Pirate is now the commonly accepted term around the world for a person who commits a variety of treachery on the high seas. Earlier in the history of pirates, they were given more specific names that helped to better identify them.
A privateer was legally commissioned by a body, typically a government, to help them harass or attack another government. A buccaneer would have been French or English around the 17th century, living on the island of Hispaniola, attacking the Spanish. A French buccaneer may also have been called a freebooter.
Off the North African and Mediterranean coasts were Muslim pirates called the Barbary corsairs. The French considered them straight up pirates but the locals and Islamic governments considered them privateers, as they tended to raid only non-Islamic people.
Pirates really got their big start in the seas around Greece, where they raided merchants and were used by the warring countries and city-states against each other. At one time they were even used by the city-states as tax collectors due to the fact that so many people feared the pirates.
France, Spain and England fought back and forth with each other many times through the years with pirates and privateers playing huge roles in the outcomes of battles and wars. Pirates could often prove so successful as to bring an entire navy to its knees or to steal government treasure or disrupt trade so badly as to bankrupt a country.
When trade would become too disrupted by pirates some governments would join together in a concentrated effort to purge the pirates from trade routes.
Buccaneers would run to the sea and a life of piracy in an attempt to break away from their cruel handling from former countries. This led to pirates creating what is known to be the first true individual democracy where every person on the boat had a vote in all activities. To enforce their own code the pirates dealt out harsh penalties to those that would violate shipboard laws.
Severe injury, lost limbs or body parts was commonplace in the dangerous life of a pirate. But pirates take care of their own, and established compensatory payment for injuries. Establishing in writing for example that the loss of a leg was worth 500 pieces of eight.
Being a pirate could be a tough existence, hazardous and lethal but your only other choice of a life at sea would have been the navy. Life in the navy gave you no choices, while pirates had a vote in many decisions. Not all men on a pirate ship were there voluntarily but even the navies used kidnapping and forced men and boys into service.
Navy pay was terrible while a pirate could receive large sums after a successful raid and the treasure had been divvied up. But as was often the case a pirate would spend or lose all his money in a few nights of celebration.
A privateer was legally commissioned by a body, typically a government, to help them harass or attack another government. A buccaneer would have been French or English around the 17th century, living on the island of Hispaniola, attacking the Spanish. A French buccaneer may also have been called a freebooter.
Off the North African and Mediterranean coasts were Muslim pirates called the Barbary corsairs. The French considered them straight up pirates but the locals and Islamic governments considered them privateers, as they tended to raid only non-Islamic people.
Pirates really got their big start in the seas around Greece, where they raided merchants and were used by the warring countries and city-states against each other. At one time they were even used by the city-states as tax collectors due to the fact that so many people feared the pirates.
France, Spain and England fought back and forth with each other many times through the years with pirates and privateers playing huge roles in the outcomes of battles and wars. Pirates could often prove so successful as to bring an entire navy to its knees or to steal government treasure or disrupt trade so badly as to bankrupt a country.
When trade would become too disrupted by pirates some governments would join together in a concentrated effort to purge the pirates from trade routes.
Buccaneers would run to the sea and a life of piracy in an attempt to break away from their cruel handling from former countries. This led to pirates creating what is known to be the first true individual democracy where every person on the boat had a vote in all activities. To enforce their own code the pirates dealt out harsh penalties to those that would violate shipboard laws.
Severe injury, lost limbs or body parts was commonplace in the dangerous life of a pirate. But pirates take care of their own, and established compensatory payment for injuries. Establishing in writing for example that the loss of a leg was worth 500 pieces of eight.
Being a pirate could be a tough existence, hazardous and lethal but your only other choice of a life at sea would have been the navy. Life in the navy gave you no choices, while pirates had a vote in many decisions. Not all men on a pirate ship were there voluntarily but even the navies used kidnapping and forced men and boys into service.
Navy pay was terrible while a pirate could receive large sums after a successful raid and the treasure had been divvied up. But as was often the case a pirate would spend or lose all his money in a few nights of celebration.
