Piracy and Piracy in Somalia
Piracy and Piracy in Somalia
Piracy is typically an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term 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 perpetratorLevono Ideapad G560 Keyboard
(e.g. one passenger stealing from others on the same vessel). The term has been used throughout history to refer to raids across land borders by non-state agents. Levono Ideapad Z570 Keyboard
Piracy is the name of a specific crime under customary international law and also the name of a number of crimes under the municipal law of a number of States. It is distinguished from privateering,
Levono Ideapad Z575 Keyboard which is authorized by national authorities and therefore a legitimate form of war-like activity by non-state actors.[1] Privateering is considered commerce raiding, and was outlawed by the Peace of Westphalia (1648)
Levono Ideapad Z565 Keyboardfor signatories to those treaties.
Those who engage in acts of piracy are called pirates. Historically, offenders have usually been apprehended by military personnel and tried by military tribunals.
In the 21st century, the international community is facing many problems in bringing pirates to justice.[2] Levono Ideapad Z560 Keyboard
It may be reasonable to assume that piracy has existed for as long as the oceans were plied for commerce.[
Levono Ideapad V570A Keyboard6] The earliest documented instances of piracy are the exploits of the Sea Peoples who threatened the Aegean and Mediterranean in the 14th century BC.[7] In classical antiquity, the Illyrians and TyrrheniansLevono Ideapad Y560P Keyboard
were known as pirates, as well as Greeks and Romans. During their voyages the Phoenicians seem to have sometimes resorted to piracy, and specialized in kidnapping boys and girls to be sold as slaves.[8] Levono Ideapad Y560 Keyboard
In the 3rd century BC, pirate attacks on Olympos (city in Anatolia) brought impoverishment. Among some of the most famous ancient pirateering peoples were the Illyrians, populating the western Balkan peninsula. Constantly raiding the Adriatic Sea, Levono Ideapad V570A Keyboard
Levono Ideapad G575 Keyboard the Illyrians caused many conflicts with the Roman Republic. It was not until 168 BC when the Romans finally conquered Illyria and made it a province that their threat was ended.
During the 1st century BC, there were pirate states along the Anatolian coast, threatening the commerce of the Roman Empire in the eastern Mediterranean. On one voyage across the Aegean Sea in 75 BC,[9] Julius Caesar was kidnapped and briefly held by Cilician pirates and held prisoner in the Dodecanese islet of Pharmacusa.[10] Levono Ideapad V570 Keyboard
The Senate finally invested with powers to deal with piracy in 67 BC (the Lex Gabinia), and Pompey after three months of naval warfare managed to suppress the threat.
Many pirates had roles in Chinese history since the Three Kingdoms period. An example includes Gan Ning of Eastern Wu. Levono Ideapad V570C Keyboard
As early as 258 AD, the Gothic-Herulic fleet ravaged towns on the coasts of the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara. The Aegean coast suffered similar attacks a few years later. In 264, the Goths reached Galatia and Cappadocia, Levono Ideapad B570 Keyboard
Levono Ideapad B575 Keyboardand Gothic pirates landed on Cyprus and Crete. In the process, the Goths seized enormous booty and took thousands into captivity.
In 286 AD, Carausius, a Roman military commander of Gaulish origins, was appointed to command the Classis Britannica, and given the responsibility of eliminating Frankish and Saxon pirates who had been raiding the coasts of Armorica and Belgic Gaul. Sony PCG-41111M Keyboard
In the Roman province of Britannia, Saint Patrick was captured and enslaved by Irish pirates.
Early Polynesian warriors attacked seaside and riverside villages. They used the sea for their hit-and-run tactics – a safe place to retreat to if the battle turned against them. Sony PCG-41112M Keyboard
Middle Ages to 19th century[edit source | editbeta]
Caribbean[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: Piracy in the Caribbean
French pirate François l'Olonnais was nicknamed Flail of the Spaniards and had a reputation for brutality – offering no quarter to Spanish prisoners. L'Olonnais cannibalized a number of his victims, only to find the same fate at the hands of the Kuna tribe in Darién
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In 1523, Jean Fleury seized two Spanish treasure ships carrying Aztec treasures from Mexico to Spain.[11] The great or classic era of piracy in the Caribbean extends from around 1560 up until the mid-1720s.[12Sony PCG-81112M Keyboard
Sony PCG-81411M Keyboard] The period during which pirates were most successful was from 1700 until the 1730s. Many pirates came to the Caribbean after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, staying in the Caribbean and becoming pirates. Sony PCG-81212M Keyboard
Sony PCG-81311M Keyboard Others, the buccaneers, arrived in the mid-to-late 17th century and made attempts at earning a living by farming and hunting on Hispaniola and nearby islands; pressed by Spanish raids and possibly failure of their means of making a living Sony PCG-81113M Keyboard
Sony PCG-81313M Keyboardwild herds having been deliberately wiped out by the Spanish) they turned to a more lucrative occupation. Caribbean piracy arose out of, and on a smaller scale mirrored, the conflicts over trade and colonization among the rival European powers of the time including the empires of Britain, Spain, Sony PCG-31311M Keyboard
Sony PCG-3G2M Keyboard the Netherlands, Portugal and France. Most of these pirates were of English, Dutch and French origin, but occasionally Spaniards turned to piracy as well. Because Spain controlled most of the Caribbean, Sony PCG-51512M Keyboard
Sony PCG-3E1M Keyboardmany of the attacked cities and ships belonged to the Spanish Empire and along the East coast of America and the West coast of Africa. Dutch ships captured about 500 Spanish and Portuguese ships between 1623 and 1638.[7Sony PCG-51212M Keyboard
Sony PCG-51111M Keyboard
Sony PCG-3C1M Keyboard] Some of the best-known pirate bases were New Providence, in the Bahamas from 1715 to 1725,[13] Tortuga established in the 1640s and Port Royal after 1655. Among the most famous Caribbean pirates are Edward Teach or Blackbeard, Calico Jack Rackham, Henry Morgan and Bartholomew Roberts. Sony PCG-51112M Keyboard
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Another famous pirate of this era was Hendrick Lucifer, who fought for hours to acquire Cuban gold, becoming mortally wounded in the process. He died of his wounds hours after having transferred the booty to his ship.[14Sony PCG-51211M Keyboard
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Sony PCG-3H1M Keyboard] Most pirates were eventually hunted down by the Royal Navy and killed or captured; several battles were fought between the brigands and the colonial powers on both land and sea.
