Portal:Piracy

The Piracy Portal

Introduction

Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically intending to steal cargo and valuable goods, or take hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, and vessels used for piracy are called pirate ships. The earliest documented instances of piracy date to the 14th century BC, when the Sea Peoples, a group of ocean raiders, attacked the ships of the Aegean and Mediterranean civilizations. Narrow channels which funnel shipping into predictable routes have long created opportunities for piracy, as well as for privateering and commerce raiding.

Historic examples of such areas include the waters of Gibraltar, the Strait of Malacca, Madagascar, the Gulf of Aden, and the English Channel, whose geographic structures facilitated pirate attacks. The term piracy generally refers to maritime piracy, although the term has been generalized to refer to acts committed on land, in the air, on computer networks, and (in science fiction) outer space. Piracy usually excludes crimes committed by the perpetrator on their own vessel (e.g., theft) as well as privateering, which implies authorization by a state government.

Piracy, or pirating, is the name of a specific crime under customary international law and also of many crimes under the municipal law of many states. In the 21st century, seaborne piracy against transport vessels remains a significant issue, with estimated worldwide losses of US$25 billion in 2023, increased from US$16 billion in 2004. (Full article...)

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Benjamin Hornigold (c. 1680–1719)^{[verification needed]} was an English pirate towards the end of the Golden Age of Piracy.

Born in England in the late 17th century, Hornigold began his pirate career in 1713, attacking merchant ships in the Bahamas. He helped to establish the "Republic of Pirates" in Nassau and by 1717 was the captain of one of the most heavily armed ships in the region, called the Ranger. It was at this time he appointed Edward Teach, best known in history books as "Blackbeard", as his second-in-command. Mindful not to attack British-led ships during his career, his crew eventually grew tired of the tactic and Hornigold was voted out as captain. In December 1718, Hornigold accepted a King's Pardon for his crimes and became a pirate hunter, pursuing his former allies on behalf of the Governor of the Bahamas, Woodes Rogers. He was killed when his ship was wrecked on a reef near New Spain during the hurricane season of 1719. (Full article...)

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Map of all the countries involved, including NATO countries (Cyan), Non-NATO countries (Dark Blue), and Somalia (Red), where the majority of pirates were from

Operation Ocean Shield was NATO's anti-Piracy in Somalia initiative in the Indian Ocean, Guardafui Channel, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. It follows the earlier Operation Allied Protector. Naval operations began on 17 August 2009 after being approved by the North Atlantic Council, and were terminated on 15 December 2016 by NATO. Operation Ocean Shield focused on protecting the ships of Operation Allied Provider [de; no; ru; uk], which transported relief supplies as part of the World Food Programme's mission in the region. The initiative also helped strengthen the navies and coast guards of regional states to assist in countering pirate attacks. Notably, the Italian Military Support Base in Djibouti contributed, utilizing naval vessels such as the Italian Francesco Mimbelli and San Marco in the Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, and off the coast of Somalia. Additionally, China, Japan, and South Korea sent warships to participate in these activities.

The United States Navy was the largest contributor of ships, followed by the Indian Navy. The taskforce was composed of ships from the contributing navies, led by a designated leadship. The role of leadship was rotated among the various countries involved. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

... that a 1526 pirate raid might have inspired a Maltese ballad about a bride being abducted from her wedding?
... that Queen Eschiva and her children were kidnapped by the pirate Kanakes after her husband put a bounty on him?
... that Stephen Foster's best-selling song "Old Uncle Ned" made little money for him due to the many pirated publications circulating in the marketplace?
... that a Dutch publisher pirated the first four volumes of Memoirs and Adventures of a Man of Quality, then hired the author to write more?
... that Pixel Piracy's developers released a free torrent of their game?
... that since 1904 the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Florida, has featured a pirate-themed parade?

... that in the Golden Age of Piracy, the word "pirate" was often spelled "pyrate" or "pyrat"?
... that red Jolly Roger flags were the most feared of all; all prayed they never encountered the "Bloody Red," which boldly declared that no mercy would be shown and all victims would be killed?
... that there is only one account of walking the plank?

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Selected quotations

“

Come, let us make a hell of our own, and try how long we can bear it.

”

