c. 1645

Greenock, Scotland

May 23, 1701

Newgate, England

Privateer turned pirate

Portrait: William (Captain) Kidd. Reproduced by permission of Archive Photos, Inc.

"My Lord, it is a very hard sentence. For my part I am the innocentest person of them all. . . . "

William Kidd

William Kidd (known as "Captain Kidd") was one of most famous pirates (a person who robs ships or plunders the land from the sea) in history. Before becoming a great plunderer (a person who steals by force) of the seas, he was a respectable colonial American citizen. In 1695 he was hired by English investors as a privateer (a sailor on a privately owned ship that is authorized by a government to attack and capture enemy vessels) to rid the seas of pirates. During the expedition, however, Kidd began attacking the very ships he was supposed to protect. After murdering one of his own crew members...