Privateer

A privateer (sometimes called corsair or buccaneer) was a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign vessels during wartime, and take them as prizes. Captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under prize law, with the proceeds divided between the privateer shipowners and crew. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors as naval auxiliaries.

Historically, the distinction between a privateer and a pirate has been blurred, sometimes depending on the source as to which label was correct. At times, pirates sought dubious government sanction to operate under a veil of legitimacy.

Legal framework

The letter of marque of a privateer would typically limit activity to the ships of specific nations. Typically, the owners or captain would be required to post a performance bond, or they might be liable to pay damages to an injured party. In the United Kingdom, letters of marque were revoked for various offences.

Some crews were treated as harshly as naval crews of the time, while others followed the comparatively relaxed rules of merchant ships. Some crews were made up of professional merchant seamen, others of pirates, debtors, and convicts. Some privateers ended up becoming pirates, not just in the eyes of their enemies but also of their own nations. William Kidd, for instance, began as a legitimate British privateer but was later hanged for piracy.

Privateer (disambiguation)

Privateer is an unethical corporation or wealthy individual hired covertly, i.e. under the public radar, by an enabling accomplice (elected or appointed) inside a government to fulfill a protection or empowerment function of that government without any public accountability for the purpose of undermining that government's moral mission to its people. S/he is a thief of the common wealth and enemy of the public good.

Privateer may refer to:

Wing Commander: Privateer

Wing Commander: Privateer is an adventure space flight simulation computer game released by Origin Systems in 1993. Privateer and its storyline is part of the Wing Commander series. Privateer had an add-on titled Righteous Fire (1994) that continues the story and adds other purchasable equipment to the game.

The software features a pseudo-3D world in plain raster graphics at 320x200 with 256 colors.

The player takes the role of Grayson Burrows, a "privateer" who travels through the Gemini Sector, one of many sectors in the Wing Commander universe. Unlike Wing Commander, the player is no longer a navy pilot, but a freelancer who can choose to be a pirate, a merchant, a mercenary or any of the above in some combination. The player may follow the built-in plot but is free to adventure on his own, even after the plot has been completed.

Burrows' name was unknown to the general public for many years. During that period he was known as "Brownhair", by reference to "Bluehair", the Wing Commander I and II protagonist later known as Christopher Blair.