Pirates and privateers are often confused, but there is a clear distinction: pirates rob under nobody’s authority, while privateers act under a ruling nation. Privateers were employed by major countries to curb piracy and bring money home. Some experts consider them identical, as they both attacked ships and cities for plunder. Pirates could purchase letters of marque to become privateers, but many violated their status. Some pirates began as naval officers or privateers before turning to piracy. The violent methods they used to obtain treasure link them together.
Pirates and privateers are often thought of as one and the same, leading the words to be used interchangeably by some. Scholars argue that there is a clear distinction between pirates and privateers, however, despite the fact that the realities of their jobs were often identical. During the Age of Sail, opportunists could actually switch sides, and there are records of sailors switching sides several times during their busy lives. A pirate commits robbery under nobody’s authority, while a privateer’s acts are under the orders of a ruling nation.
A pirate, by definition, is one who robs people by sea. The word comes from a Greek term loosely meaning to find fortune in the ocean. Traditional pirates are often considered free agents, not tied to any governing body or system. This freedom has led to their modern portrayal as rebellious and independent, heroic figures who have abandoned conforming systems. In reality, pirates are criminals who often resort to violence to rob ships or cities.
Pirates and privateers differ subtly in a number of ways, but their primary distinction is very clear. While a pirate steals under nobody’s authority, a privateer’s acts of robbery or violence are under the orders of a ruling nation. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the major ruling countries of the world all employed privateers, to bring money home and to curb illegal piracy.
Privateers were not always naval officers, but both pirates and privateers managed their own vessels. Both pirates and privateers would attack ships and cities for plunder, but a privateer should only do so if the target belonged to a hostile nation. At times, privateers for personal gain endangered peace treaties between warring nations by continuing to attack. This may not always have been through greed, as correspondence was much slower in that era and news of treaties may not have reached eager privateers.
Some experts consider pirates and privateers to be identical, as they both followed the same job description. The British privateer Admiral Henry Morgan was considered more brutal than many contemporary pirates and once ordered an entire Spanish city to be slaughtered and burned to the ground after capturing it. His behavior violated the peace negotiations and almost drove Spain and England back to war, but the admiral was never convicted of piracy, as he was acting in the name of the government.
In times of need, nations sometimes offered pirate amnesty to operational pirates. For a price, the pirate could purchase letters of marque that would make him a privateer and save him from being preyed upon by the nation’s agents. Upon receiving the letters of marque, pirates became privateers and would conduct missions on behalf of the nation. Many pirates would later violate their status and attack neutral vessels or even those of their own nation, however, and governments would have their status revoked.
Some pirates began life as naval officers or privateers before turning into or being considered a pirate. William Kidd, an Irish privateer working for the British government, didn’t realize he was considered a pirate until he returned to his home port after a raid and was arrested for piracy. He was later hanged for piracy, despite his protests that he was a loyal privateer.
Pirates and privateers are inextricably linked by the violent methods they used to obtain treasure. By literal definition, they are only separated by the letter that one has and the other doesn’t. The ability to switch from one to the other at appropriate times suggests that they were not separate at all, merely titles distributed to anyone who committed violence on the seas.
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