Editing William Kidd (section)

==Life and career==
===Early life and education===
Kidd was born in [[Dundee]], Scotland<ref name="auto1"/><ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=webmaster |date=2015-12-08 |title=Captain William Kidd |url=https://www.ddtours.co.uk/archive/captain-william-kidd/ |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=DD Tours |language=en-GB}}</ref> prior to 15 October 1654. While claims have been made of alternative birthplaces, including [[Greenock]] and [[Belfast]], he said himself he came from Dundee in a testimony given by Kidd to the High Court of Admiralty in 1695. There have also been records of his baptism taking place in Dundee.  A local society supported the family financially after the death of the father.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/Kidd.html|title=Courtly Lives – The Kidd Family|website=[[Angelfire]]|access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2022}} The myth that his "father was thought to have been a [[Church of Scotland]] minister" has been discounted, insofar as there is no mention of the name in comprehensive Church of Scotland records for the period. Others still hold the contrary view.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pirates: William Kidd |publisher=Genealogy & Family History Achievements Heraldry and Research |url=http://www.achievements.co.uk/articles/william_kidd.html |access-date=13 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217032212/http://www.achievements.co.uk/articles/william_kidd.html |archive-date=17 December 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author = Hawkins, Paul | date = 2002 | title = Captain William Kidd Web Site: History | format = self-published historical site | url = http://www.captainkidd.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/| access-date = 7 January 2017 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081023184854/http://www.captainkidd.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ | archive-date = 23 October 2008 }}</ref>

===Early voyages===
As a young man, Kidd settled in [[New York City]], which the English had taken over from the Dutch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boroughsofthedead.com/captain-kidd-new-york-city/|title=Captain Kidd in New York City {{!}} Boroughs of the Dead|date=23 May 2014 |language=en-US|access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref> There he befriended many prominent colonial citizens, including three governors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2010/01/infamous-captain-kidd-and-his-swanky.html|title=Captain Kidd and his swanky New York waterfront home|last=Boys|first=Bowery|date=27 January 2010|website=The Bowery Boys: New York City History|language=en|access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref> Some accounts suggest that he served as a seaman's [[apprentice]] on a pirate ship during this time, before beginning his more famous seagoing exploits as a [[privateer]].

By 1689, Kidd was a member of a French–English pirate crew sailing the [[Caribbean Sea|Caribbean]] under Captain [[Jean Fantin]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ferminiatures.com/shop/magna-historica/jean-fantin-st-kitts-1689-limited-edition/|title=Jean Fantin, St. Kitts, 1689 Limited Edition|website=Ferminiatures.com|language=en-US|access-date=19 November 2019}}</ref> During one of their voyages, Kidd and other crew members mutinied, ousting the captain and sailing to the British colony of [[Nevis]].<ref name="The Pirate Hunter">{{cite book|last1=Zacks|first1=Richard|title=The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd|date=2003|publisher=Hachette Books|location=New York|isbn=978-1401398187|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TbqZAAAAQBAJ|access-date=31 August 2017|language=en}}</ref> There they renamed the ship ''[[Blessed William]]'', and Kidd became captain either as a result of election by the ship's crew, or by appointment of [[Christopher Codrington]], governor of the island of Nevis.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/23/day-1701-pirate-caribbean-william-captain-kidd-meets-end-execution/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/23/day-1701-pirate-caribbean-william-captain-kidd-meets-end-execution/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=On this day in 1701: Pirate of the Caribbean, William 'Captain' Kidd, meets his end at Execution Dock|last=Selwood|first=Dominic|date=23 May 2017|work=The Telegraph|access-date=19 November 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Kidd was an experienced leader and sailor by that time, and the ''Blessed William'' became part of Codrington's small fleet assembled to defend Nevis from the French, with whom the English were at war.<ref name=Hubbard>{{cite book|last1=Hubbard|first1=Vincent|title=A History of St. Kitts|date=2002|publisher=Macmillan Caribbean|isbn=978-0333747605|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofstkitts00vinc/page/52 52]|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofstkitts00vinc/page/52}}</ref><ref name="Vincent">{{cite book|last1=Hubbard|first1=Vincent|title=Swords, Ships & Sugar|date=2002|publisher=Premiere Editions International, Inc.|location=Corvallis|isbn=978-1891519055|pages=104–105}}</ref> The governor did not pay the sailors for their defensive service, telling them instead to take their pay from the French. Kidd and his men attacked the French island of [[Marie-Galante]], destroying its only town and looting the area, and gathering around 2,000 pounds sterling.

