I agree to the extent that pirates are morally corrupt, lawless and greedy. They refused to be civilised. But, the same could be said for the noblemen and ministers who carried out their extermination. Thus, I wholly disagree that the extermination was necessary, and not justified. In this essay, the topics of moral corruption, the idea of the civilised manner, and the justification of extermination and terror will be discussed. Redikers discusses the “golden age of piracy” during the 18th century. He examines the nature of terror used by pirates, as well as the idea that moral corruption was only carried out by their side. He explores this as being untrue, as the noblemen and ministers of the state were morally corrupt in their own brutal …show more content…
The only way for the poor to assert some semblance of power was by using the threat of, and violence. It is only fair for one to want to rebel against a system in which they are destined to fail. The violence the state incited on pirates was largely due to their disruption of the growing trade economy and brutality was a non-negotiable method of control. In comparison, violence carried out by pirates was largely in response to the continuous mistreatment of the lower class, and they preferred to keep the violence as a threat rather than actually inflicting it. Their objective was to disrupt trade, which was the main driver of the social ideology that had caused them to be mistreated and abused. Redker does not deny the brutal acts of pirates, but instead provides context and reasoning for their actions. As a direct result of Redkers opinions on piracy, he examines their historical reputation, encouraging one to question the historical perspective of pirates. He dives deeply into the context of pirating, changing the conservative view of pirates as “blood lust monsters hell-bent on destroying the social …show more content…
The publicity of pirates death the states benefits shows why the extermination of their kind was not just or necessary. Additionally, the extermination of pirates suited the ideology of the states of early modern Europe, as intentions during this period were highly influenced by the wealth. In the early 1500’s, there was a shift in ideology, where the economy became the driving force of expansion and exploitation. Economic trade was the driving force of Europe’s wealth, the pirates sought to disrupt this, making them an enemy of the state. The state got its power from its empires and wealth, and because pirates went directly against this ideology, the elite would justify their violence by claiming that pirates are terrorist, unjust, and completely morally corrupt. The state had to use violence to maintain power, while pirates used terror to rebel against a system that abused them, just because they were poor. The nationalist ideology of Europe was also threatened by the pirate's nationless
The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic by Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker is an excellent source for a broad view of maritime Atlantic history. Linebaugh and Rediker cover a large area in their attempt to tie the rise of capitalism over a span of two hundred years in approximately 355 pages. The Many-Headed Hydra is broken down into nine chapters along with an introduction and conclusion. The overarching theme of this book truly is the development of the Atlantic proletariat attitudes, and the reason for it. This book contextualized numerous issues the maritime world had during these two hundred years. The beginning of the book describes a shipwreck of the Sea-Venture on the
At first glance, Inhuman Traffick: The International Struggle against the Transatlantic Slave Trade bares resemblance to your typical, run of the mill historical textbook. The reader [looking at the cover,] may expect to see ordinary text that would pertain to a standardized African History course. Contrary to the title, the author, Rafe Blaufarb, provides a vivid, contextual look at how slavery spanned out with the use of graphic images and primary sources in a way most authors do not today. Comparatively [to other textbooks,] Inhuman Traffick depicts the development of the raw story of enslavement. From the ships to the whips, it shows concrete details of this haunting era while adding an underlying complexity to the story whilst omitting
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
The career of Bartholomew Roberts was not a long career but a short four years. In the Golden Age of Privacy, “Black Bart was the most successful pirate in his generation. Comparing to Edward Teach, a.k.a Black Beard, who was one of the most famous of pirates, but “Black Bart” was the most successful. It is said that in a competition in between all pirates in plundering ships, Roberts would be victorious by far.
The Renaissance was a time of great change in Europe beginning in the late middle ages. Philosophies and culture shifted, and so did rebellion. Many feared the seas, for thieves and murderous gangs filled it. Privateers or crews who received funding from royalty or other authorities to fight enemies were corrupt, but they were not the main cause for worry.(Paine) Pirates were the ones who were feared by many and adored by few. Pirates traveled the seas in search of fortune. They would often murder, kidnap and use any other violence necessary to get what their greedy hearts desired.(Paine)(Aldrete) Only the most desperate and greedy would dare to join the bands of rebels because it took specific traits to be a pirate.(Aldrete) To be a successful pirate during the Renaissance, one needed fighting skills, perseverance, and the demeanor to carry out difficult and cruel tasks.
