In 1689 William Kidd served on the pirate ship "Blessed William". The ship surrendered at Nevis, an island in the Caribbean. Kidd was given license to attack the French by the governor of Nevis. In December 1689, he participated in the plunder of Marie Galante as well as attacking several French ships. In February 1690, Kidd's crew fearing for their safety in war decided to steal the ship "Blessed William" while Kidd was ashore. Kidd was given the "Antigua" and gave chase, chasing the "Blessed William" to New York. New York at the time was embroiled in civil war. Kidd allied himself with the winning side and married a wealthy widow in May 1691. He remained at New York for a few years aquainting himself with political leaders. One of those he made aquaintance with was Robert Livingston whom was an ambitious entrepreneur.
In 1695, he and Livingston sailed to London where they met with Richard Coote, earl of Bellomont and recently appointed Governor of New York and Massachusetts. Kidd had hopes of securing a privateering license. The three concocted a scheme to capture pirates and keep the booty for themselves instead of returning it to its owners. The three signed a contract in October with Coote staking � 6,000 for outfitting Kidd in his expedition. (Coote made several other arrangements secretly that involved the Secretary of State, heads of the Admiralty and Judiciary Courts, and the King himself.) Kidd was granted three commissions by the king. The first allowed for the capture of French ships, the second allowed for the capture of pirates everywhere, and the third and most important to their cause, the suspension of all captured booty having to go through the courts. This allowed Kidd to keep the booty until time for surrender of booty to Governor Coote in Boston.
The three bought the "Adventure Galley", a 300 ton, 34-gun ship. Kidd left England in May, 1696 sailing for New York where he recruited his crew. He promised his crew 60% of all booty even though he had already promised 60% to Coote. In September, He sailed to the Indian Ocean by way of the African coast. He stopped along the way at Madagascar, careening his ship at Johanna Island (Anjouan). In April 1697, Kidd left Johanna Island where he sailed for the Red Sea planning to plunder pilgrim ships returning from Mecca to India. He ignored his second commission (capture of pirates), for the pirates John Hoar and Dirk Chivers were encounterd and ignored along the way by Kidd at Saint Mary's Island.
On August 15th, Kidd encountered an Indian squadron escorted by an East India Company ship. The British ship opened fire on Kidd. Kidd retreated to northwestern India. On the 19th, Kidd seized a small ship near Janjira. He tortured the Indian sailors, and impressed the British captain into acting as pilot for several months. Kidd then continued south, fighting off two Portuguese warships and stopping in September at Laccadive Island for repairs. At Laccadive Island, Kidd's crew forced the inhabitants to work, used their boats for firewood, and raped their women. In November, Kidd encountered another East India Company ship. His crew wanted to attack but Kidd convinced them to let the ship go. About mid-November, they encountered a Dutch ship. It is alleged that William Moore, the Adventure Galley's gunner and Kidd had a dispute over whether to attack the ship or not. Kidd is said to have killed Moore by smashing a bucket over Moore's head. At the beginning of December, Kidd captured the Dutch ship the "Rouparelle". She flew the French flag and had a French letter of marque. He renamed her the "November".
In January, 1698 Kidd achieving his most glorious moment in pirate annals by capturing the "Quedah Merchant", an Armenian ship leased to the Indian government. The "Quedah Merchant" was sailing from Bengal to Surat with a rich cargo of muslins, silk, iron, sugar, saltpeter, guns, and gold coins. Kidd sold some of her cargo for � 10,000. Proceeding south he captured a small Portuguese ship and was unsuccessful in the pursuit of two East India Company ships, the "Dorrill" and "Sedgewick". Kidd landed at Saint Mary's Island in April 1698. Robert Culliford's ship the "Mocha" was anchored at the island. Since Culliford was among those who stole Kidd's ship "Blessed William" in 1690, both Kidd and Culliford were extremely cautious. Kidd was able to quell the apprehension when he reassured the pirates that he was as bad as they were. The crew divided the "Quedah Merchant"'s booty at the isle. Most of Kidd's crew joined Culliford, and Kidd burned the "Adventure Galley". He renamed the "Quedah Merchant" the "Adventure Prize" and left Saint Mary's in November, 1698.