Later, during the [[War of the Grand Alliance]], on commissions from the provinces of [[Province of New York|New York]] and [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts Bay]], Kidd captured an enemy [[privateer]] off the [[New England]] coast.<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911| wstitle =Kidd, William| volume=15 |pages=783–784}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, he was awarded £150 for successful [[privateer]]ing in the [[Caribbean]]. One year later, [[Robert Culliford|Captain Robert Culliford]], a notorious pirate, stole Kidd's ship while he was ashore at [[Antigua]] in the [[West Indies]].

In [[New York City]], Kidd was active in financially supporting the construction of [[Trinity Church, New York]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/history/?timeline|title=History|date=26 March 2016|work=trinitywallstreet.org|access-date=8 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="trinity kidd blog">{{cite web | url=http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/news/blogs/the-archivists-mailbag/question-of-the-day-trinitys-very-own-pirate | title=Question of the Day: Trinity's Very Own Pirate? | publisher=Trinity Church | work=The Archivist's Mailbag | date=19 November 2008 | access-date=18 December 2011 | archive-date=26 December 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226044447/http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/news/blogs/the-archivists-mailbag/question-of-the-day-trinitys-very-own-pirate | url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 16 May 1691, Kidd married Sarah Bradley Cox Oort,<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond/2018/02/mrs-captain-kidd-shore-side-piratess/|title=Mrs. Captain Kidd, shore-side piratess|last=Sterling|first=Bruce|date=2 February 2018|magazine=Wired|access-date=19 November 2019|language=en-US|issn=1059-1028}}</ref> who was still in her early twenties. She had already been twice widowed and was one of the wealthiest women in New York, based on an inheritance from her first husband.<ref>Zacks, Richard. ''The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd''. Hachette+ORM, 2003.</ref>

===Preparing his expedition===
[[File:Captain Kidd in New York Harbor cph.3f06373.jpg|thumb|250px|''Captain Kidd in New York Harbor'', in a c. 1920 painting by [[Jean Leon Gerome Ferris]]]]
[[File:The Charles Galley-Willem van de Velde the Younger-2.jpg|right|thumb|The ''Charles Galley'', a contemporary vessel of a comparable design to ''Adventure Galley'']]

On 11 December 1695, [[Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont]], who was governing New York, [[Massachusetts]], and [[New Hampshire]], asked the "trusty and well beloved Captain Kidd"<ref name="Hamilton, 1961 p">Hamilton, (1961) p. ?</ref> to attack [[Thomas Tew]], [[John Ireland (pirate)|John Ireland]], [[Thomas Wake (pirate)|Thomas Wake]], [[William May (pirate)|William Maze]], and all others who associated themselves with pirates, along with any enemy French ships. His request had the weight of the Crown behind it, and Kidd would have been considered disloyal, carrying much social stigma, to refuse Bellomont. This request preceded the voyage that contributed to Kidd's reputation as a pirate and marked his image in history and [[folklore]].