Piracy in the Caribbean declined for the next several decades after 1730, but by the 1810s many pirates roamed American waters though they were not as bold or successful as their predecessors. Throughout the first quarter of the 19th century, Sony PCG-5S1M Keyboard
the United States Navy repeatedly engaged pirates in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and in the Mediterranean. Several warships were designed specifically for the task. The most successful pirates of the era were Jean Lafitte and Roberto Cofresi. Sony PCG-7171M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7186M Keyboard Lafitte's ships operated primarily in the Gulf of Mexico but Cofresi's base was in Puerto Rico where he was considered a type of Robin Hood by many Puerto Ricans. Eventually he was defeated by the schooner USS Grampus and captured in 1825. Sony PCG-5P1M Keyboard
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The United States landed shore parties on several islands in the Caribbean in pursuit of pirates; Cuba was a major haven. By the 1830s piracy had died out again, and the navies of the region focused on the slav e trade. Sony PCG-3C2M Keyboard
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In 1827, Britain declared that participation in the slave trade was piracy, a crime punishable by death. The power of the Royal Navy was subsequently used to suppress the slave trade, and while some illegal trade (mostly with Brazil and Cuba) continued, the Atlantic slave trade was eradicated by the middle of the 19th century. Sony PCG-7195M Keyboard
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In the 20th century, one notable pirate active in the Caribbean was Boysie Singh. He operated off northern South America. He and his pirate gang killed several people and plundered their ships from 1947 to 1956. He was convicted for murder and hanged in the Royal Gaol at Trinidad, on 20 August 1957.[15] Sony PCG-7196M Keyboard
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Recently, with the proliferation of small private yachts cruising the Caribbean, piracy is again on the rise with many yachts being plundered and their crews often tortured, raped or slain.[citation needed] Sony PCG-7192M Keyboard
East Asia[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: Wokou
Sixteenth century Japanese pirate raids.
By the ninth century, populations centered mostly around merchant activities in coastal Shandong and Jiangsu provinces. Sony PCG-7194M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7143M KeyboardWealthy benefactors, including Jang Bogo established Silla Buddhist temples in the region. Jang Bogo had become incensed at the treatment of his fellow countrymen, who in the unstable milieu of late Tang often fell victim to coastal pirates or inland bandits. After returning to Silla around 825, Sony PCG-7144M Keyboard
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and in possession of a formidable private fleet headquartered at Cheonghae (Wando), Jang Bogo petitioned the Silla king Heungdeok (r. 826–836) to establish a permanent maritime garrison to protect Silla merchant activities in the Yellow Sea. Heungdeok agreed and in 828 formally established the Cheonghae (淸海, Sony PCG-7151M Keyboard
"clear sea") Garrison at what is today Wando island off Korea's South Jeolla province. Heungdeok gave Jang an army of 10,000 men to establish and man the defensive works. The remnants of Cheonghae Garrison can still be seen on Jang islet just off Wando's southern coast. Sony PCG-7153M Keyboard
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Sony PCG-7162M KeyboardJang's force, though nominally bequeathed by the Silla king, was effectively under his own control. Jang became arbiter of Yellow Sea commerce and navigation.[16]
South East Asia[edit source | editbeta]
For the period January–March (1st quarter) of 2013, a total of 28 incidents comprising 27 actual incidents and one attempted incident were reported in Asia. Of the 27 actual incidents, five were Category 2 (moderately significant) incidents, Sony PCG-61211M Keyboard
eight were Category 3 (less significant) incidents and 14 were petty theft incidents (minimum significant). No Category 1 (very significant) incident was reported during the 1st quarter of 2013. Compared to the same period in 2010-2012, there has been a decrease in the number of incidents and its severity.[17] Sony PCG-71211M Keyboard
From the 13th century, Wokou based in Japan made their debut in East Asia, initiating invasions that would persist for 300 years. Sony PCG-71212M Keyboard
Piracy in South East Asia[18] began with the retreating Mongol Yuan fleet after the betrayal by their Javanese allies (who, incidentally, would found the empire of Majapahit after the Mongols left). They preferred the junk, Sony PCG-71312M Keyboard
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Sony PCG-7184M Keyboard a ship using a more robust sail layout. Marooned navy officers, consisting mostly of Cantonese and Hokkien tribesmen, set up their small gangs near river estuaries, mainly to protect themselves. They recruited locals as common foot-soldiers known as 'lang' (lanun) to set up their fortresses. Sony PCG-71313M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7183M KeyboardThey survived by utilizing their well trained pugilists, as well as marine and navigation skills, mostly along Sumatran and Javanese estuaries. Their strength and ferocity coincided with the impending trade growth of the maritime silk and spice routes. Sony PCG-61212M Keyboard
Spanish warships bombarding the Muslim pirates of the southern Philippines in 1848.
During the mid-Qing dynasty, Chinese pirate fleets grew increasingly powerful throughout the early 19th century. The effects large-scale piracy had on the Chinese economy were immense. They preyed voraciously on China's junk trade, Sony PCG-71411M Keyboard
Sony PCG-7181M Keyboard which flourished in Fujian and Guangdong and was a vital artery of Chinese commerce. Pirate fleets exercised hegemony over villages on the coast, collecting revenue by exacting tribute and running extortion rackets. In 1802, the menacing Zheng Yi inherited the fleet of his cousin, Sony PCG-71511M Keyboard
captain Zheng Qi, whose death provided Zheng Yi with considerably more influence in the world of piracy. Zheng Yi and his wife, Zheng Yi Sao (who would eventually inherit the leadership of his pirate confederacy) then formed a pirate coalition that, Sony PCG-61511M Keyboard
Sony PCG-5T2M Keyboardby 1804, consisted of over ten thousand men. Their military might alone was sufficient to combat the Qing navy. However, a combination of famine, Qing naval opposition, and internal rifts crippled piracy in China around the 1820s, and it has never again reached the same status.
