How corsairs differed from pirates and how buccaneers hunted on land and at sea
Filibusters, corsairs, buccaneers, pirates - these concepts are often used interchangeably in fiction and cinema. But in reality, each of these words had its own meanings, which were transformed over time and acquired new semantic shades. Why piracy has so many names and how not to get confused in them. - MV was asked by the historian Dmitry Kopelev.
Piracy has never been an unambiguous concept: it has always taken specific forms and varied depending on territory, legal framework and specific circumstances. This was especially vividly manifested at the intersection of geopolitical spheres of influence, where the interests of various naval powers collided - such "twilight zones" were the Caribbean, where Spain, France and Britain competed for territories, the Mediterranean Sea, which became a clash zone between the Christian and Muslim worlds, as well as the Black Sea, where the Ottoman Empire, Rzeczpospolita and Muscovy fought for influence. There were many synonymous names for persons engaged in sea robbery; over time, their original values have been transformed. It is not possible to draw a clear line between these concepts,however, there were some fundamental differences.
Legalized robbery: corsairs, privateers and privateers
In the regions listed above, specific forms of sea robbery were formed, involved in complex and contradictory relations with the authorities, with which the robbers were closely linked by financial and political interests. The authorities skillfully manipulated armed marginals, using them to oust competitors, and robbers, taking advantage of the lack of clear rules of the game, blackmailed the colonial administration. For example, privateers, corsairs, or privateers received a certificate from the authorities allowing them to use armed vessels to seize enemy merchant ships. Thus, robbery turned into a legalized form of military action. By issuing a letter of marque, the state was able to control and regulate the actions of robbers: for example, the corsairs were forbidden to share the spoils on their own,and severe penalties were imposed for concealing it; they also could not rob the ships of the state that issued the letter of marque, and the ships of its allies.
Basically, three terms that come from different languages mean the same thing. The word "privateer" comes from lat. sapire - "to take possession, to seize". In Europe, the word "privateer" was used mainly in the Baltic and North Seas: the Dutch karen was used, which combined the meanings "to seize, plunder, steal", and kaper - "light sea vessel". The term "privatires" was used mainly in English-speaking countries - it is based on lat. privatus ("private, unofficial"). This concept was used simultaneously to designate an armed private vessel, manned by a private person, and for its commander, as well as crew members. Individuals engaged in privateering in the countries of the Mediterranean region were called corsairs (from the Latin currere - "to run", cursus - "running, swimming", cursorius - "fast, easy on the go").
Due to the subtle, not always obvious differences between privateering and piracy - free sea robbery, the victims of which were ships regardless of belonging to a particular state - the concepts of "corsair", "privateer" and "privatir" were used with an ambiguous connotation, and often acted as synonyms for "pirate". For example, the famous French corsairs Francis I and Louis XIV were privateers, which did not prevent some of them from acting "pirate" methods, and often becoming pirates.
Promotional video:
Filibusters: corsairs against Spanish expansion
The word "filibuster" first appears in the Voyage Report by the French navigator Daniel Lerbecq, sierre de Chambray, who visited the French Antilles in 1642. In the 1660s, this concept is widely spread across the West Indies and turns into the collective term "filibusta" and "filibuster" (Dutch vrijbuiter, English flibutor, filibuster, Spanish filibuster, French flibustier). This concept was often applied to corsairs and adventurers who hunted in the Caribbean and relied on the support of the governments of France, England and the Republic of the United Provinces, who were interested in the capture of the Spanish islands. This name is based on the Old Russian vribute, vributeur, that is, "a robber from the high road."
The freeboosters moved on small but maneuverable twenty-meter boats (“flibots”) with a capacity of up to 25-30 people. These could be sloops, boats, or single-masted brigs. The filibusters perfectly controlled the sail and knew the underwater currents, which allowed them to deftly maneuver between the islands and instantly approach the intended vessel, sharply increasing their speed.
Rogue Rogues: Forbans
To the greatest extent to the word "pirate" commonly known today in the XVI-XVII centuries, the French approached. forban - "bandit", "robber". Descending from Old French. forbannir, firbannjan (“expel, send into exile”), the word “forban” meant an outcast, rejected by society, a person who embarked on an armed sea robbery for the sake of enrichment and became a pirate. Forbans were believed to be very dangerous, and it was believed that the French or the British were more humane than the Spanish robbers.
Forbans often became deserters. At the end of the war between France and the Augsburg coalition, the number of sea robbers increased many times over: the Forbans actively attracted the local population into their ranks. The colonial authorities tried to thwart the pirate recruitment by promising generous rewards to those who refuse the offer to become a foreban and point out those who did it. But that didn't help.
Island Hunters: Buccaneers
Buccaneers (French boucanier, boucaner; English buccaneer) were forest hunters from French settlers who settled at the beginning of the 17th century on the islands in the Caribbean Sea belonging to Spain. Researchers see the roots of the concept of boucan in Indian languages - this word or its consonant meant smoked meat or a grill for smoking. At the same time, among British immigrants and itinerant sailors there was another designation close to the French version of "buccaneering": they called island hunters "cow killers" ("cow killers").
Buccaneers united in artels of five or six people. Such artels lived in the forest sedentary, not leaving the place for several months, and only occasionally hunters visited settlements to sell their catch and replenish stocks. Buccaneers were skillful shooters, but they preferred to take prey not with firearms, but using machetes or corsair sabers. In round hats, cropped canvas pants, pigskin shoes, and shirts chilled with animal blood, they looked like cruel thugs.
Buccaneers were also involved in smuggling and robbing European merchant ships. The actions of the Spanish authorities, who exterminated animals in order to deprive the robbers of their sources of livelihood, only aroused hatred in them.
It is unclear what came first: hunting or sea robbery. The population of the islands was extremely heterogeneous. These people of different origins, who were united by the war against the Spaniards, chose a wide variety of activities for themselves. Obviously, piracy could have served as an aid to other crafts, including hunting and meat preparation, because the sailors needed sufficient provisions. From the 1680s to the 1690s, the word "buccaneer" ceased to be associated with the profession of a hunter and began to denote a person who went out to sea for the purpose of robbery - "buccaneer". Hence the widespread use of this concept on a par with the sea robber, pirate, forban who pursued and robbed merchant ships for profit.
A single, once and for all given classification of pirate craft is hardly possible due to the ambiguity and vagueness of most concepts. Multidimensional, permeated with the intricacies of social ties, the world of sea robbers does not fit into the terminological framework once and for all.
Author: Dmitry Kopelev