Four-fifths of the cost for the 1696 venture was paid by noble lords, who were among the most powerful men in England: the [[Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford|Earl of Orford]], the Baron of Romney, the [[Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury|Duke of Shrewsbury]], and [[John Somers, 1st Baron Somers|Sir John Somers]]. Kidd was presented with a [[letter of marque]], signed personally by King [[William III of England]], which authorized him as a privateer. This letter reserved 10% of the loot for the Crown, and Henry Gilbert's ''The Book of Pirates'' suggests that the King fronted some of the money for the voyage himself. Kidd and his acquaintance Colonel [[Robert Livingston the Elder|Robert Livingston]] orchestrated the whole plan; they sought additional funding from merchant [[Blackham baronets|Sir Richard Blackham]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gilderlehrman.org/content/secret-agreement-between-pirate-hunters-1696 |title=A secret agreement between pirate hunters, 1696 |publisher=[[Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History]]}}</ref> Kidd also had to sell his ship ''Antigua'' to raise funds.

The new ship, ''[[Adventure Galley]]'',<ref>{{cite web| title =Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts: 'The Real Captain Kidd'| author =Frank R. Stockton| publisher =The Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project| url =http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=stockton&book=buccaneers&story=kidd| access-date =13 December 2007}}</ref> was well suited to the task of catching pirates, weighing over 284 [[Builder's Old Measurement|tons burthen]] and equipped with 34 [[Naval artillery in the Age of Sail|cannon]], oars, and 150 men. The oars were a key advantage, as they enabled ''Adventure Galley'' to manoeuvre in a battle when the winds had calmed and other ships were dead in the water. Kidd took pride in personally selecting the crew, choosing only those whom he deemed to be the best and most loyal officers.

{{blockquote|As the Adventure Galley sailed down the [[Thames]], Kidd unaccountably failed to salute a Navy yacht at Greenwich, as custom dictated. The Navy yacht then fired a shot to make him show respect, and Kidd's crew responded with an astounding display of impudence – by turning and slapping their backsides in [disdain].<ref>Botting (1978) p. 106</ref>}}

Because of Kidd's refusal to salute, the Navy vessel's captain retaliated by [[impressment|pressing]] much of Kidd's crew into [[Royal Navy|naval service]], despite the captain's strong protests and the general exclusion of privateer crew from such action. Short-handed, Kidd sailed for New York City, capturing a French vessel en route (which was legal under the terms of his commission). To make up for the lack of officers, Kidd picked up replacement crew in New York, the vast majority of whom were known and hardened criminals, some likely former pirates.

Among Kidd's officers was quartermaster [[Hendrick van der Heul]]. The quartermaster was considered "second in command" to the captain in pirate culture of this era. It is not clear, however, if Van der Heul exercised this degree of responsibility because Kidd was authorised as a privateer. Van der Heul is notable because he might have been African or of Dutch descent. A contemporary source describes him as a "small black Man". If Van der Heul was of African ancestry, he would be considered the highest-ranking black pirate or privateer so far identified. Van der Heul later became a [[master's mate]] on a merchant vessel and was never convicted of piracy.

===Hunting for Pirates===
In September 1696, Kidd [[Weigh anchor|weighed anchor]] and set course for the [[Cape of Good Hope]] in southern Africa. A third of his crew died on the [[Comoros]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Captain Kidd {{!}} The Age of Pirates |url=http://theageofpirates.com/pirates/captain-kidd/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |language=en-US}}</ref> due to an outbreak of [[cholera]], the brand-new ship developed many leaks, and he failed to find the pirates whom he expected to encounter off [[Madagascar]].

With his ambitious enterprise failing, Kidd became desperate to cover its costs. Yet he failed to attack several ships when given a chance, including a Dutchman and a New York privateer. Both were out of bounds of his commission. The latter would have been considered out of bounds because New York was part of the territories of the Crown, and Kidd was authorised in part by the New York governor. Some of the crew deserted Kidd the next time that ''Adventure Galley'' anchored offshore. Those who decided to stay on made constant open threats of [[mutiny]].

