Captain William Kidd leading up to his trial for piracy.

The High Courts of England define piracy as "acts of robbery and violence upon the sea, which if committed on land, would be a felony. Pirates hold no commission or delegated authority from any sovereign or state empowering them to attack others." In this paper I will examine the acts of William Kidd according to record and review them with respects to the definition in attempts to identify them as piratical activity. First off, let …

…married a rich widow and desired to take to the high seas in seek of the great adventures of the Buccaneers, and the tales of the Golden Age he undoubtedly heard of in the writings of such authors as Esquemeling. Yet, despite the controversy, the High Courts felt that the activities of Kidd constituted piracy as set forth by there definition. He was convicted and executed as a pirate, and that is what ultimately matters.