Privateers
Privateers were merchant sea captains and their crew who in the time of war were
given a Letter of Mark that gave them authority to attack enemy ships. When peace was declared, however, the sailors were
reluctant to stop attacking the ships and slipped into being ordinary pirates.
Sir Francis Drake was one of the most famous self made Elizabethan Privateers making
himself famous because of the raids he organised on Spanish Merchant Ships and his heroism in the Spanish Armada.
Another famous Pirateer was Captain William Kid who was given permision to attack
the French in 1695 who then became pirate and was hanged in 1701.