[[File:Pyle pirate relaxing2.jpg|left|thumb|180px|[[Howard Pyle]]'s painting of Kidd in [[New York Harbor]]]]
[[File:Pyle pirates burying2.jpg|left|thumb|180px|Pyle's painting of Kidd burying treasure]]
Kidd killed one of his own crewmen on 30 October 1697. Kidd's gunner William Moore was on deck sharpening a [[chisel]] when a Dutch ship appeared. Moore urged Kidd to attack the Dutchman, an act that would have been considered piratical, since the nation was not at war with England, but also certain to anger Dutch-born King William. Kidd refused, calling Moore a lousy dog. Moore retorted, "If I am a lousy dog, you have made me so; you have brought me to ruin and many more." Kidd reportedly dropped an ironbound bucket on Moore, fracturing his skull. Moore died the following day.<ref>Cordingly (1995), p. 183</ref>

Seventeenth-century English [[admiralty law]] allowed captains great leeway in using violence against their crew, but killing was not permitted. Kidd said to his ship's surgeon that he had "good friends in England, that will bring me off for that".<ref>Clifford, p. 74</ref>

===Accusations of piracy===
Escaped prisoners told stories of being hoisted up by the arms and "drubbed" (thrashed) with a drawn [[cutlass]] by Kidd. On one occasion, crew members sacked the trading ship ''Mary'' and tortured several of its crew members while Kidd and the other captain, Thomas Parker, conversed privately in Kidd's cabin.

Kidd was declared a pirate very early in his voyage by a Royal Navy officer, to whom he had promised "thirty men or so".<ref name="Hamilton, 1961 p"/> Kidd sailed away during the night to preserve his crew, rather than subject them to Royal Navy [[impressment]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Graham |title=Treasure and Intrigue The Legacy of Captain Kidd |date=2002 |publisher=Dundurn |isbn=978-1550024098 |pages=114–115 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAbB8ujNogEC |access-date=13 June 2020}}</ref> The letter of marque was intended to protect a [[privateer]]'s crew from such impressment.
[[File:The Book of Buried Treasure.png|thumb|right|295px|The French pass from the "Quedagh Merchant"]]

On 30 January 1698, Kidd raised French colours and took his greatest prize, the 400-ton ''[[Quedagh Merchant]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Pirates of the High Seas – Capt. William Kidd |url=http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/01841/kidd.html |access-date=13 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728104918/http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/01841/kidd.html |archive-date=28 July 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title ="Quedagh Merchant" (ship)| publisher =Encyclopedia Online| url =http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-486764/Quedagh-Merchant| access-date =13 December 2007}}</ref> an Indian ship hired by [[Armenia]]n merchants. It was loaded with [[satin]]s, [[muslin]]s, gold, silver, and a variety of [[East India]]n [[merchandise]], as well as extremely valuable silks. The captain of ''Quedagh Merchant'' was an Englishman named Wright, who had purchased passes from the French East India Company promising him the protection of the French Crown.<ref name="Hamilton, 1961">Hamilton, (1961)</ref>

When news of his capture of this ship reached England, however, officials classified Kidd as a pirate. Various naval commanders were ordered to "pursue and seize the said Kidd and his accomplices" for the "notorious piracies" they had committed.<ref name="Hamilton, 1961"/>

Kidd kept the French [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sea_pass sea passes] of the ''Quedagh Merchant'', as well as the vessel itself. British admiralty and vice-admiralty courts (especially in North America) previously had often winked at privateers' excesses amounting to piracy. Kidd might have hoped that the passes would provide the legal fig leaf that would allow him to keep ''Quedagh Merchant'' and her cargo. Renaming the seized merchantman as ''Adventure Prize'', he set sail for [[Madagascar]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bonner |first1=Willard Hallam |title=The Ballad of Captain Kidd |journal=American Literature |date=January 1944 |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=363–380 |doi=10.2307/2920762 |jstor=2920762 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2920762 |access-date=26 October 2022}}</ref>

On 1 April 1698, Kidd reached Madagascar. After meeting privately with trader [[Tempest Rogers]] (who would later be accused of trading and selling Kidd's looted East India goods),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Office|first1=Great Britain Public Record|title=Calendar of State Papers: Colonial Series ...|date=1908|publisher=Longman|location=London|pages=486–487|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LBQFAAAAYAAJ|access-date=16 August 2017|language=en}}</ref> he found the first pirate of his voyage, [[Robert Culliford]] (the same man who had stolen Kidd's ship at Antigua years before) and his crew aboard ''Mocha Frigate''.

