Piracy was (and is) a dynamic and dangerous industry often ending in injury or death for both side of the equation: the pirates and the pirated. The “Golden Age of Pirates” (1650 – 1720s) was directed by the conduct of economics as ANY form of warfare is. The vessels used were many times the mightiest available, while at other times a large rowboat sufficed to get the job done. We’ll deal with the “mightiest available” as we’re going to equate piracy to its closest equivalent industry: POLITICS.
