Excerpt
Chapter 1: A Pirate or a Patriot?
The first thing to know about William Kidd is that he didn’t start as a pirate. If you were to meet him before the trouble began, you'd probably think he was more of a sea boss than a sea thief. He spoke with a Scottish accent, had a powerful walk, and knew how to command a ship better than most. People trusted him. Kings and queens gave him jobs. Wealthy merchants shook his hand. He was the kind of man others followed—not because they had to, but because they wanted to.
He was born far away from the roar of cannons and treasure maps—in a quiet coastal town. There, the sea was part of life. It wasn’t about adventure or gold; it was about survival. The waves were full of fish, and the ships carried goods to and from distant places. Maybe that’s where Kidd first learned to respect the ocean: not as something wild and exciting, but as something serious. Something that could give or take.
As a young man, Kidd moved across the Atlantic Ocean. He ended up in New York City—not the skyscraper-packed place you know today, but a much smaller city with muddy streets, wooden docks, and ships everywhere you looked. He made friends with powerful people, got married, and bought a fancy house. His life was good. He wasn’t rich like royalty, but he was doing just fine.
If you asked him then what he did for a living, he’d probably say he was a sailor or a captain. He had worked hard to earn that title. His crew respected him, not just because he knew how to sail, but because he was fair—tough when he needed to be, but not cruel. That made him different from many captains at the time. Back then, some ship captains were known for yelling, whipping, or locking sailors in dark, wet rooms called the brig. Kidd didn’t lead like that. He believed you could be strong and still treat people right.
But here's where things get tricky: even though he seemed like a good guy, his story takes a turn that still confuses people today.
One year, the British government asked him to help them hunt down pirates. Not be a pirate—catch pirates. It was a job for someone strong, smart, and loyal. Kidd said yes. He got a ship, a crew, and official papers that gave him the power to attack any pirate he found. That should have made him a hero.
But somewhere along the way, everything flipped upside down.
People who study history call Kidd’s life “complicated,” and that’s a pretty good word for it. He was trying to follow the rules. He was trying to stay on the good side of the law. But the sea is full of surprises, and sometimes the people who seem like your friends turn out to be anything but.
One of the hardest things about figuring out Captain Kidd’s story is that there are two versions of it.
In the first version, he’s a pirate who turned greedy. He was given a job to catch criminals but ended up becoming one himself. He stole from ships he wasn’t supposed to touch. He kept treasure that didn’t belong to him. He told lies to stay out of trouble. According to this version, he got caught doing bad things and paid the price.
But the second version? That’s a different tale altogether. In that one, Kidd followed the rules. He only attacked ships he thought were legal targets. He tried to stop his crew from doing illegal things. When things got out of hand, he tried to explain himself. He trusted the people who hired him to back him up. But instead, they blamed everything on him to save themselves.
Which version is true?
That’s the question people have been arguing about for more than 300 years.
It’s kind of like trying to solve a mystery when half the clues are missing. The people who wrote the history books back then didn’t always tell the full truth. Some left things out on purpose. Others just didn’t know what really happened. And some important papers—like the ones Kidd said would prove his innocence—mysteriously disappeared. Weird, right?
You might be wondering how someone could get into such a mess if they were just doing their job. That’s part of what makes Captain Kidd’s story so interesting. He was trying to follow orders, but the rules of the sea were slippery. One day, you could be a respected captain with a powerful mission. The next, you might be labeled a pirate by people who never even saw what you did.
It didn’t help that Kidd’s crew caused problems too. Some of them wanted treasure more than they wanted to stay out of trouble. They were rough men who had signed up hoping to get rich. When there wasn’t enough gold or loot, tempers exploded. Fights broke out. And if Kidd tried to stop them? That just made things worse. At one point, he even lost control of part of his crew.
That’s not the kind of thing that makes you look innocent back home.
When Kidd finally returned to New York and then to England, he thought he could explain everything. He thought the people in charge would listen. He even brought some treasure with him to prove that he hadn’t hidden it. But instead of being welcomed, he was arrested. Quickly. No chance to tell his side. Just chains and guards and whispers of “pirate” wherever he went.
It's easy now to look back and say, “That doesn’t seem fair.” And maybe it wasn’t. But back then, the world worked differently. Trials didn’t always give people a real chance to defend themselves. Important people could change their minds or deny things they’d promised. And if a few powerful men wanted someone to take the blame for a bad situation, it was almost impossible to stop them.
Captain Kidd might have been that person. The one who got blamed because it was easier than digging for the truth.
That’s what makes his story feel like a puzzle. You keep turning over pieces, trying to see the big picture. But even after all these years, it’s still hard to say exactly what happened. Was he a villain, or was he a victim?