Two contradictory accounts exist of how Kidd proceeded. According to ''[[A General History of the Pyrates]]'', published more than 25 years after the event by an [[Captain Charles Johnson|author whose identity is disputed]] by historians, Kidd made peaceful overtures to Culliford: he "drank their Captain's health", swearing that "he was in every respect their Brother", and gave Culliford "a Present of an Anchor and some Guns".<ref name="General History Pyrates 2">{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Charles |author-link=Captain Charles Johnson |date=1726 |title=[[A General History of the Pyrates|A General History of the Pyrates, vol. 2]] | edition=4 |location=London |publisher=T. Woodward |pages=75–76 }}</ref> This account appears to be based on the testimony of Kidd's crewmen Joseph Palmer and Robert Bradinham at his trial.

The other version was presented by Richard Zacks in his 2002 book ''The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd''. According to Zacks, Kidd was unaware that Culliford had only about 20 crew with him, and felt ill-manned and ill-equipped to take ''Mocha Frigate'' until his two prize ships and crews arrived. He decided to leave Culliford alone until these reinforcements arrived. After ''Adventure Prize'' and ''Rouparelle'' reached port, Kidd ordered his crew to attack Culliford's ''Mocha Frigate''. However, his crew refused to attack Culliford and threatened instead to shoot Kidd. Zacks does not refer to any source for his version of events.<ref>Zacks, pp. 185–186.</ref>

Both accounts agree that most of Kidd's men abandoned him for Culliford. Only 13 remained with ''Adventure Galley''. Deciding to return home, Kidd left the ''[[Adventure Galley]]'' behind, ordering her to be burnt because she had become worm-eaten and leaky. Before burning the ship, he salvaged every last scrap of metal, such as hinges. With the loyal remnant of his crew, he returned to the Caribbean aboard the ''Adventure Prize'',<ref name="Jameson - Privateering and Piracy"/> stopping first at [[St. Augustine's Bay]] for repairs.<ref name="Grey Eastern"/> Some of his crew later returned to North America on their own as passengers aboard [[Giles Shelley]]'s ship ''Nassau''.<ref name="Jameson - Privateering and Piracy">{{cite book|last1=Jameson|first1=John Franklin|title=Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period|date=1923|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24882/24882-h/24882-h.htm|access-date=26 June 2017}}</ref>

The [[1698 Act of Grace]], which offered a [[royal pardon]] to pirates in the Indian Ocean, specifically exempted Kidd (and [[Henry Every]]) from receiving a pardon,<ref>{{cite book |last=Lloyd |first=Charles Edward |date=1899 |title=State trials of Mary, Queen of Scots, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Captain William Kidd. |url=https://archive.org/details/statetrialsofmar00harrrich/page/129/ |location=Chicago |publisher=Callaghan and Company |pages=129–130}}</ref><ref name="General History Pyrates 2"/> in Kidd's case due to his association with prominent [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] statesmen.<ref>{{cite book |last=Goodwin |first=Maud Wilder |author-link= |date=1919 |title=Dutch and English on the Hudson |url=https://archive.org/details/dutchenglishonh00good/page/173/ |location=New Haven |publisher=Yale University Press |page=173}}</ref> Kidd became aware both that he was wanted and that he could not make use of the Act of Grace upon his arrival in [[Anguilla]], his first port of call since St. Augustine's Bay.<ref name="Grey Eastern"/>

