Here I'm listing old words that got lost in time, so you don't get lost too. ;D
Please let me know if I'm missing something!
Pirates, Privateers, Corsairs, Buccaneers, Filibusters
We've all grown up convinced that all these words mean the same. But they don't, so let's see if we can define each of them.
Pirates: independent sailors that went around the seven seas, forcibly looting on other ships and coastal towns for their own benefit.
Buccaneers: French settlers in La Hispaniola. They were boar hunters, and had a particular technique to dry and smoke the meat of their prey: they buccaneered it.507Please respect copyright.PENANAq8gJ62kA5z
When the Spaniards kicked them out, the buccaneers crossed to Tortuga and settled there. But since the island was so small, and at the beginning they had to share it with the English, the hunting didn't thrive. So they decided to try a new line of business: they became pirates.507Please respect copyright.PENANAxITUXInWMr
So, some pirates had been buccaneers, just like some buccaneers became pirates --and quit buccaneering.507Please respect copyright.PENANAAWSweXRPaO
But not all pirates had been buccaneers, and not all buccaneers became pirates. So you were a buccaneer or you were a pirate. You couldn't be both at the same time.
Filibusters: the word comes from the Dutch vrijbueter, which means freebooter. Fribustier in French, later changed to flibustier ---->filibuster in English.507Please respect copyright.PENANAGLUWrvSdop
They were French independent pirates that berthed in Tortuga. They called themselves Brethren of the Coast.507Please respect copyright.PENANAiUG8jVLlnN
So, all filibusters were pirates, some of them had been buccaneers, and some of them became corsairs.
Corsair/Privateer:507Please respect copyright.PENANANnpXbp1qbx
A privateer was a pirate captain that received a Letter of Marque of a European king.507Please respect copyright.PENANAlqQCzvaPpC
It's sort of accepted that privateer refers to English pirate captains with a letter of marque, while corsairs were French.507Please respect copyright.PENANAhEDLYbGa5T
So, all corsairs were pirates. They had been filibusters, and some of them had also been buccaneers. They counted themselves as Brethren of the Coast. 507Please respect copyright.PENANAywmH2knQt2
But becoming a corsair meant you were not a filibuster anymore (because filibusters were all freebooters, independent pirates).
Privateers were all pirates, but none of them were corsairs, nor filibusters, nor buccaneers --because all those words refer to French settlers and privateers were English.
Letter of Marque:507Please respect copyright.PENANAfEVh47yWpp
This thing was a contract of sorts between a given pirate captain -privateers were no regular sailors, but those who commanded a ship- and a European king -mainly English, French and Dutch.
The Letter recognized the captain as an officer of the royal navy of the given crown. This gave the captain a margin a legality for his looting. 507Please respect copyright.PENANAIs4O8MpFNv
Captains committed to prey only on ships or towns of the crown's enemies, which turned their looting into acts of wars. Which was a good thing, since piracy was always punished with death, no exception. While war, well, you know, everything goes, right?507Please respect copyright.PENANAgFyqg4VWBS
Also, they committed to tribute a share of their prize to the crown. Which was a good thing for the kings, because all of them were always pretty much broken.507Please respect copyright.PENANAM0HGspitzi
By turning into some kind of "independent navy officer", the privateers accepted that they could be recruited to fight on the king's battles. For example, when Felipe II tried to invade England (and lost his Armada on the English Channel), Elizabeth's defensive fleet was commanded by two privateers: Raleigh and Drake.507Please respect copyright.PENANASHXHKgekMu
The only problem was that back then, European kings made and broke alliances every other week, and news took at least two months to get from Europe to the Caribbean. So privateers could never be sure who was their king's current enemy any given month. The easy fix was going after Spanish ships: they always had the best plunder, and everybody knew Spaniards were always whining about something.
The Letter of Marquee was to be renewed every one or two years by the colony's governor, and before granting an extension, they usually weighted how much trouble the privateer had caused against how much he'd tributed.
Master & Commander:507Please respect copyright.PENANA8bP2sRzoQl
Once upon a time, warships had two big bosses: the Master -the top sailor in charge of the sailing part of things- he ruled over all the sailors and anything related to the ship. And the Commander, who was the war boss. He commanded the military crew and made all the decisions related to armed confrontations.507Please respect copyright.PENANACKsIqOEeHs
Until one day somebody scratched their head and cried, "Eureka!" They could merge both ranks into one and save money in wages!507Please respect copyright.PENANA1u15zQQIYs
And thus, they started training officers that could be in charge of both the sailing and the military.507Please respect copyright.PENANAmVgFcxnPC8
**Funny silly translation trivia: this rank in Spanish translates literally as "Captain of Sea and War," which is super poetic to me. While "Master & Commander" makes me think of lashing whips and ill-tempered bosses like the Bounty captain -don't know the story? google it asap!507Please respect copyright.PENANAUnB1fVQfxX
That is, if when hearing the words "Master & Commander" I can help thinking about dearest Russell Crowe playing Jack Aubrey. ;D
Some everyday things:
Oporto: Expensive, excellent red wine from the Portuguese city of the same name.
Laudanum: Liquid sedative made with opium.
Braies: underwear.
Felt hat: those lovely-classy-swashbuckling hats they used back then.
FLAGS
The Spanish flag between the 16th and 19th centuries was San Andrew's Cross, also called Burgundy Cross.507Please respect copyright.PENANAyh5I4ybrgt
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This was the French naval flag under Louis XIV:507Please respect copyright.PENANAV1CGes4GxI
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