Pirate Classification

Pirates, Buccaneers, Privateers

Basic distinction between types of pirates was in a manner and legitimacy of their actions. There is also difference in organization, actions and period of their activities.

Pirates

When we say a word pirate, we are usually thinking about the outlaws from the early 18 th century who harassed ships from all nations, including the very own. We can compare them to criminals. They worked only for themselves, didn't hesitate to kill innocent people and the most of them were always escaping from the laws and authorities. Compared to others, they had only a few ships in the fleet, and attacked mostly at the sea.

Buccaneers

The buccaneers were pirates located in the Caribbean Sea. They were mainly from England and France. They fought with Spain army and plundered their colonies in the 17th century. Although they were more legal than the classical pirates because they fought for their nation and usually acquired authorization from the colonial governments. However, that was not enough as Spaniards always treated them as the ordinary pirates. Compared to other pirates, they were much better organized and usually attacked with enormous fleets. The buccaneers also organized land attacks, even on the rich towns deep into the continent.

Learn more about the buccaneers

Privateers

Although some of their actions were similar to acts of piracy, the privateers were more soldiers then pirates. Most of them were commissioned during the war, by nation or some big company. By possessing a letter of marque, their actions were completely legal, but sometimes very limited. Privateers attacked only the ships and ports of enemy nations and when returning home from the raids, they had to share all the captured booty with their backers.

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