The loose alliance of pirates operating from the Pirate Isles under the eventual leadership of Kennit, whose ambition transforms what had been a collection of independent raiders into something approaching a political entity. The Pirate Confederation's relationship with Bingtown, the Satrap's court, and the slave trade is central to the political complexity of the Liveship Traders Trilogy. Kennit's vision of what the Confederation could become drives much of the trilogy's plot and raises questions about whether the ends of liberation can justify the means of piracy.