Born in Scotland in around 1645, William Kidd moved to New York, which had been taken over from the Dutch by the English in 1664. After an early career as a seamen, he later became a successful privateer, commissioned to protect English interests in the Thirteen Colonies in North America and the West Indies. In 1695, Kidd received a royal commission to hunt down pirates preying on British ships in the Indian Ocean—an event that would lead to his downfall. After his death by execution in 1701, Kidd and his exploits became a popular subject of pirate stories. The belief that he may have left buried treasure made him a legend, which inspired many treasure hunts in later centuries.

Privateer

By 1689, Kidd was an apprentice seaman aboard French pirate ship made up of a mostly French crew, sailing the Caribbean Sea. During one of their voyages, Kidd and other crew members, including Robert Culliford, mutinied and made off in the ship. They renamed it the Blessed William, and Kidd became the captain, sailing it to Nevis, an English colony. There he joined a fleet assembled by the governmor of Nevis to defend the island from the French.

In 1689, Kidd took part in the attack on and the plundering of the French island of Marie-Galante. Early the following year, Culliford, who had now turned to piracy, stole the Blessed William while Kidd was ashore at Antigua in the West Indies. Kidd acquired the command of another ship, the Antigua, and pursued the Blessed William to New York in 1691.

Finally, in 1698, Kidd captured the Quedagh Merchant, an Indian ship hired by Armenian merchants and laden with valuable silks, satins, muslins, gold and silver owned by a noble of the Mughal court. The ship was captained by an Englishman who had purchased the protection of the French Crown, thus giving Kidd cause to believe the ship was a legitimate target. When news reached England, however, it was decided Kidd had no legal authority to attack the ship and was declared a pirate. Naval commanders were ordered to arrest him.

Renaming the ship he seized the Adventure Prize, Kidd set sail for Madagascar. There most of his crew abandoned him for his old foe, Culliford. Hearing that a general pardon on pirates had been issued, Kidd sailed to the Caribbean aboard the Adventure Prize. There he learned that the pardon did not apply to him and that all British colonial governors had been issued with the order to arrest him. Realising that the ship was now a marked vessel, Kidd left it there, and travelled on to New York on another ship, hoping influential people he knew would help clear his name.

Before his arrival, however, Kidd buried some of his treasure—gold, silver and precious gems—on Gardiner's Island, off Long Island, intending to use his knowledge of its location as a bargaining tool. Bellomont arrested Kidd in Boston and sent him to stand trial in London. After Kidd revealed where he buried the treasure, Bellomont had it found and sent it to England to be used as evidence against Kidd. He was found guilty and hanged in 1701.
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