The buccaneers were the semi-lawful sailors and soldiers who harassed Spanish ships and ports in the Caribbean Sea during 17th century. To Spain, they were just the ordinary pirates, but for their nations the buccaneers were a lot more than that. ... The Buccaneers got their name from the word boucanier. In beginning, they were just the ordinary European settlers and adventurers, mostly French and English, who inhabited on Hispaniola and some other nearby Caribbean islands. The most of them were hunters who earned for their living by selling smoked meat of wild cattle and boars to the passing ships. They were often seen while cooking that meet on the wooden frames and drying it in the sun. The Tupí Indian hunters originally used similar frames, called boucane. That is how the buccaneers got their name. As those early buccaneers were under the constant treat, they were forced to change locations of living. In mid 1620s they finally found a safe establishment in island of Tortuga. Although Spaniards tried to drive out French and British settlers from the island several times, eventually they became so strong and well organized that they started to attack Spaniards instead.