ABSTRACT
For the individual, warfare and violence at sea were connected with opportunities and risks. The opportunities were the possibility of upward social mobility through success in warfare, profits from trade protected and promoted by violence, and the spoils of legal and illegal plunder. The risks were those usually connected with early modern warfare: death or illness due to hardship and contagious diseases and, less commonly, by wounds inflicted during combat. In addition, seamen had to face the risks of the sea: shipwreck and accidents at work. Many seamen became victims of violence. They were killed, robbed of their possessions, held as prisoners or enslaved. 1