===Trial and execution===

Prior to returning to New York City, Kidd knew that he was wanted as a pirate and that several English [[men-of-war]] were searching for him. Realizing that his ship the ''Adventure Prize'' was a marked vessel, he cached it in the [[Caribbean Sea]], sold off his remaining plundered goods through pirate and fence [[William Burke (pirate)|William Burke]],<ref name="The Danish West Indies">{{cite book|last1=Westergaard|first1=Waldemar|title=The Danish West Indies Under Company Rule (1671–1754): With a Supplementary Chapter, 1755–1917|date=1917|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|pages=115–118|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EzoYAAAAYAAJ|access-date=11 July 2017|language=en}}</ref> and continued towards New York aboard a sloop. He deposited some of his treasure on [[Gardiners Island]], hoping to use his knowledge of its location as a bargaining tool.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://longislandgenealogy.com/pirates.html|title=Long Island Genealogy|website=longislandgenealogy.com|access-date=29 October 2019}}</ref> Kidd landed in [[Oyster Bay (hamlet), New York|Oyster Bay]] to avoid mutinous crew who had gathered in New York City. To avoid them, Kidd sailed {{convert|120|nmi}} around the eastern tip of Long Island, and doubled back {{convert|90|nmi}} along the Sound to Oyster Bay. He felt this was a safer passage than the highly trafficked [[The Narrows|Narrows]] between [[Staten Island]] and [[Brooklyn]].<ref>Richard Zacks, ''The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd'' (Hyperion, 2003)</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2021}}

New York [[Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont|Governor Bellomont]], also an investor, was away in Boston, Massachusetts. Aware of the accusations against Kidd, Bellomont was afraid of being implicated in piracy himself and believed that presenting Kidd to England in chains was his best chance to survive. He lured Kidd into Boston with false promises of clemency,<ref>{{cite web| title =The Quest for the Armenian Vessel, Quedagh Merchant| publisher =AYAS Nautical Research Club| url =http://www.amarasonline.com/amaras/events/cillicia-flyer-1.pdf| access-date =13 December 2007}}</ref> and ordered him arrested on 6 July 1699. Kidd was placed in [[Boston Gaol (Massachusetts)|Stone Prison]], spending most of the time in [[solitary confinement]]. His wife, Sarah, was also arrested and imprisoned. They were separated and she never saw him again.

The conditions of Kidd's imprisonment were extremely harsh, and were said to have driven him at least temporarily insane.<ref name="newsday"/> By then, Bellomont had turned against Kidd and other pirates, writing that the inhabitants of [[Long Island]] were "a lawless and unruly people" protecting pirates who had "settled among them".<ref name="newsday">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-hs324,0,7442594.story|title=Legend of Capt. Kidd|date=12 April 2009|publisher=Newsday|access-date=16 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515231149/http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-hs324,0,7442594.story|archive-date=15 May 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The civil government had changed and the new [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]] ministry hoped to use Kidd as a tool to discredit the [[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]]s who had backed him, but Kidd refused to name names, naively confident his patrons would reward his loyalty by interceding on his behalf. There is speculation that he could have been spared had he talked. Finding Kidd politically useless, the Tory leaders sent him to stand trial before the [[Admiralty court|High Court of Admiralty]] in London, for the charges of piracy on high seas and the murder of William Moore. Whilst awaiting trial, Kidd was confined in the infamous [[Newgate Prison]], regarded even by the standards of the day as a disgusting hellhole, and was held there for almost 2 years before his trial even began.
[[File:Hanging of William Kidd.jpg|thumb|upright|Captain Kidd, [[Gibbeting|gibbeted]] near [[Tilbury]] in [[Essex]], following his execution in 1701.]]
[[File:rocque x1746.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[John Rocque's Map of London, 1746|Rocque's map of 1746]] showing location of Execution Dock Stairs at [[Wapping]], east London]]
[[Image:William Hogarth - Industry and Idleness, Plate 5; The Idle 'Prentice turn'd away, and sent to Sea.png|thumb|left|Hogarths Idle aprentice Tom going to sea - executed criminals on exhibit in background]]

