Footpads, highwaymen, bandits and pirates...at the most basic level they're all the same thing - people who use violence (or the threat of violence) to deprive other people of their property.
But in history and literature, the various types of these thieves are often portrayed very differently - and in the case of one of them at least, very surprisingly.
Elite: Dangerous offers us all the career path of thief - but which historical thief will you most take after?
Let's take a look...
Footpad
An old term but an accurate one, for it means a crime committed on foot. It's all about the sneak attack, the hit and run. The footpad may attempt to conceal their identity, but primarily they rely on speed to avoid identification. The violence a footpad uses is generally only enough to get what they want, because to delay is to risk drawing attention. The name 'footpad' has fallen out of use now however - today we know them by another name : muggers.
Soo...is this you? Are you a mugger?
Highwayman
Another generally solo thief, but this time on horseback. Unlike the mugger who stalks victims on foot, the highwayman waits for his prey to travel to him. The prey in this case was just as likely to be a stagecoach as a single traveller. Historically, because the highwayman was a mounted thief, this put him in a different social class from the common footpad, earning them the nickname "gentlemen of the road".
Highwaymen relied on the threat of violence to rob their victims. Unlike a mugger, the highwayman would clearly announce his presence and intention with phrases like the classic "stand and deliver". This led to highwaymen gaining notoriety and fame, with some bizarrely even being sought out by potential victims who wanted to be held up just so they could tell the tale to their peers. The fact that a highwayman usually wore a mask or disguise to conceal his identity merely added to the mystery and thrill surrounding these criminals.
The same criminal type also occurred in Australia (where they were called 'bushrangers') and the American west ('road agents'), and while these colonial highwaymen generally lacked the perceived 'gentility' of their European counterparts, certain individuals still managed to achieve a similar level of historical notoriety.
Are you a Turpin then? Robin Hood perhaps? Or maybe a Ned Kelly?
Bandit
A bandit is an 'outlaw' - literally someone who has been declared "outside the protection of the law", and therefore anyone has the legal authority to mistreat, persecute and even kill them. The term 'wolf's head' was also used, because the outlaw could be hunted and killed like a wolf. Being outlawed means no one is allowed to give you food, shelter or aid, which essentially drives you away from human society and into a life of banditry.
A bandit is a marauder, desperate and lawless, able to live only by raiding the society that has shunned him. Understandably, the only support a bandit can get is from another bandit - there is strength in numbers after all.
But there is also no honour amoung thieves, and a bandit can just as easily be killed by one of his own as by the hated society that outlawed them.
Bandit, gangster, brigand, outlaw...is this your choice?
Pirate
A pirate is essentially a highwayman at sea, but with two important differences: numbers (ships at sea have crews, both the pirate's and the victim's), and the 'get out clause' known as 'privateering'.
In classic times and even into the middle ages, piracy was simple to define - a boatload of thieves attacked another ship, or raided a coastal site, and stole valuables, food, and even people to use as slaves. The problem came when politics entered the game. From the 15th century onwards, privately owned and armed merchant ships were granted licenses from the crown to protect themselves, and could legally take vessels "deemed to be pirates".
Add to this the fact that privateers were paid a share of the takings rather than a wage, and it's easy to see the start of a slippery slope. What this did was it granted a nation's government a "supplemental navy", one not answerable to the usual rules of conduct.
Authority to be a privateer was granted by a 'letter of marque' which could be revoked if the authority granting the marque deemed the privateer had become a liability. And a great many privateers did indeed fall foul of that process. Bottom line is, you don't bite the hand that feeds you!
Piracy without a letter of marque was universally regarded in much the same way as being an outlaw - i.e. if you paint a bullseye on your head, expect someone to take a potshot at it.
Piracy is the murkiest water of all in this sea of criminal types - history tells of fearsome criminals who met gruesome ends and canny government agents who earned titles and land, while fiction speaks of buried treasures, peg legs and zombie cursed gold.
Are you a Blackbeard, using fear to gain riches, only to die by gunshot and blade, your severed head pinned to a naval bowsprit? Or are you more Captain Jack Sparrow, eschewing violence in favour of deceit and cunning to gain your booty?
