Ah, I see now, in your previous post you've said it was given for free because merchant is the default profession, ok then.
It is given for free by default because Merchant is the default profession and you get it if you're a Merchant.
If you change the default, then you don't get it for free anymore.
Ok. Speaking about the Sea Hawk movie, just saw it is based on the 1915 novel of the same name written by italian author Rafael Sabatini, the same who wrote Captain Blood (1922).
Yep, that's it. Good movies, both of them!
What does the merchant license actually do? I know she prevents the envy of your crew so you can keep paying just the monthly salary and don't need to care about the amount of money you carry, but how does it affect the profit you get from trading?
The idea is that if you are a Pirate or a Privateer, you should really be using "Divide the Plunder" mode.
That can actually be a GOOD thing because it is historically accurate and adds an extra level of complexity to the game.
And it allows your crew morale to get much higher, which makes them tougher in boardings as well.
Originally the Merchant License was added for people who, despite the logic of it, insist they want to have crazy amounts of money.
For legitimate merchants, that actually makes sense, because you may need to carry so much money to buy cargo goods that your crew could become envious of it.
But the "morale dropping" effect happens only if you're a Pirate or Privateer and the Merchant License doesn't work if you're a Pirate.
So really you only need it if you want to be a Merchant who is also a Privateer.
What it does also do is to increase your profit margins when buying/selling.
Normally you buy for more than a 100% fair price and sell for a less than 100% fair price.
You can get those percentages closer to 100% by getting better Commerce skills and abilities.
With a Merchant License, it is always 100% regardless of your skills.
My last question is: if I have a ML and a LoM and sink/capture a non-pirate ship of a nation hostile to the one I serve as privateer, will I lose the merchant's license?
As long they are legitimate acts of war against enemies of the nation(s) you serve while under a properly hostile flag, you can keep your ML.
In fact, that is its main purpose. You only lose it through any truly disreputable acts,
e.g. capturing/sinking a ship of a non-hostile nation, capturing/sinking a ship of any non-pirate nation without a LoM,
capturing/sinking a ship while under a (false) flag that is friendly to them, etc.