— Blackbeard

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General images

The following are images from various piracy-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1An LRAD sound cannon mounted on RMS Queen Mary 2 (from Piracy)
Image 2Barbary pirates were involved in the Barbary slave trade in North Africa (from Piracy)
Image 3Map showing the extent of Somali pirate attacks on shipping vessels between 2005 and 2010 (from Piracy)
Image 4Spanish warships bombarding the Moro Pirates of the southern Philippines in 1848 (from Piracy)
Image 5Mural representing the attack of Charles Windon to San Sebastián de La Gomera (1743) (from Piracy)
Image 6Map of Shkodër with the Buna river in 1571 by Giovanni Francesco Camocio (from Albanian piracy)
Image 7Conquest of Tunis by Charles V and liberation of Christian galley slaves in 1535 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 8Puerto del Príncipe being sacked in 1668 by Henry Morgan (from Piracy)
Image 9The Vitalienbrüder. Piracy became endemic in the Baltic Sea in the Middle Ages because of the Victual Brothers. (from Piracy)
Image 10Extent of pirate attacks on shipping vessels in the Indian Ocean between 2005 and 2010. (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 11A 19th-century illustration of an Iranun pirate (from Piracy)
Image 12A merchant seaman aboard a fleet oil tanker practices target shooting with a Remington 870 12 gauge shotgun as part of training to repel pirates in the Strait of Malacca, 1984 (from Piracy)
Image 13A Barbary pirate, Pier Francesco Mola, 1650 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 141890 illustration by Rafael Monleón of a late 18th-century Iranun lanong warship. The Malay word for "pirate", lanun, originates from an exonym of the Iranun people (from Piracy)
Image 15A collage of Somali pirates armed with AKM assault rifles, RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and semi-automatic pistols in 2008 (from Piracy)
Image 16A private guard escort on a merchant ship providing security services against piracy in the Indian Ocean (from Piracy)
Image 17Iban war prahu in Skerang river (from Piracy)
Image 18British captain witnessing the miseries of Christian slaves in Algiers, 1815 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 19Sixteenth century Japanese pirate raids (from Piracy)
Image 20"Mic the Scallywag" of the Pirates of Emerson Haunted Adventure, Fremont, California (from Piracy)
Image 21Baluarte Watchtower, La Union. A 400-year-old Spanish-era structure built to guard against pirates, later used in World War II as a communication tower for the USAFIP-NL airfield. (from Piracy)
Image 22Henry Morgan who sacked and burned the city of Panama in 1671 – the second most important city in the Spanish New World at the time; engraving from 1681 Spanish edition of Alexandre Exquemelin's The Buccaneers of America (from Piracy)
Image 23Map of Ulcinj in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy)
Image 24Incidents of pipeline vandalism by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, 2002–2011 (from Piracy)
Image 25An action between an English ship and vessels of the Barbary Corsairs (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 26A Sea Fight with Barbary Corsairs by Laureys a Castro, c. 1681 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 27Blackbeard's severed head hanging from Maynard's bowsprit; illustration from The Pirates Own Book (1837) (from Piracy)
Image 28Dan Seavey was a pirate on the Great Lakes in the early 20th century. (from Piracy)
Image 29Four Chinese pirates who were hanged in Hong Kong in 1863 (from Piracy)
Image 30The crew of the merchant vessel Faina stand on the deck after a U.S. Navy request to check on their health and welfare. The Belize-flagged cargo ship owned and operated by Kaalbye Shipping, Ukraine, was seized by pirates 25 September 2008 and forced to proceed to anchorage off the Somali coast. The ship was carrying a cargo of Ukrainian T-72 tanks and related military equipment. (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 31Slave market in Algiers, Ottoman Algeria, 1684 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 32Pirates attacking a French ship (from Albanian piracy)
Image 33French bombardment of Algiers by Admiral Dupperé, 13 June 1830 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 34Battle of Preveza, 1538 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 35Lieve Pietersz Verschuier, Dutch ships bomb Tripoli in a punitive expedition against the Barbary pirates, c. 1670 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 36The Barbary corsairs frequently attacked Corsica, resulting in many Genoese towers being erected. (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 37A French ship under attack by Barbary pirates, ca. 1615 (from Piracy)
Image 38U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur boarding a Tripolitan gunboat during the First Barbary War, 1804 (from Piracy)
Image 39An Algerine pirate ship (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 40Chinese pirate flag with the bagua and taijitu, captured by George Henry Preble. Circa 1871 (from Piracy)
Image 41Capture of the Pirate Blackbeard, 1718 depicting the battle between Blackbeard and Robert Maynard in Ocracoke Bay; romanticized depiction by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris from 1920 (from Piracy)
Image 42Born to a noble family in Puerto Rico, Roberto Cofresí was the last notably successful pirate in the Caribbean. (from Piracy)
Image 43Map of Durrës in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy)
Image 44MARCOS commando units of the Indian Navy intervening on a pirate-flagged vessel as a part of Operation Sankalp (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 45Painting from 1772 depicting British and French sailors at battle with Dulcignottes (Ulcinj pirates). These pirates were defeated on 5 September 1772. (from Albanian piracy)
Image 46Bartholomew Roberts was the pirate with the most captures during the Golden Age of Piracy. He is now known for hanging the governor of Martinique from the yardarm of his ship. (from Piracy)
Image 47Hanging of Captain Kidd; illustration from The Pirates Own Book (1837) (from Piracy)
Image 48Pirate treasure looted by Samuel Bellamy and recovered from the wreck of the Whydah; exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, 2010 (from Piracy)
Image 49A mosaic of a Roman trireme in Tunisia (from Piracy)
Image 50Kent battling Confiance, a privateer vessel commanded by French corsair Robert Surcouf in October 1800, as depicted in a painting by Garneray (from Piracy)