The first thing to know about William Kidd is that he didn’t start as a pirate. If you were to meet him before the trouble began, you'd probably think he was more of a sea boss than a sea thief. He spoke with a Scottish accent, had a powerful walk, and knew how to command a ship better than most. People trusted him. Kings and queens gave him jobs. Wealthy merchants shook his hand. He was the kind of man others followed—not because they had to, but because they wanted to.
He was born far away from the roar of cannons and treasure maps—in a quiet coastal town. There, the sea was part of life. It wasn’t about adventure or gold; it was about survival. The waves were full of fish, and the ships carried goods to and from distant places. Maybe that’s where Kidd first learned to respect the ocean: not as something wild and exciting, but as something serious. Something that could give or take.
As a young man, Kidd moved across the Atlantic Ocean. He ended up in New York City—not the skyscraper-packed place you know today, but a much smaller city with muddy streets, wooden docks, and ships everywhere you looked. He made friends with powerful people, got married, and bought a fancy house. His life was good. He wasn’t rich like royalty, but he was doing just fine.
If you asked him then what he did for a living, he’d probably say he was a sailor or a captain. He had worked hard to earn that title. His crew respected him, not just because he knew how to sail, but because he was fair—tough when he needed to be, but not cruel. That made him different from many captains at the time. Back then, some ship captains were known for yelling, whipping, or locking sailors in dark, wet rooms called the brig. Kidd didn’t lead like that. He believed you could be strong and still treat people right.
But here's where things get tricky: even though he seemed like a good guy, his story takes a turn that still confuses people today.
One year, the British government asked him to help them hunt down pirates. Not be a pirate—catch pirates. It was a job for someone strong, smart, and loyal. Kidd said yes. He got a ship, a crew, and official papers that gave him the power to attack any pirate he found. That should have made him a hero.
But somewhere along the way, everything flipped upside down.
People who study history call Kidd’s life “complicated,” and that’s a pretty good word for it. He was trying to follow the rules. He was trying to stay on the good side of the law. But the sea is full of surprises, and sometimes the people who seem like your friends turn out to be anything but.
One of the hardest things about figuring out Captain Kidd’s story is that there are two versions of it.
In the first version, he’s a pirate who turned greedy. He was given a job to catch criminals but ended up becoming one himself. He stole from ships he wasn’t supposed to touch. He kept treasure that didn’t belong to him. He told lies to stay out of trouble. According to this version, he got caught doing bad things and paid the price.
But the second version? That’s a different tale altogether. In that one, Kidd followed the rules. He only attacked ships he thought were legal targets. He tried to stop his crew from doing illegal things. When things got out of hand, he tried to explain himself. He trusted the people who hired him to back him up. But instead, they blamed everything on him to save themselves.
Which version is true?
That’s the question people have been arguing about for more than 300 years.
It’s kind of like trying to solve a mystery when half the clues are missing. The people who wrote the history books back then didn’t always tell the full truth. Some left things out on purpose. Others just didn’t know what really happened. And some important papers—like the ones Kidd said would prove his innocence—mysteriously disappeared. Weird, right?
You might be wondering how someone could get into such a mess if they were just doing their job. That’s part of what makes Captain Kidd’s story so interesting. He was trying to follow orders, but the rules of the sea were slippery. One day, you could be a respected captain with a powerful mission. The next, you might be labeled a pirate by people who never even saw what you did.
It didn’t help that Kidd’s crew caused problems too. Some of them wanted treasure more than they wanted to stay out of trouble. They were rough men who had signed up hoping to get rich. When there wasn’t enough gold or loot, tempers exploded. Fights broke out. And if Kidd tried to stop them? That just made things worse. At one point, he even lost control of part of his crew.
That’s not the kind of thing that makes you look innocent back home.
When Kidd finally returned to New York and then to England, he thought he could explain everything. He thought the people in charge would listen. He even brought some treasure with him to prove that he hadn’t hidden it. But instead of being welcomed, he was arrested. Quickly. No chance to tell his side. Just chains and guards and whispers of “pirate” wherever he went.
It's easy now to look back and say, “That doesn’t seem fair.” And maybe it wasn’t. But back then, the world worked differently. Trials didn’t always give people a real chance to defend themselves. Important people could change their minds or deny things they’d promised. And if a few powerful men wanted someone to take the blame for a bad situation, it was almost impossible to stop them.
Captain Kidd might have been that person. The one who got blamed because it was easier than digging for the truth.
That’s what makes his story feel like a puzzle. You keep turning over pieces, trying to see the big picture. But even after all these years, it’s still hard to say exactly what happened. Was he a villain, or was he a victim?