So, if a life of crime is your goal, which type of thief do you plan to be?
But in history and literature, the various types of these thieves are often portrayed very differently - and in the case of one of them at least, very surprisingly.
Elite: Dangerous offers us all the career path of thief - but which historical thief will you most take after?
Let's take a look...
Footpad
An old term but an accurate one, for it means a crime committed on foot. It's all about the sneak attack, the hit and run. The footpad may attempt to conceal their identity, but primarily they rely on speed to avoid identification. The violence a footpad uses is generally only enough to get what they want, because to delay is to risk drawing attention. The name 'footpad' has fallen out of use now however - today we know them by another name : muggers.
Soo...is this you? Are you a mugger?
Highwayman
Another generally solo thief, but this time on horseback. Unlike the mugger who stalks victims on foot, the highwayman waits for his prey to travel to him. The prey in this case was just as likely to be a stagecoach as a single traveller. Historically, because the highwayman was a mounted thief, this put him in a different social class from the common footpad, earning them the nickname "gentlemen of the road".
Highwaymen relied on the threat of violence to rob their victims. Unlike a mugger, the highwayman would clearly announce his presence and intention with phrases like the classic "stand and deliver". This led to highwaymen gaining notoriety and fame, with some bizarrely even being sought out by potential victims who wanted to be held up just so they could tell the tale to their peers. The fact that a highwayman usually wore a mask or disguise to conceal his identity merely added to the mystery and thrill surrounding these criminals.
The same criminal type also occurred in Australia (where they were called 'bushrangers') and the American west ('road agents'), and while these colonial highwaymen generally lacked the perceived 'gentility' of their European counterparts, certain individuals still managed to achieve a similar level of historical notoriety.
Are you a Turpin then? Robin Hood perhaps? Or maybe a Ned Kelly?
Bandit
A bandit is an 'outlaw' - literally someone who has been declared "outside the protection of the law", and therefore anyone has the legal authority to mistreat, persecute and even kill them. The term 'wolf's head' was also used, because the outlaw could be hunted and killed like a wolf. Being outlawed means no one is allowed to give you food, shelter or aid, which essentially drives you away from human society and into a life of banditry.
A bandit is a marauder, desperate and lawless, able to live only by raiding the society that has shunned him. Understandably, the only support a bandit can get is from another bandit - there is strength in numbers after all.
But there is also no honour amoung thieves, and a bandit can just as easily be killed by one of his own as by the hated society that outlawed them.
Bandit, gangster, brigand, outlaw...is this your choice?
Pirate
A pirate is essentially a highwayman at sea, but with two important differences: numbers (ships at sea have crews, both the pirate's and the victim's), and the 'get out clause' known as 'privateering'.
In classic times and even into the middle ages, piracy was simple to define - a boatload of thieves attacked another ship, or raided a coastal site, and stole valuables, food, and even people to use as slaves. The problem came when politics entered the game. From the 15th century onwards, privately owned and armed merchant ships were granted licenses from the crown to protect themselves, and could legally take vessels "deemed to be pirates".
Add to this the fact that privateers were paid a share of the takings rather than a wage, and it's easy to see the start of a slippery slope. What this did was it granted a nation's government a "supplemental navy", one not answerable to the usual rules of conduct.
Authority to be a privateer was granted by a 'letter of marque' which could be revoked if the authority granting the marque deemed the privateer had become a liability. And a great many privateers did indeed fall foul of that process. Bottom line is, you don't bite the hand that feeds you!
Piracy without a letter of marque was universally regarded in much the same way as being an outlaw - i.e. if you paint a bullseye on your head, expect someone to take a potshot at it.
Piracy is the murkiest water of all in this sea of criminal types - history tells of fearsome criminals who met gruesome ends and canny government agents who earned titles and land, while fiction speaks of buried treasures, peg legs and zombie cursed gold.
Are you a Blackbeard, using fear to gain riches, only to die by gunshot and blade, your severed head pinned to a naval bowsprit? Or are you more Captain Jack Sparrow, eschewing violence in favour of deceit and cunning to gain your booty?
So, if a life of crime is your goal, which type of thief do you plan to be?
