![]() Yet according to maritime historian David Cordingly, the buccaneers of old were rarely so frugal. Like many other pirate myths, the concept of buried plunder was popularized by author Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel “Treasure Island,” which involves a hunt for a cache of gold hidden by a salty ship captain. Kidd, meanwhile, was transported to London and executed by hanging. ![]() He was soon arrested in Boston while trying to clear his name, and it wasn’t long before the authorities tracked down and confiscated most of the ill-gotten treasure. In 1699, Kidd dropped anchor near New York and buried the modern equivalent of millions of dollars in gold and jewels on tiny Gardiners Island. Drake left guards at the site, however, and quickly retrieved the booty after rendezvousing with his ships.Īnother sea rogue who was not so fortunate was Captain William Kidd, the notorious privateer-turned-pirate who became a wanted man for plundering shipping in the Indian Ocean. After a 1573 raid on a Spanish mule train, he and his men interred several tons of gold and silver along the Panamanian coast to prevent it from being recaptured. One early example concerns the English privateer Francis Drake. Pirate lore is rife with tales of hidden treasure and maps where “X” marks the spot, but there are only a few reliable accounts of buccaneers actually burying their loot.
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