Good point. The merchants can build ships, the pirates can build ships (and not few), but an organized state can't.

The pirates don't block my ports often, so that's not the problem. I can ignore them and I do so.

If you say there's no historical evidence, OK. I understand that completely, although I think a game like EB is not only on what's historical, but also very much on what's historically feasable, presumable.