William Kidd, originally commissioned as a privateer to hunt pirates, found himself branded a pirate after capturing the 'Quedagh Merchant,' a treasure-laden ship with French papers but an Armenian captain. Kidd's trial in London became a political scandal, as his high-ranking Whig backers sought to distance themselves from him. He was found guilty of murder and piracy. His execution was particularly grisly; the rope broke twice, and after he was finally hanged, his body was covered in tar and suspended in an iron cage (gibbeting) over the River Thames for three years as a warning to other sailors. The legend of Kidd’s buried treasure—specifically on Gardiners Island—sparked centuries of treasure hunts and influenced literature like Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island.'