Did pirates really bury treasure? Not really. There is only one known instance and even that is debatable. The idea of buried treasure and a map with an X on it was popularized by Robert Louis Stevenson in his book “Treasure Island”.
When we think of pirates, we think of swashbuckling rouges with an eye patch, wooden leg, pirate, Jolly Roger flag, and chests of gold doubloons that they bury, using an X on a map to remember where the treasure is hidden. These legends have led many people, even in the modern day, to spend a lot of time and money trying to find the buried treasure that pirates left. In actual fact, pirates weren’t like that, and they didn’t bury their treasure.
There is only one known instance of a pirate burying their treasure, and that was a person who always denied even being a pirate. Captain William Kidd buried some of his treasure on Gardiner Island, which is just off Long Island, New York. William Kidd was a privateer and not a pirate. The difference is a letter of marque, which gave permission for a ship to attack and capture ships that sailed under the flag of enemy nations. England used a lot of letters of marque before their navy became as powerful as it did. In the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, the navies of France, Spain, and Portugal were more powerful than England and they had more ships. To even the odds the English government gave private ships letters of marque, which allowed them to capture French, Spanish, and Portuguese ships without facing any criminal charges. They were also allowed to keep whatever bounty they captured, minus ten percent which was given to the crown. William Kidd was asked to sail by the governor of New York, along with several powerful nobles. He was given a letter of marque signed by King William III. Captain Kidd refrained from attacking several easy vessels because they went against the rules of his letters of marque and he had to suppress a small mutiny because of it. He ended up killing one of the members of his crew, which wasn’t unheard of. Finally, he found and captured an Armenian ship sailing out of India, full of silks, spices, and other treasures. According to his letter of marque, he was completely within his rights to do this, but the political climate in England had changed and it is said that Captain Kidd insulted a Royal Navy officer, so he was declared a pirate. He buried his treasure on Gardiner Island just before he was captured because he thought he could use it as a bargaining tool. He also thought the powerful people who had asked him to sail would step in and save him, but that didn’t happen. His treasure was found and handed over to the authorities. Captain Kidd was hanged for piracy in 1701. There was no treasure map and when he was hanged, there was no treasure.
There were a lot of pirates, but none of them buried their treasure. The main reason for that is they didn’t have the kind of treasure that could be buried. The ships they captured were carrying goods to be traded, such as silks, and spices. The pirates would take those things and sell them as quickly as possible. Then they would spend the money or reinvest it in their ship. The life of a pirate was very short, and they had no reason to save for the future. They took goods, sold them to get money, and then enjoyed spending the money. When the money was gone, they repeated the process. This carried on until they were killed or captured.
So, where do we get the idea that pirates buried their treasure? It started when the newspapers got hold of the Captain Kidd story. They reported that he had buried his treasure, even though it had already been found, and his reputation spread. People started treasure hunting on the island and anywhere else they thought he might have been. These rumors and legends continued to grow and expand. A number of authors wrote stories based on the legend of Captain Kidd. Washington Irving in 1824 and Edgar Allen Poe in 1843 were two of them. You have probably never heard of either of these stories and if it had only been them, the idea that pirates buried their treasure might have died out. It was the publication of another pirate book in 1883 that cemented the modern idea of the pirate and buried treasure in the public imagination. That story was “Treasure Island”, by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is said to be the most translated fiction book in the world. And that is why we think pirates bury their treasure. And that is what I learned today.
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Sources
https://www.bbc.com/news/10569471
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buried_treasure
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kidd
https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/x-marks-spot-did-pirates-bury-treasure