Pirates
Unit 1
Pirates
Skull and Bones
Pirates
Historical Perspective
Piracy
• Piracy has probably existed since early man first
took to the waters.
• Even though the ancient Romans referred to the
Mediterranean as “Mare Nostrum” (literally "Our
Sea"), we know from the historical records that the
Roman Empire was unable to rid the
Mediterranean of pirates, and that even the mighty
Julius Caesar was a prisoner of pirates at one time.
• Piracy in ancient times was principally a matter of
maritime kidnapping for ransom.
Piracy in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, Europe was targeted by two pirate groups:
the Vikings and the Muslim pirates.
• The Vikings or Norsemen were active sea rovers from the
Scandinavian region of Europe who pillaged western
Europe from the eighth to the tenth centuries.
• Favorite targets of the Vikings were the wealthy
monasteries along the French coast and throughout the
British Isles.
• The Vikings also explored the rivers of eastern Europe and
eventually contacted Byzantium (Constantinople / Istanbul)
which continued to serve as the capital of the Eastern
Roman Empire.
• Viking explorers of the Atlantic reached the coast of North
America some four hundred years before Columbus.
Vikings
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
Muslim Pirates
• The Muslim pirates operated from bases in North Africa.
• During the Crusades (1095 -1295), Muslim pirates
plundered the ships carrying the Crusaders and pilgrims
and sold many Christians into slavery.
• For hundreds of years, the Muslim pirates collected
“tribute” as protection against attack from the European
powers.
• Usually, Christian Europe found it easiest just to pay the
tribute, but in the early 1800's the newly independent
United States fought an undeclared naval war against the
“Barbary Pirates” under the slogan of “Millions for defense,
but not one cent for tribute!” and the phrase “to the shores
of Tripoli” was added to the Marine’s battle hymn.
Here come the
Spaniards
• When Columbus discovery opened the
western hemisphere for exploration and
exploitation by the European powers, Spain
naturally led the way, and Cortez’s conquest
of the Aztecs in Mexico and Pizzaro’s
conquest of the Incas in Peru began the
practice of “treasure fleets” which
transported the vast wealth of the new world
back to Spain.
• Control of the sea lanes now became a
matter of vital national interests.
Conquistadors
Netflix’s Love, Death + Robots: Jibaro
And England?
• At this time England was a relatively poor and weak
country. Her kings and queens were involved in a centuries
long struggle with Parliament over control of the country’s
treasury. Parliament was reluctant to raise taxes for a
powerful navy which would answer to the monarch rather
than to Parliament.
• But as an island nation, England had an extensive private
fleet, and the monarchs found in it a solution to their
dilemma. When at war with another country, the king or
queen would issue “letters of marque” which
commissioned these private vessels to seek out and attack
the shipping of the enemy country. These privately
commissioned ships became known as “privateers”.
The fine line between
Privateer and Piracy
• Privateers were “licensed” to confiscate the
cargo of the enemy vessel and divide the
profits among the crew.
• There has always been a fine line between a
privateer and a pirate.
• Pirates commit robbery on the high seas. A
pirate ship is not commissioned by any
government, and pirates capture other ships
in times of peace or war.
• Therefore, piracy constitutes a breach of the
law.
The fine line between
Privateer and Piracy
• Privateers are privately owned, and armed vessels
commissioned by a government to attack enemy
vessels in time of war. Because a state of war
exists, privateering is not considered breaking the
law.
• For example, at the beginning of the American
Revolution, because there was no U.S. Navy, the
colonies relied on privateers to carry on the naval
war.
• However, because privateers often operated with
invalid permits, or exceeded their authority, the
line between their legitimate activities and piracy
often became blurred.
Piracy was Some, who might have
Others were attracted by
punishable by been outlaws in any
event, took to piracy for
the freer existence and
boisterous lifestyle which
hanging so, why the easy profits - it was
easy to “get rich quick”.
piracy seemed to offer.
being a pirate? The trade laws forbade
With few good paying jobs the colonies from trading
available during economic with foreigners. This
downturns, many seamen encouraged smuggling
found piracy a better which further blurred the
option than the harsh distinction between
existence of the common “legal” and “illegal”
worker ashore. activities on the high
seas.
Finally, with an entire
hemisphere newly
discovered and an
absence of international
law, there could be few
effective controls against
piracy.
