Dive into the Histoy of Piracy

768 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Evolution of piracy

Dive into the History of Piracy

Definition of Piracy

Piracy is typically an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea ( History of Piracy, )

Jolly Roger

The Jolly Roger is a flag flown to identify ship as pirate ship.

Names of Piracy

• Pirate: A person who robs from other ships at sea.

• Privateer: A captain of a ship that attacked and caught other ships and rob valuable items from them. A privateer was not a true pirate because the nation’s government would provide them special licenses called a Letter of Marque.

• Corsair: A privateer or French seaman who travelled generally in the South Mediterranean Sea.

• Sea robbers: These pirates were not faithful to any government and roamed in the open seas.

• Ruthless robbers: - They were very cruel and killed their victims. They just wanted to steal. They killed as much as they could and left no witnesses.

• Buccaneers: Few group of men from England, France, Holland and another group of pirates called the Barbary corsairs. These men were chased out of the Barbary Coast by merchant captains from France and England.

Few Recorded Incidence of Piracy

In 3rd century BC, Illyrians were supreme pirates who continuously looted the Adriatic Sea, and were against Roman Republic. The first recorded occurrence of piracy was as early as the 14th century where Sea Peoples threatened the Aegean and Mediterranean voyages.

When the great Roman Emperor Julius Ceaser was on a voyage in the Aegean Sea, he was captured by Cilician pirates. The ransom amount paid to release him was almost fifty talents of gold. After his release, he raised a fleet, killed the pirates who captured him.

The famous Irish saint St. Patrick was captured and enslaved by Irish pirates arou...

... middle of paper ...

...els, and even cruise ships and private yachts.

Hotspots of Modern Piracy

The hot spots of piracy today are the

• Indian Ocean,

• East Africa and

• the Far East (Including South China Sea, South America, and the Caribbean)

The pirates are very active in the waters between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, off the Somali coast, and in the Strait of Malacca. According to some estimates, worldwide losses due to piracy can be as high as 13-16 billion US dollars per year.

The Strait of Malacca remains a hot spot for piracy today. In recent years the area it has seen decreased due to patrolling by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore navy forces, and increased level of onboard security on ships.

References:

http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110360/history.htm

http://maritime-connector.com/wiki/history-of-piracy/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy

Show More
Related

  • The Seven-Years War

    2366 Words  | 5 Pages

    The word "privateer" conjures a romantic image in the minds of most Americans. Tales of battle and bounty pervade the folklore of privateering, which has become a cherished, if often overlooked part of our shared heritage. Legends were forged during the battle for American independence, and these men were understandably glorified as part of the formation of our national identity. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of these men were common opportunists, if noteworthy naval warriors. The profit motive was the driving force behind almost all of their expeditions, and a successful privateer could easily become quite wealthy. In times of peace, these men would be common pirates, pariahs of the maritime community. Commissioned in times of war, they were respected entrepreneurs, serving their purses and their country, if only incidentally the latter. However vulgar their motivation, the system of privateering arose because it provided a valuable service to thecountry, and indeed the American Revolution might not have been won without their involvement. Many scholars agree that all war begins for economic reasons, and the privateers of the war for independence contributed by attacking the commercial livelihood of Great Britain's merchants.

    Read More

  • Blackbeard's Life, The Golden Age of Piracy, and Its Effect on Piracy Today

    2033 Words  | 5 Pages

    Blackbeard was a brave and most outspoken sea rovers who operated during early 1700s in the coastal regions of the English Southern parts of the New world. His piracy activities, together with his co-pirates are key sectors in United States of America’s history. Happening in the time eminently known as the golden age of piracy, their brave advances in sea robbery facilitated the gradual demise of sea hijacking and theft on the deep seas.1

    Read More

  • On Stranger Tides

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the film there are parts of historical piracy that are shown. In the start of the film, pirate Hector Barbossa is shown as a new privateer for the English. It is revealed that Captain Barbossa is not sailing the seas for the King, but instead

    Read More

  • U.S. Anti-Piracy Actions in the Caribbean

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...rates to succeed in the open waters alone. Pirates also lost their justification when the Spanish accepted the independence of their former colonies in South and Central America so piracy all but vanished when the governors in Cuba and Puerto Rico stopped providing support. The Navy’s relentless fighting contributed to a great decrease in piracy within ten years which not only led to greater United States prosperity but that of all nations with commerce paths through that region.

    Read More

  • The Life and Accomplishments of Sir Francis Drake

    3740 Words  | 8 Pages

    Sir Francis Drake was just the man the British needed to destroy a dominating Spanish monarchy. The Queen however was embarrassed half of the time for Drake’s ability to take basic orders and expand on them to greater serve himself and his country. Although this jeopardized the safety of the Queen by provoking the Spanish into war. Sir Francis Drake was a man who was feared by all countries who sailed under the Roman Catholic Church’s flag. He was hated by some for his piracy and rude, abrupt behavior. He was not a gentleman by British standards, but he was a fair and generous Captain known to let his captured prisoners go free. In some cases even the captured crew and their ships would be let go. He is not totally a just man, he was known to buy favors, and in one case even killed a man because of their disagreement in the Pacific Ocean. But by most people he was a man admired for his clever seamanship and treatment of his fellow sailors. And most of all, he w...

