Privateers were men who owned their own ship and were commissioned by a nation to attack the naval traffic of their foes. To facilitate anonymity, very little compensation was paid to the crew and captain by their patron government. Rather, they were given a portion of the cargo and goods seized in the execution of their duties. While this made the profession popular with their crew, it eventually became a critical element of the practices disbanding. When nations attempted to staff their own navies for brewing conflicts, they frequently were unable to secure the manpower needed (all able bodied sailors already in privateering). Privateers were wide-spread throughout most European history, but they finally vanished during the 19th century.