Where pirates and privateers came from

Which social classes supplied pirates and privateers across history?

Nearly every class appears, with local opportunity and the transition from wartime privateering to peacetime piracy more important than one social origin.

Pirates and privateers could come from many social classes, with the balance varying by place and period. Cornwall supplies an example of middle-class involvement alongside seafarers and people attracted by the money. War and peace could change the legal status of similar activity as crews moved between privateering and piracy. Alex Clarke illustrates the ambiguity with a family story about merchants returning with goods despite apparently making no trading voyage. The appeal of freedom could attract people from higher social groups as well. A fictional pirate's background therefore needs to fit a particular setting.