Portal:Piracy
The Piracy Portal
Introduction
Mediterranean civilisations. 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 the name of a number of crimes under the municipal law of a number of 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 per year in 2004. (Full article...)
Selected biography -
Lost Colony".
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Control Risks Group, pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea had by mid-November 2013 maintained a steady level of around 100 attempted hijackings in the year, a close second behind the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia.
Did you know?
- ... that HMS Redpole, one of the aptly-named coffin brigs, sank in an action with a pirate vessel in August 1828?
- ... that the opera The Devil and Daniel Webster features a jury of ghosts made up of famous historical American figures who are now residents of Hell; including the pirate Blackbeard?
- ... that indigenous Australian artist Daniel Boyd has depicted colonial figures including Captain James Cook and Governor Arthur Phillip as pirates?
- ... that Saudi Arabian broadcaster beoutQ pirated and resold beIN Sports programmes during the Qatar diplomatic crisis?
- ... that since 1904 the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Florida, has featured a pirate-themed parade?
- ... that the developers of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number suggested that Australian customers pirate their game?
- ... that there is only one account of walking the plank?
- ... that in 2011, pirates Danube River in the center of Europe?
- ... that in the Golden Age of Piracy, the word "pirate" was often spelled "pyrate" or "pyrat"?
Selected quotations
| “ | Dedit haec insignia virtus | ” |
| — (Trans: Bravery gave him nobility) Louis XIV of France
| ||
General images
The following are images from various piracy-related articles on Wikipedia.
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Map of Vlorë in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy) -
U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur boarding a Tripolitan gunboat during the First Barbary War, 1804 (from Piracy) -
British Royal Navy Commodore gives a presentation on piracy at the MAST 2008 conference (from Piracy) -
Map of Durrës in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy) -
Henry 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) -
"Mic the Scallywag" of the Pirates of Emerson Haunted Adventure Fremont, California (from Piracy) -
French bombardment of Algiers by AdmiralDupperé, 13 June 1830 (from Barbary pirates) -
Map showing the extent of Somali pirate attacks on shipping vessels between 2005 and 2010 (from Piracy) -
Aerial photograph of the Niger Delta, a center of piracy (from Piracy) -
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Spanish warships bombarding theMoro Pirates of the southern Philippines in 1848 (from Piracy) -
A collage of Somali pirates armed withassault rifles, RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and semi-automatic pistols in 2008 (from Piracy) -
A person costumed in the character of captain Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp's lead role in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series (from Piracy) -
Kent battling Confiance, a privateer vessel commanded by French corsair Robert Surcouf in October 1800, as depicted in a painting by Garneray (from Piracy) -
Map of Ulcinj in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy) -
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A French ship under attack by Barbary pirates, ca. 1615 (from Piracy) -
The Bombardment of Algiers by the Anglo-Dutch fleet in 1816 to support the ultimatum to release European slaves (from Piracy) -
Modern reconstruction of skull alleged to have belonged to 14th century pirate Klaus Störtebeker. He was the leader of the privateer guild Victual Brothers, who later turned to piracy and roamed European seas. (from Piracy) -
Incidents of pipeline vandalism by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, 2002–2011 (from Piracy) -
Barbaria by Jan Janssonius, shows the coast of North Africa, an area known in the 17th century as Barbaria, c. 1650 (from Barbary pirates) -
Armed pirates in the Indian Ocean nearengaged pirate vessels). (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia) -
The Barbary pirates frequently attacked Corsica, resulting in manyGenoese towers being erected. (from Barbary pirates) -
An action between an English ship and vessels of the Barbary Corsairs (from Barbary pirates) -
A Sea Fight with Barbary Corsairs by Laureys a Castro, c. 1681 (from Barbary pirates) -
A merchant seaman aboard a fleet oil tanker practices target shooting with aRemington 870 12 gauge shotgun as part of training to repel pirates in the Strait of Malacca, 1984 (from Piracy) -
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A fight between Filipino pirates, Bugis trading ship, and Dutch mariners. (from Piracy) -
A pirate skiff in Baltiysk, Russia — captured by the Russian Navy (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia) -
Hanging ofCaptain Kidd; illustration from The Pirates Own Book (1837) (from Piracy) -
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. (from Piracy) -
Battle of a French ship of the line and two galleys of the Barbary corsairs (from Barbary pirates) -
