An individual commissioned by a government to attack foreign ships or perform raids on foreign settlements, usually for the purposes of stealing wealth.

A pirate normally operating off the Barbary Coast of North Africa.

The papers a government issues to privateers granting permission to attack, take by force and return the goods from enemy merchant ships.

Money or goods demanded for the return of a captured person.

This term refers to a pirate who operated in the Caribbean Sea. The term actually originates from the French word "boucan," a wooden frame used to smoke meat.

To destroy and steal.

Forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it.

Open rebellion against constituted authority (especially by seamen or soldiers against their officers).