    Read More

  • The Legend of Blackbeard

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    Blackbeard was a pirate during his adult years, but when he was younger he worked on a British ship as a privateer; whose mission was to take over or attack enemy ships (“Blackbeard: Pirate Terror at Sea”). His Father, whose name is unknown, was believed to also be a senior privateer on a Jamaican ship (“Blackbeard: Pirate Terror at Sea”). Later he joined a group of fierce Caribbean pirates (“Blackbeard: Pirate Terror at Sea”). The group of about two hundred fifty men became his crew after they stole a ship to be their own (“Blackbeard: Pirate Terror at Sea”). His ship that is most commonly known was called Queen Anne’s Revenge (“Blackbeard: Pirate Terror at Sea”). They captured this ship in 1716 and sailed it for two years (“Pirate Shipwrecks”). For the two years they ...

    Read More

  • Modern Piracy and Their Hotspots

    2451 Words  | 5 Pages

    Modern piracy has touched nearly every corner of the globe and has increased with globalization. The tentacles of piracy now extend from South America to the South China Sea. The greatest numbers of piracy incidents occur along maritime commercial trade routes. Since China dominates the world’s container shipping industry, the South China Sea has become a hotspot for piracy (Kraska 2011). The prominence of cargo activity increases opportunity for pirates and indisputably triggered the sixty- nine incidents of piracy that were reported in 2009 in the South China Sea (Kraska 2011).

    Read More

  • Under The Black Flag Summary

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cordingly’s book Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates tells the story of many different pirates of different time periods by the facts. The book uses evidence from first hand sources to combat the image of pirates produced by fictional books, plays, and films. Cordingly explains where the fictional ideas may have come from using the evidence from the past. The stories are retold while still keeping the interest of the audience without having to stray from the factual

    Read More

  • Pirates Galleons And Treasure Essay

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    The film Pirates, Galleons, and Treasure gave an informative and general history of pirates. Though there are inaccuracies to the context of certain stories, it effectively defines pirates. Pirates is someone who “robs from others at sea and who acts beyond the law regardless of nationality.” Ones that are narrated in this film include Francis Drake, Henry Morgan, Calico Jack and Blackbeard.

    Read More

  • Parallelism's Role In Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    pirate as he is portrayed in the beginning of the text nor is he the

    Read More

  • Intellectual Property Rights and the Piracy War in China

    3290 Words  | 7 Pages

    In this paper, I will attempt to describe the piracy problem in China, discuss how the Chinese government is dealing with it, present the global effect, and finally arrive at what would be an ethical solution to piracy fitting for China's situation.

    Read More

  • The Golden Age of Piracy

    2368 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Golden Age of Piracy began around 1650, and ended around 1730. Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea, but can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the criminal. The term has been used throughout history to refer to raids across land borders by non-state agents. A pirate is one who commits robberies at sea, usually without being allotted to do so by any particular nation. The usual crime for piracy can include being hung, or publically executed. Some of the most famous pirates who were killed either because of piracy, or because of natural causes, are Barbarossa, Stede Bonnet, Anne Bonney, Sir Francis Drake, Captain Greaves, William Kidd, Jean Laffite, Sir Henry Morgan, Mary Read, and Giovanni da Verrazano.

    Read More

  • Freedom is More Valued than Security

    1434 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tharoor, Ishaan. "How Somalia's Fishermen Became Pirates." Time. Time Inc., 18 Apr. 2009. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Evolution of Piracy

    4379 Words  | 9 Pages

    Although Britain cannot be blamed though for lack of trying, piracy still exists today. Yet, because the act continues at sea often far from land, it gains little media attention, and therefore less action from governments. China, despite being a number one producer of pirates, continues to deny that there is a problem while at the same time often pardoning those who are caught. Countries such as Indonesia and Philippines, which have been hardest hit in the past few years by pirates, are looking for international assistance. The West is, of course, looked to for solutions yet choose seemingly chooses to turn a blind eye, perhaps in the name of diplomacy. When the world is ready to combat the perpetual problem of piracy, it may discover that by intertwining tougher policies aimed at dealing with piracy with current or future trade negotiations, productive steps can be taken to initiate plans to curtail modern day sea wolves who prey on the helpless. The suggestion of ‘Piracy Charters’ will be discussed further as the means of which to add the topic of to multilateral agreements.

    Read More

  • Piracy and Maritime Terrorism in the Horn of Africa

    2798 Words  | 6 Pages

    “Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships,” The International Maritime Organization, Accessed March 26th, 2014. http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Security/PiracyArmedRobbery/Pages/Default.aspx

    Read More

More about Dive into the Histoy of Piracy

Open Document