ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

William Kidd

William Kidd was a man who lived a long time ago, when there were pirates sailing on the high seas. Pirates were people who would steal things from other ships, and they were very scary.

William Kidd was a sailor who became a pirate. He sailed on his ship and took things from other ships that he shouldn't have. He eventually got in trouble with the government because they didn't want people to be pirates and steal things from others.

William Kidd was captured by the government and put on trial. They said that he had done some very bad things, like killing people and stealing from lots of ships. The jury decided that he was guilty and sentenced him to death.

William Kidd was very sad about what he had done and said that he was sorry for his actions. But, he still had to serve his punishment, which was being hanged. This means that they put a rope around his neck and pulled it tight until he passed away.

So, even though William Kidd did some bad things, he learned that it wasn't the right thing to do and paid the price for his actions.