Corsairs were French privateers authorized by the king to raid enemy vessels and replenish state funds. They were different from pirates, who operated beyond the law and received no legal protection. Privateers sailed in fast vessels and were known for their daring and brutality, but could avoid being commissioned on a privateer vessel. Privateering was banned in Europe in the 19th century.
A privateer was a French privateer who attacked enemy shipping in the Mediterranean. Privateering was active in the Mediterranean from about the 11th century to the 11th, when privateering was finally banned by collective agreement in Europe. Many people use the term “privateer” interchangeably with “pirate,” although this usage isn’t technically correct.
The difference between privateers and pirates is an important one, because the two enjoyed different status in the eyes of the law. Privateers were officially authorized by the crown to raid enemy vessels, returning to their home ports with prizes and sharing them with the crown. Pirates, on the other hand, operated beyond the law, raiding all vessels indiscriminately and receiving no legal protection.
Corsairs get their name from the lettres de course they wore. A lettre de course could only be issued by the King of France and served essentially as an errand, allowing the privateer and crew to attack enemy vessels. If privateers chased ships belonging to neutral or allied nations, they would be treated as pirates and punished accordingly.
Of course, from an enemy’s point of view, a privateer would be little more than an ordinary pirate. If foreign ships succeeded in capturing privateers, they could punish the captain and crew as pirates, and this was a risk all privateers took. Corsairs were also subject to raids by actual pirates, who might consider a ship laden with booty a tempting prize.
Corsairs emerged in the Middle Ages as a purely practical arm of the French Crown. The French treasury was woefully low due to a series of conflicts, and the king realized that raiding enemies would be an easy way to replenish state funds and at the same time damage the cause of France’s enemies. Many other European monarchs had the same idea, making the high seas a dangerous place. Most privateers attached themselves to the Barbary coast, the coast along North Africa, and sometimes came into conflict with Muslim privateers known as the Barbary pirates.
Privateers typically sailed in very fast and easily handled vessels which also became known as privateers, sometimes using convict slaves to gain the upper hand. They were famed for their daring, speed, and swashbuckling attitude, and like other privateers and pirates, they could also be quite brutal. If a vessel’s crew resisted, they could find themselves summarily executed by privateers, although they could usually avoid being commissioned on a privateer vessel, unlike victims of pirate attacks. Privateers were also not above the use of subterfuge; for example, they might wave an enemy’s flag to lure a ship close to them before flashing the waybill and boarding.
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