The word “pirate” means “one who plunders on the sea.” But there were also different types of pirate:
- Privateers, or “private men of war” were sea-raiders with a government licence to pillage enemy ships.
- Buccaneers were 17th century pirates who menaced the Spanish in the Caribbean.
- Corsairs were both privateers and pirates who roamed the Mediterranean.
- Barbary corsairs were Muslims who came from the southern coast of the Mediterranean.
Men were lured into the life of a pirate by the desire for riches, pleasure, freedom and power. Read this book for more info.