piracy

Below Henry Every, privateer turned pirate, who captured the richest prize of all: a treasure ship belonging to the Great Mughal of Delhi.

Fighting the pirates: the dark side of privateering

Pirates or privateers? The buccaneers who haunted the high seas in the 17th and 18th centuries sailed a fine line between fighting Britain’s enemies and profiting themselves. Tim Newark looks at the careers of two notorious figures, and reveals the criminal complexity behind their actions.

1136px Confiance Kent fight

War of words – ‘Privateer’

As far back as the Middle Ages, private ship captains were authorised by governments to harry enemy merchant shipping. Their ships, and their operators, came to be called ‘privateers’. The letters of marque and reprisal that gave privateering ship captains…