Privateering was legal, and generally only applied towards enemies of the country issuing letters of marque. Piracy was always illegal. Of course the differenc

Privateering was legal, and generally only applied towards enemies of the country issuing letters of marque. Piracy was always illegal. Of course the difference wasn't always clear, especially as privateers generally favored attacking the enemy's commerce shipping rather than their warships. So it was seen as cowardly as well as profitable.