In the article, You Are Being Lied to About Pirates by Johann Hari, Hari conveys that the image of pirates has been villainized by governments throughout the ages while the very same governments provided the conditions that drive them to piracy. The article begins by explaining that during the gold age of piracy, the majority of men only had two options when it came to employment. It was either become a merchant or be forced to endure the unjustly working conditions of the Navy, which often times resulted in them getting cheated of their wages. So, as an act or rebellion, sailors would rebel, take over the ship, elect a new caption, and equally disperse evenly any profit made, amongst the entire crew. They collectively decide as a group about…
Aid from the community was imperative in insuring the continuation of piracy, but there were other factors that enabled piracy to prosper. One indication was that Elizabeth I was the Pirate Queen of a pirate nation. It is essential to look beyond the myths and look at the maritime climate of the era. It was evident that there were questions as to Elizabeth’s involvement in the sponsoring of pirate ventures, the significance of her pardoning who were viewed to be her favourite pirates was causing her kingdom to become a societal pariah. There was a general tradition of maritime lawlessness, these conditions produced confusion and uncertainty at…
During the early 1700s, there was a time commonly known as, “The Golden Age of Piracy.” During these years the amount of pirates sailing our seas grew exponentially. Also during these years the inspired pirates usually came from a privateering career, who also inspired other privateers to join as well. They are well known for pillaging and/or plundering other ships at sea. One of the more popular ones during this time was a man known as Blackbeard.…
The North and East coast of Africa are very well traveled waterways for the Global Maritime Shipping business. Learning about and working with one of these businesses was very eye opening to an unknown world. With every major industry there are upsides and downsides. When someone is placed in a new industry they are generally naïve to any downsides until they begin reading periodicals and researching every facet of the industry. When someone is introduced to the shipping industry they become conscious of a very scary and realistic way of life. Pirates still lived and prosper off the coast of Africa and instead of capturing gold and treasures, like Captain Jack Sparrow does in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, they board…
Their contemporaries described them as “Robbers, Opposers, and Violators of all Laws, Humane and Divine.” Many viewed themselves as a more selfish reincarnation of Robin Hood, stealing from wealthy merchants, foreign traders, and abusive captains, and in doing so, threatening the hierarchical status quo of sixteenth and seventeenth English society by declaring “war against the world.” The Law considered them hostes humani generis, enemies of all mankind. In reality, pirates of the Golden Age, a period loosely covering the years 1660-1730, were none of those things, or perhaps more accurately, were not one but a combination. They were all robbers, since piracy in its most elementary definition is nothing more than a robbery at sea, something…
Approximately 1,697 letters of Marque were designated to privateer ships in the course of the Revolutionary War, while the Continental Navy had just under 70 ships. Letters of Marque were licenses to ships to legally attack or raid enemy ships, drawing comparisons to legalized piracy. The discrepancy between the letters of Marque, or numbers of privateer ships, and naval vessels makes clear which mode of naval aggression was preferred in the United States; however, privateering was not necessarily a positive for the U.S. The practice of privateering was detrimental to the United States because it stagnated the development of the U.S. Navy, made the U.S. Navy redundant, and ran contrary to American values.…
In Johann Hari’s article “You are being lied to about pirates” (published Monday January 5, 2009 by the Independent) he uncovers for his audience/readers the truth behind piracy and how it is reflected in the ways that the government “tries” to inform the public. The article shows that his audience is the people he recognizes to be the real villains in destroying the pirate “organization” as well as the uneducated readers on the topic that are looking to grasp a new understanding of pirates and where it all started. Johann Hari is trying to prove to us that there is definitely more than one side to these Somali pirates, but people just have to be willing to listen to see the truth behind their story.…
