Dive into the Histoy of Piracy

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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

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