17th-Century Privateer was a term used to describe a private individual or group of individuals who were authorized by a government to attack and capture enemy ships during the 17th century. The most famous of these privateers was William Kidd, who was an English sailor and privateer in the late 17th century. He was commissioned by the English government to hunt down pirates and enemy ships, but he was later accused of piracy himself and was arrested and executed in 1701.