Piracy is far from being restricted to a particular time period or geographic area. Pirates have been hunting seas and waterways for millennia, with archives of their pillage and plunder going as far as Antiquity.

Of course, when someone mentions the word ‘’pirate’’, a particular image comes to mind, and this image is pulled from a very particular period of sea-faring history known as the Golden Age of Piracy. Heavily influenced by works of fiction such as Treasure Island, or more recently the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, the modern icon of the pirate can nevertheless be placed into a historical context, often pinpointed as roughly a century-long episode going from 1650 to 1750. However, corsairs or privateers, essentially state-licensed pirates, remained largely present for another century.

The close relationship between pirates and privateers must not be overlooked, with most large outbursts in piracy being the direct results of corsairs being demobilized at the end of wars, going rogue, and pursuing their raids without legal authority after the termination of their contracts.

Many pirates’ dens such as Tortuga, Nassau, and Port-Royal began as privateer rally points, until their crews turned to freebooting, the port authorities often turning a blind eye to the legality of their trade.

Pirate crews were famously egalitarian for their time, often recruiting maroon slaves as crewmates, and freeing the captives in the slave vessels they captured. It is estimated that about one third of pirates were of African descent during the Golden Age of Piracy, a career path that was perceived as emancipatory for many enslaved folks. The existence of famous women pirates also solidifies this egalitarian mindset, with every crewmate of merit having a chance to rise to a respected status with effort and some luck. The pirates spat on the laws and hierarchies of their time, living as outlaws on the sea. It was a hard life, but one of freedom.