Based on official admiralty records, this volume offers an astonishing glimpse into the world of 17th-century piracy, the English judicial system, and the dialogue from the actual trial.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1874. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.

Lord Birkenhead expressed the opinion that Captain William Kidd had "a scrupulously fair" trial when he was indicted at the Old Bailey for murder and piracy. From diligent research, the author of this book, Harold T. Wilkins, is able to show that the exact reverse was the case - that the Captain Kidd was railroaded to the gallows. Documents vital to Kidd's defense were withheld, he was refused the aid of counsel, and he was made the scapegoat for certain Whig politicians who were interested in cashing in on his privateering ventures. Wilkins presents papers and documents hitherto unknown to the public. The Captain's own charts, retrieved from their ingenious hiding places, are published for the first time. Someday, these manuscripts may aid in the recovery of actual treasure by those who can decipher the symbols.

With the help of the Discovery Channel, undersea explorer Barry Clifford fields an expedition that includes some of America's top experts in shipwreck recovery. Their goal is to find, identify, and possibly excavate the remains of history's most famous pirate ship: Captain Kidd's Adventure Galley. The search takes them to a tiny island off the coast of Madagascar, Sainte Marie, known to historians as the model for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. Return to Treasure Island and the Search for Captain Kidd weaves together two exciting stories: the saga of Captain William Kidd, one of history's most baffling and mysterious figures, and Barry Clifford's obsessive quest to find perhaps the most notorious pirate ship of all time. The result is a tale of treasure and adventure that ends in death -- both Kidd's and, three hundred years later, that of a rival archaeologist who attempts to stop Clifford's expedition.

A historian presents “an excellent guide to how pirates became the outlaw celebrities of the high seas” (Greg Jenner, host of the You’re Dead to Me podcast). During his life and even after his death, Captain William Kidd’s name was well known in England and the American colonies. He was infamous for the very crime for which he was hanged, piracy. In this book, historian Rebecca Simon dives into the details of the two-year manhunt for Captain Kidd and the events that ensued. Captain Kidd was hanged in 1701, followed by a massive British-led hunt for all pirates during a period known as the Golden Age of Piracy. Ironically, public executions only increased the popularity of pirates. And, because the American colonies relied on pirates for smuggled goods such as spices, wines, and silks, pirates tended to be protected from capture. This is the story of how pirates became popularly viewed as “Robin Hoods of the Sea”—and how these historical events were pivotal in creating the portrayal of pirates as we know them today. “Only someone who has lived in the shadows chasing faded pirates for an age, and is blessed with creativity, can pull off a book of this high caliber.” —Wreck Watch Magazine

This book uses historical and archaeological evidence to identify the wreck of Quedagh Merchant and deconstruct the tales of the nefarious Captain Kidd. The analysis takes in the site's main features, wood samples from the hull, the hull's construction, and mass spectrometry of sampled ballast stones.