The Buginese sailors of South Sulawesi were infamous as pirates who used to range as far west as Singapore and as far north as the Philippines in search of targets for piracy.[19Sony PCG-61611M Keyboard
] The Orang laut pirates controlled shipping in the Straits of Malacca and the waters around Singapore,[20] and the Malay and Sea Dayak pirates preyed on maritime shipping in the waters between Singapore and Hong Kong from their haven in Borneo.[21] Sony PCG-71811M Keyboard
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The Moro pirates of the southern Philippines harassed Spanish shipping and terrorized Christian Filipino settlements. David P. Forsythe wrote: "Of particular significance in Southeast Asia were the incursions of Moro raiders in the southern Philippines who may have captured around 2 million slaves in the first two centuries of Spanish rule after 1565."[22Sony PCG-5P2m Keyboard
]
In the 1840s and 1850s, United States Navy and Royal Navy forces campaigned together against Chinese pirates. Several notable battles were fought though pirate junks continued operating off China for years more. However, Sony PCG-5R1M Keyboard
Sony PCG-5R2M Keyboardsome British and American individual citizens also volunteered to serve with Chinese pirates to fight against European forces. The British offered rewards for the capture of westerners serving with Chinese pirates. Sony VPCEE2M1E keyboard
During the Second Opium War and the Taiping Rebellion, piratical junks were again destroyed in large numbers by British naval forces but ultimately it wasn't until the 1860s and 1870s that fleets of pirate junks ceased to exist. Sony VPCEE3E0E keyboard
Eastern Europe[edit source | editbeta]
Main articles: Cossacks and Uskoks
"Cossaks of Azov fighting a Turk ship" by Grigory Gagarin
One example of a pirate republic in Europe from the 16th through the 18th century was Zaporizhian Sich. Situated in the remote Steppe, it was populated with Ukrainian peasants that had run away from their feudal masters, Sony VPCEE3J0E keyboard
outlaws of every sort, destitute gentry, run-away slaves from Turkish galleys, etc. The remoteness of the place and the rapids at the Dnepr river effectively guarded the place from invasions of vengeful powers. Sony VPCEE3L0E keyboard
The main target of the inhabitants of Zaporizhian Sich who called themselves "Cossacks" were rich settlements at the Black Sea shores of Ottoman Empire and Crimean Khanate.[23] By 1615 and 1625, Sony VPCEE3Z0E keyboard
Zaporozhian Cossacks had even managed to raze townships on the outskirts of Istanbul, forcing the Ottoman Sultan to flee his palace.[24] Don Cossacks under Stenka Razin even ravaged the Persian coasts.[25] Sony VPCEE3S1E kseyboard
Europe[edit source | editbeta]
The most widely known and far reaching pirates in medieval Europe were the Vikings, warriors and looters from Scandinavia who raided mainly between the 8th and 12th centuries, during the Viking Age in the Early Middle Ages. Sony VPCEE keyboard
They raided the coasts, rivers and inland cities of all Western Europe as far as Seville, attacked by the Norse in 844. Vikings even attacked coasts of North Africa and Italy. They also plundered all the coasts of the Baltic Sea,
Sony VPCEL2S1E/B Keyboardascending the rivers of Eastern Europe as far as the Black Sea and Persia. The lack of centralized powers all over Europe during the Middle Ages favoured pirates all over the continent.[vague][citation needed] Sony VPC EL series Keyboard
In the Late Middle Ages, the Frisian pirates led by respectively Pier Gerlofs Donia and Wijerd Jelckama, fought against the troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Empire with some success, capturing as many as 28 ships in one battle earning Donia the title "Cross of the Dutchman" and making him one of the most famous and iconic pirates of the era. Sony PCG-7T1M Keyboard
Hanging of Captain Kidd
Meanwhile, Moor pirates were common in the Mediterranean Sea. Toward the end of the 9th century, Moor pirate havens were established along the coast of southern France and northern Italy.[26] Sony PCG-7X1M Keyboard
Sony VGN-N38Z Keyboard In 846 Moor raiders sacked Rome and damaged the Vatican. In 911, the bishop of Narbonne was unable to return to France from Rome because the Moors from Fraxinet controlled all the passes in the Alps. Moor pirates operated out of the Balearic Islands in the 10th century. Sony PCG-7Y1M Keyboard
Sony VGN-N38M KeyboardFrom 824 to 961 Arab pirates in the Emirate of Crete raided the entire Mediterranean. In the 14th century, raids by Moor pirates forced the Venetian Duke of Crete to ask Venice to keep its fleet on constant guard.[27] Sony VGN-N11M Keyboard
After the Slavic invasions of the former Roman province of Dalmatia in the 5th and 6th centuries, a tribe called the Narentines revived the old Illyrian piratical habits and often raided the Adriatic Sea starting in the 7th century. Sony VGN-N11SR Keyboard
Sony VGN-N38L Keyboard By 642 they invaded southern Italy and assaulted Siponto. Their raids in the Adriatic increased rapidly, until the whole Sea was no longer safe for travel.
Captain William Bainbridge paying the U.S. tribute to the Dey of Algiers, circa 1800.
