Much like prison gangs, pirates weren’t originally unified to do evil. In fact, one could easily argue they were a response to evil. Mercantile ship owners of the period were despotic. Captains routinely abused their authority. They could take any crewman’s share of confiscated loot or have him executed. As a response to this predation, and a desire to sail the seas and not worry about being abused by the “management,” the life of the pirate was born.
