Nautical Naughtiness

[deckardcanine]

We tend to use “pirates” in reference only
To robbers on ships in the sea.
Officially, all kinds of violent crimes
On the water compose piracy.

The word “privateers” is for those who are licensed
By rulers to rob other nations.
The difference is vaguer when some are encouraged
But lack written authorization.

“Corsairs” can mean pirates but chiefly are just
Privateers of the Barbary Coast.
When Christian states battled the Ottoman Empire,
Both sides became corsairs’ hosts.

The first “buccaneers” were Caribbean poachers
Who smoked their wild game on wood griddles,
But later the word was for West Indies pirates.
They did target Spain’s ships a little.

Some other Caribbean pirates were known
As the “freebooters” thanks to the Dutch.
The term “filibusters” at first was distinct,
But the two groups did not differ much.

In search of a word that’s precisely synonymous?
Might I suggest “picaroons,”
Although that can also mean various rogues,
And it hasn’t been common in moons.