The Narentines took more liberties in their raiding quests while the Venetian Navy was abroad, as when it was campaigning in Sicilian waters in 827–882. Sony VGN-N21M Keyboard
Sony VGN-N38E Keyboard As soon as the Venetian fleet would return to the Adriatic, the Narentines temporarily abandoned their habits again, even signing a Treaty in Venice and baptising their Slavic pagan leader into Christianity. Sony VGN-N21S Keyboard
Sony VGN-N31ZR Keyboard In 834 or 835 they broke the treaty and again they raided Venetian traders returning from Benevento, and all of Venice's military attempts to punish them in 839 and 840 utterly failed. Later, they raided the Venetians more often, Sony VGN-N21Z Keyboard
Sony VGN-N31Z Keyboard together with the Arabs. In 846, the Narentines broke through to Venice itself and raided its lagoon city of Caorle. In the middle of March 870 they kidnapped the Roman Bishop's emissaries that were returning from the Ecclesiastical Council in Constantinople. Sony VGN-N31L Keyboard
Sony VGN-N31S Keyboard This caused a Byzantine military action against them that finally brought Christianity to them.
After the Arab raids on the Adriatic coast circa 872 and the retreat of the Imperial Navy, the Narentines continued their raids of Venetian waters, Sony VGN-NW20EF Keyboard
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causing new conflicts with the Italians in 887–888. The Venetians futilely continued to fight them throughout the 10th and 11th centuries.
In 937, Irish pirates sided with the Scots, Vikings, Picts, and Welsh in their invasion of England. Athelstan drove them back.
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Four Chinese pirates who were hanged in Hong Kong in 1863
The Slavic piracy in the Baltic Sea ended with the Danish conquest of the Rani stronghold of Arkona in 1168. In the 12th century the coasts of western Scandinavia were plundered by Curonians and Oeselians from the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. Sony VGN-NW11Z/S Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS20EF keyboardIn the 13th and 14th century, pirates threatened the Hanseatic routes and nearly brought sea trade to the brink of extinction. The Victual Brothers of Gotland were a companionship of privateers who later turned to piracy. Until about 1440, maritime trade in both the North Sea and the Baltic Sea was seriously in danger of attack by the pirates. Sony VGN-NW11S/T Keyboard
A lesser-known example of inland piracy is the looting of salt transports that took place on lake Traunsee in medieval Austria. Salt from salterns at the upper Traun river was exported downstream by boat across the lake, Sony VGN-NW11S/S Keyboard
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Sony VGN-NS30E keyboardand further on to Bohemia via the Danube. These boats were often captured by pirates between the years 955 and 1000 until duke Otakar V. of Chiemgau and duke Liutold II. of Raschenberg-Reichenhall seized a pirate stronghold on lake Traunsee.[28]
Attack by Moro Pirates on Brooke's Jolly Bachelor during the era of White Rajahs in Sarawak, 1843
H. Thomas Milhorn mentions a certain Englishman named William Maurice, convicted of piracy in 1241, as the first person known to have been hanged, drawn and quartered,[2Sony VGN-NW24S Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS20J keyboard9] which would indicate that the then-ruling King Henry III took an especially severe view of this crime.
The ushkuiniks were Novgorodian pirates who looted the cities on the Volga and Kama Rivers in the 14th century. Sony VGN-NW26M Keyboard
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As early as Byzantine times, the Maniots (one of Greece's toughest populations) were known as pirates. The Maniots considered piracy as a legitimate response to the fact that their land was poor and it became their main source of income. The main victims of Maniot pirates were the Ottomans but the Maniots also targeted ships of European countries. Sony VGN-NW20SF Keyboard
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Africa[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: Barbary corsairs
French ship under attack by Barbary pirates, ca. 1615
The Barbary corsairs were pirates and privateers that operated from North African (the "Barbary Coast") ports of Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli and ports in Morocco, preying on shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea from the time of the Crusades as well as on ships on their way to Asia around Africa until the early 19th century. Sony VGN-NW24JG Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS10L keyboardThe coastal villages and towns of Italy, Spain and Mediterranean islands were frequently attacked by them and long stretches of the Italian and Spanish coasts were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants; Sony VGN-NW24MG Keyboard
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after 1600 Barbary corsairs occasionally entered the Atlantic and struck as far north as Iceland. According to Robert Davis[30][3Sony VGN-NW26EG Keyboard
1] between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary corsairs and sold as slaves in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 19th centuries. The most famous corsairs were the Ottoman Hayreddin and his older brother Oruç Reis (Redbeard), Sony VGN-NW26JG Keyboard
Sony VGN-NS10E keyboard Turgut Reis (known as Dragut in the West), Kurtoğlu (known as Curtogoli in the West), Kemal Reis, Salih Reis and Koca Murat Reis. A few Barbary corsairs, such as the Dutch Jan Janszoon and the English John Ward (Muslim name Yusuf Reis), were renegade European privateers who had converted to Islam. Sony VGN-NW20SF Keyboard
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According to the U.S. Supreme Court, the United States treated captured Barbary corsairs as prisoners of war, indicating that they were considered as legitimate privateers by at least some of their opponents, as well as by their home countries. Sony VGN-NW21MF/P Keyboard
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At one stage, the pirate population of Madagascar numbered close to 1000.[32] Île Sainte-Marie became a popular base for pirates throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The most famous pirate utopia is that of the probably fictional Captain Misson and his pirate crew, Sony VPCF11C4E/B Keyboard
Sony VPCF13M0E/B Keyboardwho allegedly founded the free colony of Libertatia in northern Madagascar in the late 17th century, until it was destroyed in a surprise attack by the island natives in 1694.[33]
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North America[edit source | editbeta]
Jean Lafitte, New Orleans' legendary pirate
Ocean piracy, off the coasts of North America, continued as late as the 1870s. Pirates who operated in the Caribbean often sailed north to attack targets off the present day eastern seaboard of the United States. Sony VPCF11C5E Keyboard
