Pirates!

In light of the news coverage that Somalian pirates have been receiving, I thought I would research the history of piracy. What I found out is that piracy is quite possibly the 2nd oldest profession, having been around since people began navigating the oceans for trade. The earliest written account of piracy is actually in the 13th century by a group known as the Sea Peoples who pirated the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. The Sea Peoples would actually lay the blueprint for piracy in those areas, as piracy continued to be an issue in those regions for the next 3500 years. Despite this fact, though, piracy is a worldwide phenomenon, having occurred in almost every body of water on the planet. So what exactly is piracy? From Wikipedia:

Piracy is a war-like act committed by a nonstate actor, especially robbery or criminal violence committed at sea, on a river, or sometimes on shore, either from a vessel flying no national flag, or one flying a national flag but without authorization from a national authority.

Public perception of pirates throughout the ages has been one of romantic fascination. The notion of throwing off the yoke of one’s citizenship and taking to the high seas has lured many a young sailor away from home to travel the world. Also, many pirate ships operated as limited democracies, which is more than can be said for most Western societies through the 19th century. Furthermore, many governments supported pirates during times of war in the form of privateers, with Sir Francis Drake (pictured) being one of the more famous privateers in history.

While pirates reached their peak in activity in the 18th century, they did not totally cease to exist. Modern piracy occurs mostly in areas of concentrated shipping, such as the Gulf of Aden, the South China Sea, and the Straits of Malacca. However, it is only recently that the news media has focused on the activities of Somali pirates off the coast of Africa. As Jessica Hagy of Indexed put it:

So, with all that in mind, here is a short list of pirates who have been romanticized or even legitimized throughout history:

• The Vikings, although not considered stereotypical swashbuckling pirates, the Vikings were the most prolific pirates of Medieval Europe. Although best known for pillaging cities on land as opposed to boarding ships, the Vikings tended to stay close to shore, and thus qualify as pirates. Also, they were really good at it.
• The Barbary Pirates operated off the coast of North Africa for approximately 800 years, using the ports of Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and even ports as far west as Morocco. European nations paid tribute to the Barbary Pirates for safe passage. It wasn’t until the early 19th century that the Barbary Pirates were finally subdued, when a young United States couldn’t afford to pay the tribute and thus decided to take military action. It was the action of the Marines during the Barbary Wars that led to the line “to the shores of Tripoli” in the opening line of the Marine Hymn.
• Sir Francis Drake was a sailor during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. While Drake is perhaps most famous for his privateering exploits against the Spanish, he also sailed around the world in 1580, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1581. Drake would eventually earn the rank of Vice Admiral and was 2nd in command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. As a perfect example of the power of perspective, the English regard Drake as a hero, while the Spaniards regard him as a pirate. King Philip II of Spain actually placed a bounty on Drake’s head in the amount of 20K ducats ($8 million 2008 USD).

You may also like:

1. Saturday is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Created in 1995 by John Baur and Mark Summers, International...
2. On This Day: January 22 January 22 was a busy day in history! Rasputin (pictured)...
3. Everything You Wanted to Know About the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, aka the Big...
4. Super Bowl Team Profile: Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers have the potential to make history this...