The concepts ‘rebel’ and ‘pirate’ abound in eighteenth-century political discourse. These categories can be used to place individuals outside of the political arena and the protection of the law of nations. The present contribution focuses on the epithet ‘rebel’ or ‘pirate’ in the complex negotiations on the amendment and confirmation of the European peace order established at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701/1702-1713/1715). Delving into British and French diplomatic correspondence, successive examples of ‘rebels’ or ‘pirates’ come to the fore, from Brittany over Scotland, Catalunya, the Jacobites and Neapolitan privateers, to arrested Spanish and Swedish diplomats. Alliances and status of enmity between sovereigns were not necessarily conclusive, hence the importance of an ambiguous continuum of potential positions.