During the eighteenth century, piracy began ruling the waters surrounding the American colonies. For many people piracy adds an exciting thrill to maritime history with its adventure, romanticism, mysteriousness, and its alluring nature. However, piracy is just the practice of a pirate: these pirates conducted robbery or illegal violence at sea; violence and crimes that killed, hurt, and affected the lives of others.1 Legally, crime is broken into three different parts: mens rea, the mental state of mind the criminal had during the crime; actus reus, the acts that are criminally committed; and locus, when and where the crime happened.2 These three things made the task of classifying a pirate as a criminal an extremely difficult one because the acts committed were inconsistent and the location of the crime was even less consistent; but colonists knew they were criminals. Piracy implied challenges to the law because kept themselves away from states’ jurisdiction, but that was going to change.3 Pirates were criminals and their actions were villainous and they needed to be punished for their wrong doing. They were following the very definition of crime with their acts of mutiny, destruction, and robbery.4 Pirates were a cause of chaos in Maritime History during the beginning of America, especially in the New England colonies, and religious authority used social and moral reasons to stop them.…
The following chapter focuses on just one piracy problem: that found off the coast of Somalia, especially in the Gulf of Aden. This area has seen the largest share of global piracy attacks in recent years, and the problem appears to be growing. Somalia is not the only area of the world affected by maritime piracy, however. The Gulf of Guinea in West Africa has long been a high risk area, as are the waters along Bangladesh and the South China Sea. But in 2009, more than half the global piracy attacks were ascribed to Somali pirates. Until recently, piracy was a phenomenon in decline. Twenty-first century piracy was first seen in the South China Sea and in the Malacca Straits. 3 Attacks peaked at roughly 350 to 450 reported attacks per year during the period 2000-2004, and then dropped by almost half in 2005.4 This reduction was attributed to effective and coordinated international action against the pirates. But in 20082009, piracy again skyrocketed, due almost entirely to the dramatic increase of piracy off the Coast of Somalia. Piracy is once again on the forefront of the international community’s attention, as maritime trade is threatened and ransom payments to Somali pirates have risen to the millions of dollars.…
Foreign piracy is an act of robbery at sea. Captain Richard Phillips’ (Tom Hanks) fear was building up as he was approaching to take his crew around the horn of Africa, the most dangerous part of the sea. Once the crew has gotten all aboard and situated they set sail for Kenya to deliver cargo. Before they set sail, Captain Richard Phillips makes security checks by looking at the…
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.…
To a large extent, the “Golden Age” of piracy had provided hope for a better life to those who embraced it. The Golden Age was between 1680-1730 and this saw an increase in piracy numbers. Many of these men had previous sea experience as merchant seamen or as Royal Navy sailors. The religious cold war between Protestant and Catholic had brought opportunity for quick gains from plunder and on pirate ships, egalitarianism had provided equal and fair democracy for pirates. These factors would have been crucial in persuading previous seamen into a life of piracy.…
In the 19th century, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison sent the U.S Navy into the Mediterranean to defeat the Barbary pirates. Piracy was a major concern for decades but it took a long time for military action to be taken due to insufficient funds. Barbary pirates from the northern coast of North Africa "preyed on commerce in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean." They terrorized people for ransom money and blackmail. Just like today, religion is an important determinant of victims. Pirates were Muslims so who they would capture would depend on the captive's religion. Christians were their favorite. If a prisoner decided to convert to Islam, their work load would be lightened. On the other hand, if a prisoner refused to convert, he risked being burned alive or impaled. Three months into Jefferson's presidency, he sent four warships to bombard Tripoli, one of the corrupted pirate states. There were battles for the next thirty years. France finally cleared piracy out of North Africa completely by attacking and conquering Algiers, Tunis, and Morocco, the other pirate states. Lewis Lord said, "A key element in America's war on terrorism is a willingness to overthrow regimes that wage convert war." That is exactly what happened then, and what is happening now.…
Cited: Crabtree, Susan. “Study Says Terrorists Benefit from Piracy.” Daily Variety 283.47 (2004): 4. MasterFile Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 July 2011.…
The barbaric pirates come from the Barbary states. The Barbary States are made of up four countries, the four countries are Morocco, Algier, Tunisia, and Tripoli. They have been raiding and taking our sailors and making us pay a ransom. They have been mainly attacking our American ships because Europe have been paying a tribute. We tried doing that but we hated that…