The East India Company already suffering at the hands of Henry Every and now with the loss of the "Quedah Merchant" had the threat of European expulsion by the Emperor of India to contend with. The company under pressure, compensated the merchants of the goods aboard the "Quedah Merchant", paid bribes, and agreed to send patrols to the South Indian Sea. The Indian officials were not placated as pirate attacks continued. The British government, trying to retain their trade interests in India denounced Kidd as a pirate and omitted Kidd's name in a general pardon issued in 1698. An all-out manhunt for Kidd was ordered in November, 1698.
Kidd reached Anguilla in the Caribbean in April, 1699, in the Quedah Merchant, the Adventure Galley having succumbed to rot. The word had been sent out from England - Kidd should be considered a pirate. Realizing that he would not be safe in any of the normal ports, Kidd headed for Mona Island, an uninhabited island found in the channel between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola (present day Dominican Republic). Because Mona belonged to no one, it was a safe place to hide. There he abandoned the "Adventure Prize" in exchange for a sloop he had purchased. Speed was necessary now, no place was safe. Kidd had to get to New York City, where he had influential friends, and try to save himself.
The Quedah Merchant was abandoned in the River Higuey in Hispaniola, its cargo unloaded and sold on the spot. Gold was much easier than bulky goods to transport. Kidd, now captaining the Saint Antonio, headed for New York City. But what happened to the Quedah Merchant you may ask. Because its appearance was so distinctive, no one would sail it in the Caribbean. It was burned and left to sink slowly where it lay, far from the home water of the Indian Ocean.
The mood in the American colonies at this point could be characterized as one of pirate fever. Up and down the coast, everyone was on the hunt for pirates. Kidd successfully made his way to Block Island where he began negotiations through his contacts in New York to gain a pardon for his actions, claiming he was forced by his crew. Could this have been Kidd's chance to travel up the Connecticut River and bury some gold? In July, 1699, Kidd was captured and thrown in jail in Boston and then sent to England aboard the frigate Advice in February, 1700, to stand trial. Once in England, Kidd became a political pawn to be used to bring down powerful men in the government. The trial started on May 8 and was completed the next day - the verdict was guilty of murder and multiple piracies.
Captain William Kidd was hanged on May 23, 1701, but not easily. The first rope put around this neck broke so he had to be strung up a second time. After his death, his body was covered in tar, bound in chains, his head covered with a metal harness and hung at Tilbury Point as a warning to all those passing. The body remained there until it was totally rotted away. Captain Kidd would never sail again, but a legend grew up around his treasure.
How much gold did he a actually have? What happened to it? Did he bury some part of it while he lay at anchor at Block Island? Could he have gone up the Connecticut River, portaged around the falls he encountered, and found a good hiding place on Clark's Island? We can't know for sure, but present day maps of the Connecticut River label the island as Kidd's Island.
Clarke's Island, which lies in the Connecticut River in Northfield, Massachusetts, just off the upper end of Pine Meadow, has a legend attached to it. According to Temple and Sheldon (1875), the story goes this way: Captain Kidd and his men ascended the Connecticut River searching for a place to bury a treasure of gold, somewhere secluded but distinctive. They buried the chest of gold and drew lots to see which of their number would be killed so that his body could be left on top of the chest to protect it from all treasure hunters. Over the years a legend grew up around the treasure - the gold could be dug up only by three people at midnight when the full moon was directly overhead. They must form a triangle around the exact spot and work in absolute silence, words would break the charm!
In the early 19th century, Abner Field and two of his friends attempted to find the treasure by following the directions exactly. At midnight, under a full moon shining directly on them, they sweated and dug, silently. Shovel full by shovel full, they dug deeper and deeper. The sweat poured off their bodies even in the chill night air. The mosquitoes swarmed around, biting, but the three men were afraid to kill them for fear the sound would break the charm. Any amount of discomfort could be tolerated in order to find the buried treasure chest. Suddenly there was the echoing sound of crow-bar striking against iron. Just as the men saw a corner of the chest emerge from the dirt, someone exclaimed, "You've hit it!" and the trio of treasure hunters watched in consternation as the chest immediately began to sink out of reach...