Imagine witnessing the trial of a pirate who was trying to prove to the Admiralty Court that he was a privateer. There were many different types of pirates. Being one and not another "could mean the difference between life and death" (Konstam 10). There were three main types of pirates: buccaneers, corsairs, and privateers.
First, buccaneers, from the French word boucanier, were pirates who were stationed in the Caribbean. They consisted mostly of runaways, fugitives, and seamen who deserted their crew. These pirates often hunted wild boar and oxen on the islands of Haiti, Hispaniola, and Dominican Republic. They smoked their hunt on a barbeque grill, also known as a boucan, which they learned from the Arawak Indians. When the Spanish tried to dispose of them, they decided to raid Spanish ships and towns (Cindy Vallar 1). By the 17th century, a buccaneer meant a French or English pirate or privateer who operated in the West Indies preying on the Spanish.
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Konstam at The Prince Albert, St Pancras, London
Konstam at The Prince Albert, St Pancras, WC1A buccaneer was much like a corsair who had bases in the Caribbean.
Second, corsairs, derived from the French word la course, meaning privateer, were pirates and privateers who operated in the Mediterranean (Konstam 11). Instead of goods, these pirates looked for people to capture to sell into slavery or hold for ransom (Cindy Vallar 1). They attacked ships for their religion, country, and goods. The Barbary corsairs, a famous corsair group, were privateers hired to attack Christian shipping lanes. Famous pirates of that group were the Barbarossa Brothers (Red Beard) and Dragut Reis. Also, the Maltese Corsairs were the Christian opposition to the Muslim threat. However, these men turned corrupt and became "full-fledged pirates, with no interest in religion ideals" (Wilczyà Âski 1).
Lastly, privateers were pirates under a government contract who could legally attack enemy ships...