pirates were used by which government?

Answer 1

The history of piracy dates back more than 3000 years, but its accurate account depends on the actual meaning of the word ‘pirate’. In English, the word piracy has many different meanings and its usage is still relatively new. Today, some uses of the word have no particular meaning at all. A meaning was first ascribed to the word piracy sometime before the XVII century. It appears that the word pirate (peirato) was first used in about 140 BC by the Roman historian Polybius. The Greek historian Plutarch, writing in about 100 A.D., gave the oldest clear definition of piracy. He described pirates as those who attack without legal authority not only ships, but also maritime cities. Piracy was described for the first time, among others, in Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey. For a great many years there remained no unambiguous definition of piracy. Norse riders of the 9th and 11th century AD were not considered pirates but rather, were called "Danes" or "Vikings". Another popular meaning of the word in medieval England was "sea thieves". The meaning of the word pirate most closely tied to the contemporary was established in the XVIII century AD. This definition dubbed pirates "outlaws" whom even persons who were not soldiers could kill. The first application of international law actually involved anti-pirate legislation. This is due to the fact that most pirate acts were committed outside the borders of any country.

Sometimes governments gave rights to the pirates to represent them in their wars. The most popular form was to give a license to a private sailor to attack enemy shipping on behalf of a specific king – Privateer. Very often a privateer when caught by the enemy was tried as an outlaw notwithstanding the license. Below we tried to outline a selective history of piracy, selective and arbitrary because there is so much that can be said about piracy and it is impossible to tell all. We hope that even this brief introduction will show the spirit and truth about the piracy the way we see it.

A privateer or corsair used similar methods to a pirate, but acted while in possession of a commission or letter of marque from a government or king authorizing the capture of merchant ships belonging to an enemy nation. The famous Barbary Corsairs of the Mediterranean were privateers, as were the Maltese Corsairs, who were authorized by the Knights of St. John. The letter of marque was recognized by convention—for example, the United States Constitution of 1787 specifically authorizes Congress to issue letters of marque and reprisal—and meant that a privateer could not technically be charged with piracy. This nicety of law did not always save the individuals concerned, however, as whether one was considered a pirate or a legally operating privateer often depended on whose custody the individual found himself in—that of the country that had issued the commission, or that of the object of attack. Under the Declaration of Paris of 1854, seven nations agreed to suspend the use of the letter of marque, and others followed in the Hague Conventions. One famous privateer was Sir Francis Drake. His patron was England, and their relationship ultimately proved to be quite profitable.

A wartime activity similar to piracy involves disguised warships called commerce raiders or merchant raiders, which attack enemy shipping commerce, approaching by stealth and then opening fire. Commerce raiders operated successfully during the American Revolution. During the American Civil War, the Confederacy sent out several commerce raiders, the most famous of which was the CSS Alabama. During World War I and World War II, Germany also made use of these tactics, both in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Since commissioned naval vessels were openly used, these commerce raiders should not be considered even privateers, much less pirates - although the opposing combatants were vocal in denouncing them as such.

Answer 2

French, British, and Spain all used whoever they could to mess with the other countries while trying to get ahead in the New World. They would hire pirates and tell them that their country would protect them and not try to catch them if they would attack, say, a Spanish ship instead of a French ship.

Norway never had to resort to hiring Pirates, they just sent in their Vikings to waste them all. Well they would have if they were trying to grab gold from Mexico.....

Oh, and I can't remember who it was, but a French privateer was hired by America to help defend the southern coast during the war of 1812, or some war near that. I got that from high school history

Answer 3

I think that you have a little confusion. Pirates, with the infamous black flag of the skull and the crossed tibias, were mere thieves of the sea, who obeyed nobody but their own greed.
Corsairs, on the other hand, were backed by their government and had a document, called "patent of corse" that authorized them to rob ships typically from Spain to obtain the treasure that these ships were carrying. Eventually it ended, because these governments realized that the riches were destined to English, or French, or Ducht merchants, and that they were actually harming their own economies.
Corsairs were from England, France, or Holland, countries with a well developed fleet

Answer 4

All long lasting maritime powers have have used "pirates" to wage war on enemies and deny them sea-use. England did it in the time of Elizabeth, The Ottoman Empire did it for the greater part of its existence, the US did it against England and France in the early nineteenth century, the Confederacy did it during its early years, the Republic of Venice, Spain, Portugal, Holland, etc etc - as I say all maritime powers. Sometimes these pirates were known as "privateers", at other times they claimed to operate under "letters of Marque". In the end it all added up to the same thing - plundering ships at sea for private profit.

Answer 5

The British, to attack French ships.

Answer 6

The British, plain and simple

Answer 7

U.S. and British both used privateers, which were basically government-sponsored piracy.