[14] Captain Kidd's Treasure

There is one infamous pirate for which we can trace back the legends of buried treasure, and that is Captain Kidd. Stories began to circle around that Captain Kidd had gotten a hold of gold and silver from the plundered ship, the Quedah Merchant near New York before his fateful arrest, and that somewhere on Gardiners Island lay troves of buried treasure. Captain Kidd became a famous figure in history due to the amount of attention drawn to his journeys in the Indian Ocean and his infamous trial and execution. That being said, Kidd's misfortunes (as he never intended to become a pirate in the first place, but events transpired against him, as well as the media which eventually painted him to be a notorious pirate), drew much attention to myths and legends of his treasure. Thus, the legends of buried treasure began to spread throughout Western culture, eventually making their way into many pirate stories and movies today.