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Possibly the most famous of these was Blackbeard, who operated in the American south, attacking ships and at one point even blockading Charleston, South Carolina. Later in the 19th century, after the Golden Age of Piracy, Sony VPC-F11M1E/H Keyboard
Sony VPCF12M0E/B Keyboard Jean Lafitte became what is considered by many to be the last buccaneer due to his army of pirates and fleet of pirate ships which held bases in and around the Gulf of Mexico. Lafitte and his men participated in the War of 1812 battle of New Orleans and later his ships fought the United States Navy and the United States Revenue Cutter Service. Sony VPCF11S1E/B Keyboard
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Eventually, Lafitte was evicted from the area by United States forces after several accidental sinking of U.S ships due to the rest of the crew attacking an American ship, thinking it was a Mexican ship, battles and raids. Between 1822 and 1825, the American West Indies Squadron fought against pirates in the Caribbean. Sony VPC-F21Z1E Keyboard
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By 1830, piracy in the Gulf of Mexico became rare with the exception of slave traders, who were considered pirates. In 1860 during the Reform War, the United States Navy fought the Battle of Anton Lizardo against rebels which were declared pirates by the Mexican government. In 1870, Sony VPCF22J1E Keyboard
Sony VPCF12Z1E Keyboardthe United States again fought pirates off Mexico during the Battle of Boca Teacapan. The pirates had attacked and captured Guaymas, Mexico, looted the foreign residents of their belongings and forced the United States consulate in Guaymas to provide their steamer with coal, Sony VPCF22L1E Keyboard
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Sony VPCF13S0E/B Keyboard after which they sailed for Boca Teacapan, Sinaloa. A United States Navy expedition under Willard H. Brownson was launched, resulting in the destruction of the pirate ship. The invention of steam powered vessels eventually put an end to piracy off North America though some isolated incidents continued to occur into the 1920s. Sony VPCF22S1E Keyboard
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The hanging of pirate Stede Bonnet in Charleston, 1718
River piracy, in late 18th-mid-19th century America, was primarily concentrated along the Ohio River and Mississippi River valleys. Sony VPCF23M1E Keyboard
Sony VPCF22M0E Keyboard River pirates usually located their operations in isolated frontier settlements, which were sparsely populated areas lacking the protection of civilized government. They resorted to a variety of tactics, depending on the number of pirates and size of the boat crews involved. Sony VPCF23Q1E Keyboard
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Sony VPCY21S1E/G Keyboard They were involved in river piracy including; deception, concealment, ambush, and assaults in open combat, near natural obstacles and curiosities, such as shelter caves, islands, river narrows, rapids, swamps, and marshes. River travelers were robbed, captured, and murdered and their livestock, slaves, cargo, and flatboats, keelboats, and rafts were sunk or sold down river. Sony VPCF11S1E Keyboard
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After the Revolutionary War, American river piracy began to take root; in the mid-1780s, along the upper Mississippi River, between Spanish Upper Louisiana, around St. Louis, down to the confluence of the Ohio River, at Cairo. Sony VPCF11Z1E/BI Keyboard
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In 1803, at Tower Rock, the U.S. Army dragoons, possibly, from the frontier army post up river at Fort Kaskaskia, on the Illinois side opposite St. Louis, raided and drove out the river pirates. Sony VPCF12F4E/H Keyboard
Ann Bonny and Mary Read convicted of piracy on November 28, 1720
Stack Island became associated with river pirates and counterfeiters, starting in the late 1790s. In 1809, the last major river pirate activity took place, on the Upper Mississippi River, and river piracy in this area came to an abrupt end, Sony VPCF12M1E/H Keyboard
Sony VPCF23N1E Keyboard when a group of flatboatmen, meeting at the head of the Nine Mile Reach, decided to make a raid on Stack Island and wipe out the river pirates. They attacked at night, a battle ensued, and two of the boatmen and several outlaws were killed. Sony VPCF13E4E Keyboard
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Sony VPCF23P1E KeyboardThe attackers captured 19 other men, a 15-year-old boy and two women. The women and teenager were allowed to leave. The remaining outlaws are presumed to have been executed.
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From 1790–1834, Cave-In-Rock was the principal outlaw lair and headquarters of river pirate activity in the Ohio River region. The notorious cave, is today, within the peaceful confines of Illinois' Cave-in-Rock State Park. In 1797, Sony VPCF13J0E/H Keyboard
Sony VPCF21Z1E/BI Keyboard it was anything but peaceful, as Samuel Mason, who was initially a Revolutionary War Patriot[disambiguation needed] captain in the Ohio County, Virginia militia and a former associate judge and squire in Kentucky, led a gang of highway robbers and river pirates on the Ohio River. Sony VPCF1318E/H Keyboard
Sony VPCF13M1E/H KeyboardMason started his criminal organization in Red Banks and was driven out by regulators, sweeping through western Kentucky and first set up his new operation at Diamond Island, followed by Cave-In-Rock, and later, along the Mississippi River, from Stack Island to Natchez.
Puerto del Príncipe being sacked in 1668 by Henry Morgan
During Samuel Mason's 1797–1799 occupation of Cave-In-Rock and after his departure, the name of Bully Wilson became associated with cave; a large sign was erected near the natural landmark's entrance,
Sony VPCF12S1E/B Keyboard "Liquor Vault and House for Entertainment." Wilson may have been an alias for Mason, a front man for his criminal operation, or another outlaw leader who ran a gang of pirates in the region. The Harpe Brothers who were allegedly America's first serial killers, were highwaymen, on the run from the law in Tennessee and Kentucky and briefly, joined Samuel Mason's gang at Cave-In-Rock. Sony VPCF13M1E/B Keyboard
Sony VPCF13Z8E/BI KeyboardPeter Alston, the son of American counterfeiter, Philip Alston who through his father, became a river pirate and highwayman at Cave-In-Rock and made the acquaintance of Samuel Mason and Wiley Harpe, Sony VPCF11C4E/B Keyboard
Sony VPCF13Z8E Keyboardfollowing them to Stack Island and Natchez. Around the late 18th century to early 19th century, on the Illinois side of the Ohio River, north of Cave-In-Rock, Jonathan Brown led a small gang of river pirates at Battery Rock. Sony VPCY21S1E Keyboard
The lower Ohio River country was routinely patrolled by the Legion of the United States and U.S. Army troops, garrisoned at Fort Massac, as constabulary against native Americans, colonial raiders from Spanish Upper Louisiana Territory, and river outlaws in the region.