Kidd had two lawyers to assist in his defense. However, the money that the Admiralty had set aside for his defense was misplaced until right before the trial's start, and he had no legal counsel until the morning that the trial started and had time for just one brief consultation with them before it began.<ref>Zacks, p. 364.</ref> He was shocked to learn at his trial that he was charged with murder. He was found guilty on all charges (murder and five counts of piracy) and sentenced to death. He was hanged in a public execution on 23 May 1701, at [[Execution Dock]], [[Wapping]], in London.<ref name=EB1911/> He had to be hanged twice. On the first attempt, the hangman's rope broke and Kidd survived. Although some in the crowd called for Kidd's release, claiming the breaking of the rope was a sign from God, Kidd was hanged again minutes later, and died. His body was [[gibbet]]ed over the [[River Thames]] at Tilbury Point, as a warning to future would-be pirates, for three years.<ref name="armstrong">{{Cite book|last1=Armstrong|first1=Catherine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yVQdBQAAQBAJ&q=william+kidd+gibbeted+for+three+years+scholar&pg=PA173|title=The Atlantic Experience: Peoples, Places, Ideas|last2=Chmielewski|first2=Laura M.|date=2013|publisher=Macmillan International Higher Education|isbn=978-1-137-40434-3|language=en|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=25 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525051011/https://books.google.com/books?id=yVQdBQAAQBAJ&q=william+kidd+gibbeted+for+three+years+scholar&pg=PA173|url-status=dead}}</ref> Kidd's remains were either buried in the riverbank near where he was executed or more probably taken for the ignominious process of public dissection by surgeons, a common fate for executed persons (e.g. Hogarth's [[The Four Stages of Cruelty|Tom Nero]]).

Of Kidd's associates, Gabriel Loffe, Able Owens, and Hugh Parrot were also convicted of piracy. They were pardoned just prior to hanging at Execution Dock. Robert Lamley, William Jenkins and Richard Barleycorn were released.<ref name="Grey Eastern">{{cite book |last=Grey |first=Charles |date=1933 |title=Pirates of the Eastern Seas (1618–1723) A Lurid page of History |url=https://archive.org/details/PiratesOfTheEasternSeasCharlesGrey/page/n231 |location=London |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd. |pages=204–205, 208}}</ref>

Kidd's Whig backers were embarrassed by his trial. Far from rewarding his loyalty, they participated in the effort to convict him by depriving him of the money and information which might have provided him with some legal defence. In particular, the two sets of French passes he had kept were missing at his trial. These passes (and others dated 1700) resurfaced in the early 20th century, misfiled with other government papers in a London building.<ref>{{cite book| author = Ralph Delahaye Paine| title = The Book of Buried Treasure: Being a True History of the Gold, Jewels, and Plate of Pirates, Galleons, Etc., which are Sought for to this Day| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XW0iYCM4q7QC&pg=PA124| year = 1911| publisher = Heinemann| page = 124 }}</ref> These passes confirm Kidd's version of events, and call the extent of his guilt as a pirate into question.

A [[Broadside (music)|broadside]] song, [[Captain Kidd (song)|"Captain Kidd's Farewell to the Seas, or, the Famous Pirate's Lament"]], was printed shortly after his execution. It popularised the common belief that Kidd had confessed to the charges.<ref name=CompleteWords>The complete words of the original broadside song "Captain Kid's Farewel to the Seas, or, the Famous Pirate's Lament, to the tune of Coming Down" are at ''davidkidd.net''. {{cite web|url=http://www.davidkidd.net/Captain_Kidd_Lyrics.html |title=Captain Kidd Lyrics. The lyrics of Captain Kidd from 1701 to today |date=23 July 2011 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723082022/http://www.davidkidd.net/Captain_Kidd_Lyrics.html |archive-date=23 July 2011 }}</ref>

[[File:Captain Kidd, Burying Treasure, from the Pirates of the Spanish Main series (N19) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes MET DP835020.jpg|thumb|''Captain Kidd, Burying Treasure,'' from the Pirates of the Spanish Main series (N19) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes MET DP835020.]]