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Article By: ToddMassey
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A Pirate's Life
Privateers would have been pirates legally commissioned by a country or government giving them permission to wage war against another country or government. The French and English pirates that were living in the Caribbean about the time of the seventeenth century went by the name, buccaneer. Of course the name buccaneer is a very anglicized version of the French word, boucanier.
A stretch of land and water called the Barbary Coast was home to the privateers or Islamic pirates called Barbary corsairs. The French and other non-Islamic nations considered the corsairs pirates, instead of privateers. But they focused their efforts on Christian and non-Islamic prey.
In the rich waters of the Mediterranean area where vigorous sea trading was taking place, pirating came to develop and be very effective. The nations and kingdoms warring amongst themselves would set pirates against their foes. To collect taxes from the locals the city-states of Greece gave pirates the job as tax collector because the pirates were so feared.
Unrest and competition between Spain, France and England saw the use of pirates as a successful tool in the many wars these countries fought with each other. Pirate activity would become sanctioned by a government making the pirates theft and treachery legal, as long as the privateers performed their misdeeds against the enemy.
Many times though countries or governments would ban together to help each other rid themselves of pirate infestations.
Pirates are known for creating the first true individual democracy in which every man had a vote or say. The buccaneers established this code in rebellion against their harsh treatment from former countries. Breaking agreed upon rules was dealt with harshly as a means to enforcing their own laws or code.
Pirates took care of their own like no other governing body had done before. Around the time in the early to mid 1600's pirates begin to establish various payments as compensation for body parts lost in the line of duty.
Piracy could be a hard life, dangerous and deadly but it was often preferable to the navy of the day. You could potentially get better pay, better food be treated better and have a say in decisions.
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.
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About the Author
Pirates live larger than life in our minds thanks to books and movies. Another fun Pirate book has come out that plays up on the "Golden Age of Piracy".