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Blackbeard's severed head hanging from Maynard's bowsprit
Between 1800 and 1820[citation needed], the legendary Colonel Plug also, known as Col. Plug or Colonel Fluger, ran a gang of river pirates on the Ohio River, in a cypress swamp, near the mouth of the Cache River, Sony VPCY11M1E Keyboard
Sony VPCYB3Q1R Keyboard which was below Cave-In-Rock and Fort Massac and just above the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Plug's tactics were to sneak aboard, personally, or have one of his pirates, secretly, Sony VPCY11S1E Keyboard
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go into the hull of a boat and either, dig out the caulking between the floor planks or drill holes with an auger, causing the boat to sink and be easily attacked. The boat and the cargo would later be sold down river. Little is known about Colonel Plug except, Sony VPCW1E8R/BU Keyboard
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Sony VPCYB2M1E Keyboard from the folklorish descriptions provided in 1830 by Timothy Flint's "Col. Plug, the last of the Boat-wreckers," in The Western Monthly Review and "The Boat-Wreckers—Or Banditti of the West," in the Rochester, Sony VPCY11V9E/S Keyboard
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Sony VPCYB1S1R Keyboard New York newspaper, Daily Advertiser, Jan 29, 1830. Fluger claimed to have been a Yankee native of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and was a former militia colonel. No historical evidence exists to justify this, as no Fluger surname can be found in the New Hampshire U.S. census records or the Rockingham County military muster rolls.
James Ford, an American Ohio River civic leader and businessman, secretly led a gang of river pirates and highwaymen from the 1820s to the mid-1830s, on the Ohio River in Illinois and Kentucky. Sony VPCY21S1E/SI Keyboard
River piracy continued on the lower Mississippi River, from the early 1800s to the mid-1830s; these river pirates were mainly organized into large gangs similar to Samuel Mason's organization around Cave-In-Rock or smaller gangs under the operation of John A. Murrell. Sony VPCY21B7E Keyboard
Sony VPCYA1C5E Keyboard These gangs also existed, from the 1820s to the mid-1830s, between Stack Island and Natchez, in the state of Mississippi. Sony VPCY21A7E Keyboard
The decline of river piracy occurred, over time, as a result of direct military action taken and the combined strength of local law enforcement and regulator-vigilante groups that uprooted and swept out pockets of outlaw resistance. Sony VPCY21C5E Keyboard
The Haida and Tlingit tribes, who lived along the coast of southern Alaska and on islands in northwest British Columbia, were traditionally known as fierce warriors, pirates and slave-traders, raiding as far as California.[34] Sony VPCY21M1R Keyboard
Great Lakes piracy occurred, from 1900–1930, on Lake Michigan, through the exploits of "Roaring" Dan Seavey.
South Asia[edit source | editbeta]
Instances of piracy in India are recorded on Vedas. However, the most interesting one is with the issue of war due to piracy. At the time of the Muslim invasion of Sindh, in the 7th century, the new kingdom of Hijaz launched trade ships to India especially Sindh. HP Pavilion DV7-4020SA Keyboard
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HP Pavilion DV7-4180SA KeyboardHowever, a ship en route from Sri Lanka to Baghdad was carrying valuables and some slave girls which were looted off Debal (near modern Karachi) by the Meds. One of the slave girls sent a letter challenging the Caliph saying that he cannot rescue them. The Caliph sent a portion of his army to save the slaves. But, HP Pavilion DV7-4035SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion DV7-4150EA Keyboardthe people of Sindh became wary and thought of this army as a threat. This became an excuse for war between Arabs and Sindh.[35] HP Pavilion DV7-4040SA Keyboard
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HP Pavilion DV7-4144EA Keyboard Since the 14th century the Deccan (Southern Peninsular region of India) was divided into two entities: on the one side stood the Muslim Bahmani Sultanate and on the other stood the Hindu kings rallied around the Vijayanagara Empire. Continuous wars demanded frequent resupplies of fresh horses, which were imported through sea routes from Persia and Africa. HP Pavilion DV7-4130SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion DV7-4143EA Keyboard This trade was subjected to frequent raids by thriving bands of pirates based in the coastal cities of Western India. One of such was Timoji, who operated off Anjadip Island both as a privateer (by seizing horse traders, that he rendered to the raja of Honavar) and as a pirate who attacked the Kerala merchant fleets that traded pepper with Gujarat.
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The cemetery of past pirates at Île Ste-Marie (St. Mary's Island).
During the 16th and 17th centuries, there was frequent European piracy against Mughal Indian merchants, especially those en route to Mecca for Hajj. HP Pavilion DV7-4132EA Keyboard
HP Pavilion DV7-4140EA KeyboardThe situation came to a head, when Portuguese attacked and captured the vessel Rahimi which belonged to Mariam Zamani the Mughal queen, which led to the Mughal seizure of the Portuguese town Daman.[36HP G72-100 Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-B20SA Keyboard] In the 18th century, the famous Maratha privateer Kanhoji Angre ruled the seas between Mumbai and Goa.[37] The Marathas attacked British shipping and insisted that East India Company ships pay taxes if sailing through their waters.[38] HP G72-102SA Keyboard
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The southern coast of the Persian Gulf became known as the Pirate Coast as raiders based there harassed foreign shipping. Early British expeditions to protect the Indian Ocean trade from raiders at Ras al-Khaimah led to campaigns against that headquarters and other harbours along the coast in 1819.[39] Captain Kidd captured many vessels of the Mughal King. HP G72-130SA Keyboard
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Popular image[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: Golden Age of Piracy
In the popular modern imagination, pirates of the classical period were rebellious, clever teams who operated outside the restricting bureaucracy of modern life. Pirates were also depicted as always raising their Jolly Roger flag when preparing to hijack a vessel. The Jolly Roger is the traditional name for the flags of European and American pirates and a symbol for piracy that has been adopted by film-makers and toy manufacturers. HP G72-a30SA Keyboard
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Various claims and speculation about their overall image, attire, fashion, dress code, etc. have been made and contributed to their fanciful mystery and lore. HP G72-b01SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-A40SA KeyboardIncluding, for example, men getting their ear pierced was popular with pirates; the value of the earring was meant to pay for their burial if they were lost at sea and their body washed ashore.[citation needed] HP G72-a40SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-B01EA KeyboardPirate democracy[edit source | editbeta]
See also: Pirate code and distribution of justice
A pirate captain relaxes with his crew in a Howard Pyle illustration from Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates.
