Captain Kidd blurred the line between pirate and privateer. Acting originally as a government issued privateer, he was ultimately executed for piracy. By either name, Kidd left behind a legacy and a mystery. Learn more about the man behind the tales:

Captain William Kidd was the only pirate known to ever actually bury treasure?on New York?s Gardiner?s Island.

Privateers were captains enlisted by the government to hunt pirates. A privateer captain would split the booty he captured with his crew and the government.

Although he?s often depicted as a flamboyant cutthroat pirate, William Kidd was actually an accomplished sailor and a businessman of considerable means.

London?s Execution Dock served for over 400 years as the prime spot to hang pirates?including William Kidd.

While the skull-and-crossbones is a popular pirate symbol, Golden Age pirates all had their own, unique flags.

The bodies of hanged pirates were often covered in tar and hung on the shore in a metal cage called a gibbet as a warning to would-be pirates.

During the first attempt to hang Captain Kidd, the rope broke and he fell. His executioners had to hang him a second time.

After his execution, the remainder of Kidd?s treasure was donated to Greenwich Hospital, a facility for British sailors.