The main theme and focus of research for this paper is finding the core motives and phenomena that bind different pirate and corsair groups together. The goal of this paper is to show the similar elements between different pirate groups with different geopolitical backgrounds, and the groups upon which this phenomena will be tested are the Uskoks of Senj and the Ulcinj corsairs operating in the 16th and 17th Century. The issue of defining the main motives of piracy and corsairing (or privateering) is closely related to the defining of the terms piracy and corsairing. By reviewing the historiography of piracy and corsairing, the aim is to create a solid foundation for research on the given topic, and to acquire a good theoretical basis that presides on the definition of piracy and how it changed through the given literature. The phenomena of piracy are divided into several groups: an environmental historical perspective that the demonstrates the importance of geographical circumstances necessary for the survival of pirates (but also as a reason of potentially becoming one). The socio-economic perspective of pirate societies, as well as the imagology of piracy, are also important in determining the motives of pirates. Piracy takes many faces: depending on the lens through which we look at or read about pirates, attitudes and opinions about them differ drastically from group to group. Pirates are heroes for some, robbers for some, provisional soldiers for others. After defining the framework of piracy and their phenomena, w ego through each of the aforementioned phenomena on the example of the Uskoks of Senj. The city of Senj is shown in the context of a pirate nest through which the Uskoks operated and the environment in which they lived, while at the same time a perspective is given „from above“, i.e. how the Uskoks were viewed by the neighbouring empires on whose borders the Uskoks operated. The perception of Uskoks among common folk is significantly different from the way they are viewed by the Republic of Venice: the common folk often sung heroic songs about Uskoks. Uskoks themselves, on the other hand, had their own set of rules and customary law that they followed as part of the border warfare. In this paper, Ulcinj is looked at primarily in the period when the Republic of Venice lost its power over it and it passed into the hands of the Ottoman Empire. The corsairs of Ulcinj, who would reach their full momentum only in the third phase of early modern piracy, are an example of a (semi)global type of piracy with a long Mediterranean tradition, while the Uskoks of Senj are an example of a local type of piracy limited to the Adriatic Sea.