Unlike traditional Western societies of the time, many Caribbean pirate crews of European descent operated as limited democracies. Pirate communities were some of the first to instate a system of checks and balances similar to the one used by the present-day United States and many other countries. HP G72-b10SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-A30SA Keyboard The first record of such a government aboard a pirate sloop dates to the 17th century.[40]
Both the captain and the quartermaster were elected by the crew. They, in turn, appointed the other ship's officers. The captain of a pirate ship was often a fierce fighter in whom the men could place their trust, HP G72-b15SA Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-A20SA Keyboard rather than a more traditional authority figure sanctioned by an elite. However, when not in battle, the quartermaster usually had the real authority. Many groups of pirates shared in whatever they seized. Pirates injured in battle thus might be afforded special compensation similar to medical or disability insurance. HP G72 Keyboard
There are contemporary records that many pirates placed a portion of any captured money into a central fund that was used to compensate the injuries sustained by the crew. Lists show standardised payments of 600 pieces of eight ($156,000 in modern currency) HP G72 PC Series Keyboard
HP Pavilion G72-105SA Keyboardfor the loss of a leg down to 100 pieces ($26,800) for loss of an eye. Often all of these terms were agreed upon and written down by the pirates, but these articles could also be used as incriminating proof that they were outlaws. HP G72T-200 CTO Keyboard
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Treasure[edit source | editbeta]
Henry Every is shown selling his loot in this engraving by Howard Pyle. Every's capture of the Grand Mughal ship Ganj-i-Sawai in 1695 stands as one of the most profitable pirate raids ever perpetrated. HP Pavilion G72-110SA Keyboard
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Even though pirates raided many ships, few, if any, buried their treasure. Often, the "treasure" that was stolen was food, water, alcohol, weapons, or clothing. Other things they stole were household items like bits of soap and gear like rope and anchors, HP 640426-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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or sometimes they would keep the ship they captured (either to sell off or keep because it was better than their ship). Such items were likely to be needed immediately, rather than saved for future trade. For this reason, HP 641477-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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HP 582141-001 CPU fan with heatsinkthere was no reason for the pirates to bury these goods. Pirates tended to kill few people aboard the ships they captured; usually they would kill no one if the ship surrendered because, if it became known that pirates took no prisoners, their victims would fight to the last breath and make victory both very difficult and costly in lives. HP 653627-001 CPU fan with heatsink
In contrast, ships would quickly surrender if they knew they would be spared. In one well-documented case 300 heavily armed soldiers on a ship attacked by Thomas Tew surrendered after a brief battle with none of Tew's 40-man crew being injured.[41]
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Other noteworthy speculation involving pirates and their perceived high-importance and priorities toward that of fortune-hunting and traditional treasure exist; such as the iconic image of pirates with ear piercing, HP 666391-001 CPU fan with heatsink
HP 582139-001 CPU fan with heatsinkwas as a result of being a practical purpose among and therefore popular with pirates. The belief being the value of the earring was meant to pay for their burial if they were lost at sea and their body washed ashore.[citation needed] HP 650057-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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Rewards[edit source | editbeta]
Pirates had a system of hierarchy on board their ships determining how captured money was distributed. However, pirates were more "egalitarian" than any other area of employment at the time. In fact pirate quartermasters were a counterbalance to the captain and had the power to veto his orders.
HP 535766-001 CPU fan with heatsink The majority of plunder was in the form of cargo and ship's equipment with medicines the most highly prized. A vessel's doctor's chest would be worth anywhere from £300 to £400, HP 650797-001 CPU fan with heatsink
or around $470,000 in today's values. Jewels were common plunder but not popular as they were hard to sell, and pirates, unlike the public of today, HP 384622-001 CPU fan with heatsink
HP 535439-001 CPU fan with heatsinkhad little concept of their value. There is one case recorded where a pirate was given a large diamond worth a great deal more than the value of the handful of small diamonds given his crewmates as a share. He felt cheated and had it broken up to match what they received.[42] HP 431311-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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Sir Henry Morgan. In 1671, Morgan sacked and burned the city of Panama – the second most important city in the Spanish New World at the time.
