Was Kidd a pirate?

A jury at the Old Bailey answered this in May 1701. You have the same question and better paper. Each stop on this trail is one piece of evidence, with the word the Archive uses for how far the record supports it. Read them in order, then give a verdict. It is kept only in your own browser, and you can change it.

The question. On the evidence in the Archive, was William Kidd a pirate?

1. 1 Event The Kidd Privateering Venture Formed (1695) The commission and the articles: what he was authorised to do, and against whom.
2. 2 Source The French Passes The two French passes: what a pass meant in law, and who held them at the trial.
3. 3 Event The Capture of the Quedagh Merchant (1698) The taking itself: the ship, the colours, the pass, and what the indictment made of it.
4. 4 Event The Killing of William Moore (1697) The killing of the gunner: murder at law, and the first indictment tried.
5. 5 Person William Moore The man who died, and how little else the record holds about him.
6. 6 Event Kidd and Culliford at Madagascar (1698) Madagascar: the crew that left, the pirate they joined, and what the Crown inferred from Kidd staying.
7. 7 Person Robert Culliford The pirate in the harbour: what passed between the two captains is the Crown's proof of intention.
8. 8 Event Kidd Arrested at Boston (1699) The surrender: what was promised to bring him in, and what happened to the papers he handed over.
9. 9 Person Richard Coote, Earl of Bellomont The governor who invested, promised, arrested and prosecuted.
10. 10 Event Trial of William Kidd The trial: six indictments, the order they were taken in, and what the jury did and did not see.