During the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries, piracy was rampant in the Atlantic, specifically in the West Indies. Piracy has existed since the earliest days of ocean travel, for a range of personal and economic reasons. However, one of the major reasons why piracy was wide spread and rampant in the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries was Great Britain’s endorsement and usage of piracy as an asset; in wars fought in the New World. Great Britain with its expanding power and conflicts with other nations would make piracy a lifestyle and lay down the foundation for the Golden Age of Piracy and eventually bring what it created to a screeching halt.
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.
Sextus Pompey, son of Pompey the Great, was historically criticized by the Romans for his piracy, when he was referred to by anything at all (Growing, 2002). A pirate is defined as a brutal person who performs acts of seaborne raiding and violent theft undertaken outside of the sanction of war or law, and with notable frequency. Brutality, raiding, and prowess upon the sea, Sextus seemingly had all the makings of a pirate that meets the eye. Yet was he truly a pirate, or simply a victim of propaganda? Much of the piracy rhetoric surrounding Sextus originated during the time of his opposition against the Triumvirate and barricading of Sicily around 40 BC, referred to as such from the mouth of Octavian himself, then later by historians of the Roman era (De Sousa, 1999).
Routine activity theory satisfies the answer to why ransom, resources, and waste piracy occurs. The theory provides insight and an alternative approach to the notion that pirates terrorists, seeking money and power. Piracy will continue until the international community recognizes Somalia’s instability, the illegal dumping of waste and extraction of resources occurring in Somali waters. Resources and waste piracy would cease with the reformation of Somalia’s government. If authority figures were present, the illegal intruders could be held accountable for their actions. An improvement in Somalia’s economy would reduce, if not prevent, ransom piracy from occurring. If Somalis had valuable and paying occupations on land, they would not need to resort to other means of compensation (Bahadur 2011).
The history of piracy dates back more than 3000 years. “It appears that the word pirate (peirato) was first used in about 140 BC by the Roman historian Polybius. The Greek historian Plutarch, writing in about 100 A.D., gave the oldest clear definition of piracy. He described pirates as those who attack without legal authority not only ships, but also maritime cities (http://www.piratesinfo.com/history/history.php).” The most common meaning of the word pirate recognizes them as an outlaw and a thief. Anyone who was caught and tried with the act of piracy would be sentenced to death.
Piracy in Somalia has come about due to years of internal fighting and weakened government. With the overthrow of the president in 1991, Somalia has been a complete anarchy with only the laws of rival clans who have been in power. Though long before that the country has been in constant war between the people of the country because money and food have been always been scarce. Small amounts of money have been made through some exports but the real money came from the fishing off the coast. Recently because of the lack of laws commercial fisherman from all over the world have been over-fishing the waters and leaving the Somalis with too few fish to survive. European companies have used this lack of laws as a way to easily dump their waste. This has caused the Somalis living near the water to sicken and to die. The Somalis, with no food, money, or leaders, have had no other option than to turn to piracy.
The protection of trade in general has always been considered as essential to the defense of the commonwealth, and, upon that account, a necessary part of the duty of the executive power.
There is a sense of a Caribbean writer’s role as a “revolutionary hero” who must paint his words to restore a Caribbean sense of identity. This dedication t to the Caribbean’s story of struggle is, without a doubt, far from “dismissed” in Walcott’s work. Walcott delicately articulates that “In the Caribbean, history is irrelevant. Not because it is not being created, or because it was sordid; but because it has never mattered, what has mattered is the loss of history, the amnesia of the races, what has become necessary is imagination, imagination as necessity, as invention.” In order to explain the present conditions of the modern Caribbean, he cannot avoid recounting the tragic phases of its colonial past, as he does in “The Sea Is History.”
When you hear the word pirate you probably imagine a treasure burying, one-eyed, lawless, ignoble, and barbaric thieves. And even though they were thieves, only one pirate (William Kidd) buried treasure. After all there booty wouldn't gain interest or do them any good underground! Pirates also never survived losing an eye due to infections, though some wore eyepatches for low light vision below deck. Pirate ship had a lot of rules (some banned alcohol) and people rarely did “walk the plank” but it was not the captain's decision because… Pirate action followed a democratic system.
“Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships,” The International Maritime Organization, Accessed March 26th, 2014. http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Security/PiracyArmedRobbery/Pages/Default.aspx