Spanish pieces of eight minted in Mexico or Seville were the standard trade currency in the American colonies. However, every colony still used the monetary units of pounds, shillings and pence for bookkeeping while Spanish, German, HP 431312-001 CPU fan with heatsink
French and Portuguese money were all standard mediums of exchange as British law prohibited the export of British silver coinage. Until the exchange rates were standardised in the late 18th century each colony legislated its own different exchange rates. HP 443917-001 CPU fan with heatsink
HP 576837-001 CPU fan with heatsink In England, 1 piece of eight was worth 4s 3d while it was worth 8s in New York, 7s 6d in Pennsylvania and 6s 8d in Virginia. One 18th-century English shilling was worth around $58 in modern currency so a piece of eight could be worth anywhere from $246 to $465. As such, the value of pirate plunder could vary considerably depending on who recorded it and where.[43][44] HP 456605-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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Ordinary seamen received a part of the plunder at the captain's discretion but usually a single share. On average, a pirate could expect the equivalent of a year's wages as his share from each ship captured while the crew of the most successful pirates would often each receive a share valued at around £1,000 ($1.17 million) HP 498480-001 CPU fan with heatsink
HP 534685-001 CPU fan with heatsinkat least once in their career.[42] One of the larger amounts taken from a single ship was that by captain Thomas Tew from an Indian merchantman in 1692. Each ordinary seaman on his ship received a share worth £3,000HP 531941-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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HP 534684-001 CPU fan with heatsink ($3.5 million) with officers receiving proportionally larger amounts as per the agreed shares with Tew himself receiving 2½ shares. It is known there were actions with multiple ships captured where a single share was worth almost double this.[42][45
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By contrast, an ordinary seamen in the Royal Navy received 19s per month to be paid in a lump sum at the end of a tour of duty which was around half the rate paid in the Merchant Navy. However, corrupt officers would often "tax" their crews' wage to supplement their own and the Royal Navy of the day was infamous for its reluctance to pay. HP 532605-001 CPU fan with heatsink
From this wage, 6d per month was deducted for the maintenance of Greenwich Hospital with similar amounts deducted for the Chatham Chest, the chaplain and surgeon. Six months' pay was withheld to discourage desertion. HP 532617-001 CPU fan with heatsink
HP 534675-001 CPU fan with heatsink That this was insufficient incentive is revealed in a report on proposed changes to the RN Admiral Nelson wrote in 1803; he noted that since 1793 more than 42,000 sailors had deserted. Roughly half of all RN crews were pressganged and these not only received lower wages than volunteers but were shackled while the vessel was docked and were never permitted to go ashore until released from service.[46][47] HP 602472-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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Although the Royal Navy suffered from many morale issues, it answered the question of prize money via the 'Cruizers and Convoys' Act of 1708 which handed over the share previously gained by the Crown to the captors of the ship. Technically it was still possible for the Crown to get the money or a portion of it but this rarely happened. HP 603690-001 CPU fan with heatsink
HP 657529-001 CPU fan with heatsinkThe process of condemnation of a captured vessel and its cargo and men was given to the High Court of the Admiralty and this was the process which remained in force with minor changes throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. HP 603691-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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Bartholomew Roberts' crew carousing at the Calabar River. Roberts is estimated to have captured over 470 vessels.
Even the flag officer's share was not quite straightforward; he would only get the full one-eighth if he had no junior flag officer beneath him. If this was the case then he would get a third share. If he had more than one then he would take one half while the rest was shared out equally.
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There was a great deal of money to be made in this way. The record breaker, admittedly before our wars, was the capture of the Spanish frigate the Hermione, which was carrying treasure in 1762. The value of this was so great that each individual seaman netted £485 ($1.4 million in 2008 dollars).[48
HP 637610-001 CPU fan with heatsink] The two captains responsible, Evans and Pownall, got just on £65,000 each ($188.4 million). In January 1807 the frigate Caroline took the Spanish San Rafael which brought in £52,000 for her captain, HP 606574-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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Peter Rainier (who had been only a Midshipman some thirteen months before). All through the wars there are examples of this kind of luck falling on captains. Another famous 'capture' was that of the Spanish frigates HP 606729-001 CPU fan with heatsink
HP 637607-001 CPU fan with heatsinkThetis and Santa Brigada which were loaded with gold specie. They were taken by four British frigates who shared the money, each captain receiving £40,730. Each lieutenant got £5,091, the Warrant Officer group, £2,468, the midshipmen £791 and the individual seamen £182. HP 606731-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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It should also be noted that it was usually only the frigates which took prizes; the ships of the line were far too ponderous to be able to chase and capture the smaller ships which generally carried treasure. HP 608010-001 CPU fan with heatsink
HP 622028-001 CPU fan with heatsinkNelson always bemoaned that he had done badly out of prize money and even as a flag officer received little. This was not that he had a bad command of captains but rather that British mastery of the seas was so complete that few enemy ships dared to sail.[49]
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Comparison chart using the share distribution known for three pirates against the shares for a Privateer and wages as paid by the Royal Navy.
A flyer describing the public execution of 16th-century pirate Klein Henszlein and his crew.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, once pirates were caught, justice was meted out in a summary fashion, and many ended their lives by "dancing the hempen jig",HP 608095-001 CPU fan with heatsink
HP 608229-001 CPU fan with heatsink or hanging at the end of a rope. Public execution was a form of entertainment at the time, and people came out to watch them as they would to a sporting event today. Newspapers were glad to report every detail, such as recording the condemned men's last words, HP 480481-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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the prayers said by the priests for their immortal souls, and their final agonising moments on the gallows. In England most of these executions took place at Execution Dock on the River Thames in London. HP 535441-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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In the cases of more famous prisoners, usually captains, their punishments extended beyond death. Their bodies were enclosed in iron cages (gibbet) (for which they were measured before their execution) and left to swing in the air until the flesh rotted off them- a process that could take as long as two years. HP 535442-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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The bodies of captains such as William "Captain" Kidd, Charles Vane, William Fly, and Jack Rackham ("Calico Jack") were all treated this way.[50]
Within the Pirate community, however, 'Justice' was swift and decisive. 'Cut-throat prudence demanded nothing less. Famously, keelhauling was a popular method for relatively minor crimes, while 'abandonment' on an island was not unknown either. HP 655983-001 CPU fan with heatsink
HP 434678-001 CPU fan with heatsink Indeed, 'Walking the plank' is now generally thought to refer to 'walking the last mile' down the gangplank to the miscreants new 'Home'.[citation needed]
Privateers[edit source | editbeta] HP 657942-001 CPU fan with heatsink
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Main article: Privateer
HMS Kent battling Confiance, a privateer vessel commanded by French corsair Robert Surcouf in October 1800, as depicted in a painting by Garneray.