2. Turning to Piracy
The enterprise was a failure, and Captain Kidd’s crew, getting antsy, urged him to attack some passing vessels in order to make the voyage worth their time. When Kidd declined, his men threatened mutiny. Under pressure, he gave in, and reluctantly started attacking ships not covered by his privateering letters.
By 1698, he had abandoned reluctance and any pretense of privateering, and turned full pirate and criminal. That year, he sealed his fate when he attacked a British East India Company ship. The powerful company exerted its influence in London, and Kidd was declared a pirate and criminal.