwork, and the remainder to the investors who would pay the crew and divide the rest among themselves. In this document Livingston and Kidd enter into a separate agreement with an unsavory merchant named Richard Blackham. Each sold one third of their shares to Blackham in exchange for money “by him to be advanced in Sterling money or money Equivalent thereunto” to relieve Kidd of debt and to raise funds that were needed prior to Kidd’s departure. This arrangement was highly unorthodox and was entered into unbeknownst to the king or the Admiralty. Kidd operated as a privateer for several months before his own actions bordered on piracy and the king ordered his arrest. When word spread that Kidd was suspected of piracy, Livingston feared that their plan would be revealed and he too would be implicated. Parliament, on their part, did everything in its power to keep word from spreading that the king and Admiralty took any part in a gun-for-hire operation. Four years later, as Kidd headed to Boston from the Caribbean, Livingston informed the lieutenant governor of New York that Kidd was carrying treasure. Kidd was captured and sent to England for trial. He was executed in May 1701. A full transcript is available. Transcript Articles of Agreemt. made this seaventh day of February 1695/6 between Robert Livingston Esqr. & Capt. Williame Kidd of the one part & Richard Blackham of the other part. 1st. The said Robert Livingston & Capt. William Kidd do joyntly & sevally agree with the said Richard Blackham, that in case the said Capt. Kidd do not meet with the Pirates, which went from new England Rode Island, New Yorke & Elsewhere, or do not take from any of the pyrates or from any the Kings Enemyes such goods mchandizes or any things of value as being devided as mentoned in Articles between the said Robert Livingston & Capt. William Kidd of the one part & Richard Earle of Bellomont on the other part bearing Date the 10th day of October 1695 shall fully recompense the said Richard Blackham for the money by him expended in buying the said one fifteenth part of the sd. Ship & primisses that thou they shall refund & repay to ye sd. Richard Blackham ye whole money by him to be advanced in Sterling money or money Equivalent thereunto on or before the 25th. day of March wch shall be in the year of our Lord 1697 ye dangers of the seas & of the Enemy & mortality of the sd. Capt. Kidd allways excepted, upon paymt whereof ye said Robt. Livingston & Wm. Kidd are to have the sole pperty in ye sd. Ship & furniture & this Indenture to be delivered up to them wth all other Covents & obligations thereunto belonging. Sealed & delivered Robt. Livingston & In the p[re]sence of us. Wm Kidd Samll. Spiser Richd. Raper John Wallis