Before becoming a pirate in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Edward Kenway is a privateer.
A privateer was a privately owned and operated ship captain authorized by a government to attack enemy vessels during wartime. Edward begins the game as a Welsh privateer operating in the Caribbean during the early eighteenth century. His pursuit of wealth and status drives him toward increasingly dangerous opportunities.
Edward’s life changes after he encounters Duncan Walpole, an Assassin carrying valuable information. Edward takes Walpole’s identity and becomes entangled in the conflict between the Assassins and Templars. He soon adopts piracy, eventually commanding the ship Jackdaw.
Privateers and pirates are related but not identical terms. A privateer had official authorization, usually through a letter of marque, while a pirate operated outside such legal permission. Black Flag uses this distinction to show Edward’s transition from sanctioned maritime raiding to piracy and, later, to the Assassin cause.