A person who engages in freebootery; a pirate, plunderer, or mercenary soldier who acts for personal gain rather than loyalty.
From Dutch 'vrijbuiter,' containing 'vrij' (free) + 'buiter' (one who seeks booty). The term evolved during the era of privateering in the 16th-17th centuries.
Freebooters were so common in the Caribbean and Mediterranean that they essentially created their own micro-economies and settlements—places like Tortuga became havens for men who made their living by plundering trade ships.
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