Has The Legendary Lost Treasure Of Pirate Captain Kidd Been Found?

MessageToEagle.com – In 1701 Captain William Kidd was hanged for piracy without ever revealing the location of his infamous treasure worth £12million in today’s money.

People have been looking for this legendary treasure for 300 years and some became convinced the story is nothing but a myth.

Now, a group of underwater archaeologists have discovered a 55kg bar of silver in shallow waters off Saint Marie Island, Madagascar.

It is believed this could be part of the famous loot.

Captain Kidd and his treasure
People have looked for Captain Kidd’s treasure for over 300 years.

The team in Madagascar was led by Barry Clifford, an underwater investigator who in 2000 discovered some remains of William Kidd’s ship, Adventure Galley, including a metal oarlock, shards of Ming porcelain and bottles of rum three centuries old.
The president’s office said the silver may be part of a treasure haul belonging to Kidd from the same ship. Soldiers have been guarding the huge silver bar worth £17,000 after it was brought ashore. The bar is imprinted with a T and an S as well as other smaller carvings of numbers.
Timothy Smart, the British ambassador to Madagascar, told the BBC he hoped the discovery of the treasure would boost Madagascar’s tourism industry because of interest in Kidd.

Captain William Kidd is thought to have been born in Scotland’s Greenock or the Dundee area in about 1645.

He was appointed by the Crown to tackle piracy and capture enemy French ships, but turned to piracy himself.

In 1698, he looted the Armenian ship the Quedagh Merchant, which was apparently sailing under a French pass.

The Quedagh Merchant had been carrying satins, muslins, gold and silver.

Captain Kidd treasure
A diver in the waters off Madagascar picks up an ingot worth £17,000 which experts believe belonged to British pirate Captain William Kidd who spent years operating in the Indian Ocean.

Unfortunately for Kidd, the captain of the ship was an Englishman, and it is thought that a large amount of the cargo belonged to the British East India Company.

Captain Kidd treasure
Valuable find: Soldiers have been guarding the 50kg silver bar on Sainte Marie Island, Madagascar, after it was brought ashore by divers led by US underwater archaeological explorer, Barry Clifford

Capt Kidd was captured and brought back to London. He was found guilt of piracy and the murder of one of his crewmen during a row in 1697, and sentenced to death.

Captain Kidd in New York
Captain Kidd in New York Harbor, ca. 1920 painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

During his execution in Wapping in 1701, the first rope put around his neck broke, so he was strung up a second time. That rope also snapped, but the third one held.

Captain Kidd treasure
Will the mystery finally be solved? Experts found what appeared to be the wreck of Captain Kidd’s ship, Adventure, in 2000. They believe the silver bar found nearby was from that vessel Image credit: Daily Mail

Afterwards, his body was dipped in tar and hung by chains along the River Thames to serve as a warning to would-be pirates.

See also:

Why Did Pirates And Sailors Wear Earrings?

‘Bad King John’ Of England: His Lost Treasures Have Never Been Found

Centuries-Old Hunt For Vanished Treasures

Legend had it that Capt Kidd hid much of his loot, which has prompted numerous treasure hunts around the world and inspired author Robert Louis Stevenson when writing Treasure Island.
Perhaps the discovery of Barry Clifford and his team could finally solve the mystery of the lost treasure of Captain Kidd.

“There’s more down there. I know the whole bottom of the cavity where I found the silver bar is filled with metal. It’s too murky down there to see what metal, but my metal detector tells me there is metal on all sides.”

In order to learn the truth, underwater archaeologists must dive and keep examining whatever is still down there.

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