This article refers to the type of pirate. For other uses, see Buccaneer (disambiguation)

Buccaneer is a term that was used in the later 17th century in the Caribbean Islands. The term Buccaneer comes from the French word "Boucanier". These Boucaniers originally were hunters who were poaching cattle and pigs. They would smoke the meat on wooden frames, "boucans", so that it could be saved for a later time. The Boucaniers were taught this by the local Arawak tribes from Santo Domingo, calling the method Barbicoa - which is where the word and method of Barbecue originated.

However, Islanders soon began to use the term buccaneer as a way to describe pirates in the Caribbean during the 1660s. English settlers occupying Jamaica began to spread the name with the meaning of rebel pirates sailing in the Caribbean ports and seas. The buccaneers first affected Port Royal, Isla Tortuga and Hispaniola. The name became universally adopted in 1684 when a book: “The Bucaniers of America” was written by Alexander Exquemelin. After this book, people all over knew what it meant when someone used the term buccaneer.