The 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 is carrying a cargo of Ukrainian T-72 tanks and related military equipment. (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia) -
An LRADsound cannon mounted on RMS Queen Mary 2 (from Piracy) -
Conquest of Tunis by Charles V and liberation of Christian galley slaves in 1535 (from Barbary pirates) -
1890 illustration byexonym of the Iranun people (from Piracy) -
Born to a noble family in Puerto Rico, Roberto Cofresí was the last notably successful pirate in the Caribbean. (from Piracy) -
Castle of Ulcinj in the 1890s (from Albanian piracy) -
British captain witnessing the miseries of Christian slaves in Algiers, 1815 (from Barbary pirates) -
Amaro Pargo was one of the most famous corsairs of the Golden Age of Piracy (from Piracy) -
Time series of maritime traffic crossing the Indian Ocean showing the effect of piracy and its progressive decline in re-routing ships. Each sub-plot shows 6-month colour-coded trips, red southbound and green northbound, using Long Range Identification and TrackingHigh Risk Area. The increase of tracking points can be erroneously perceived as an apparently higher volume of traffic with respect to other periods. (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia) -
Capture 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) -
The work of theMercedarians was in ransoming Christian slaves held in Muslim hands, Histoire de Barbarie et de ses Corsaires, 1637 (from Barbary pirates) -
SuspectedSomali pirates keep their hands in the air (from Piracy) -
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A contemporary flyer depicting the public execution of 16th-century pirate Klein Henszlein and his crew in 1573 (from Piracy) -
Battle of Preveza, 1538 (from Barbary pirates) -
Anti piracy operations by Indian Navy's INS Tabar, in the Gulf of Aden on 18 November 2008 (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia) -
Painting from 1772 depicting British and French sailors at battle with Dulcignottes (Ulcinj pirates). These pirates were defeated on 5 September 1772. (from Albanian piracy) -
Iban warprahu in Skerang river (from Piracy) -
Map of Tripoli in 1561 (from Albanian piracy) -
Pirate Anne Bonny (1697–1720). Engraving from Captain Charles Johnson's General History of the Pyrates (1st Dutch Edition, 1725) (from Piracy) -
Jacques de Sores looting and burning Havana in 1555 (from Piracy) -
Bombardment of Algiers by Lord Exmouth in August 1816, Thomas Luny (from Barbary pirates) -
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Puerto del Príncipe being sacked in 1668 by Henry Morgan (from Piracy) -
Somalia's coral reefs, ecological parks and protected areas (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia) -
Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa (from Barbary pirates) -
Double-barrelledMoro pirates in the Philippines (c. 1900) (from Piracy) -
International Maritime Organization (IMO) conference on capacity-building to counter piracy in the Indian Ocean (from Piracy) -
Views of Ulcinj in 1718 bz H. C. Bröckell (from Albanian piracy) -
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A man from the Barbary states (from Barbary pirates) -
The cemetery of past pirates at Île Ste-Marie (St. Mary's Island) (from Piracy) -
Lieve Pietersz Verschuier, Dutch ships bomb Tripoli in a punitive expedition against the Barbary pirates, c. 1670 (from Barbary pirates) -
Pirates attacking a French ship (from Albanian piracy)
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Blackbeard's severed head hanging from Maynard's bowsprit; illustration from The Pirates Own Book (1837) (from Piracy) -
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A private guard escort on a merchant ship providing security services againstpiracy in the Indian Ocean (from Piracy) -
Four Chinese pirates who were hanged in Hong Kong in 1863 (from Piracy) -
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Pirate treasure looted by Samuel Bellamy and recovered from the wreck of the Whydah; exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, 2010 (from Piracy) -
The Vitalienbrüder. Piracy became endemic in the ) -
Slave market inOttoman Algeria, 1684 (from Barbary pirates) -
The traditional "Jolly Roger" flag of piracy (from Piracy) -
An Algerine pirate ship (from Barbary pirates) -
Bartholomew Roberts was the pirate with 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) -
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A Barbary pirate, Pier Francesco Mola, 1650 (from Barbary pirates) -
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Coat of arms of the town of Almuñécar, granted by King Charles V in 1526, showing the turbaned heads of three Barbary pirates floating in the sea (from Barbary pirates) -
"Cossacks of Azov fighting a Turk ship" by Grigory Gagarin (from Piracy) -
Bartholomew Roberts' crew carousing at the Calabar River; illustration from The Pirates Own Book (1837). Roberts is estimated to have captured over 470 vessels. (from Piracy) -
Photomontage of Somali pirates on the MV Faina (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
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Selected Jolly Roger
Second flag of Bartholomew Roberts
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