Piracy in the Western Ocean

The second guy to build a boat used it for piracy
~Common saying

Piracy seems to always have existed. Recordings from as far back as the days of Reme note the number of ships detailed to patrol the waters for pirates. Piracy in the Western Ocean however has been on the rise ever since the establishment of trade across the ocean. As early as 1180 PD piracy was an occasional option for merchants preying on trade. As the years passed and trade grew, full time piracy became more prevalent.

Piracy has always been illegal of course, but as time has gone on, and the effect of full time piracy has impacted trade, the Western Kingdoms have begun building and dispatching ships used to guard the the trade lanes. Meanwhile ports that cater to pirates such as Nassua and Port de Refuge Cache have become more common and profitable. The navies of the Western Kingdoms only occasionally engaged in directly hunting pirates. Some pirate crews and captains have become well known enough that they dare not bring their ships into ports with a naval presence.

In a similar vein, Privateers are seen by the wise not as hero's but as piratical mercenaries with a license in a time of war. Intended to prey on, and disrupt, merchant shipping of the enemy and harass their navies. While it is somewhat an effective war tool for the nation that issues the Letter of Marque, its benefit is actually financial. Privateering generates gold for a kingdom through the payment for the issuance of a Letter of Marque, and the sale of captured goods in home ports.  Enemy nations of course will prosecute captured privateers as pirates, regardless of their Letter of Marque.

This isn't to say that literature of the Western Kingdoms isn't filled with romanticized versions of pirates and privateers, both good and evil.  While not intentional this is actually leads to better recruitment numbers for pirates who play on the romance of a life of adventure and wealth to draw young men into their ranks.