Portal:Piracy

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Introduction

Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, and vessels used for piracy are called pirate ships. The earliest documented instances of piracy were in the 14th century BC, when the Sea Peoples, a group of ocean raiders, attacked the ships of the Aegean and 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...)

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No known portrait of Micajah Harpe exists from life. An artist likeness created from his physical description mentioned in historical records.

Micajah "Big" Harpe, born Joshua Harper (before 1768 – August 24, 1799), and Wiley "Little" Harpe, born William Harper (before 1770 – February 8, 1804), were American murderers, highwaymen and river pirates who operated in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Mississippi in the late 18th century. They are often considered the earliest documented serial killers in United States history.

Loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution, the Harpes became outlaws after the war and began robbing and killing settlers in the remote frontier west of the Appalachian Mountains. They are believed to have killed 39 people, and possibly as many as 50. As the Harpes' crimes gained notoriety, vigilante groups formed to avenge their victims, and they were eventually tracked down and executed around the turn of the century. Their savagery has since entered American folklore, appearing to have been motivated more by blood lust than financial gain. (Full article...)

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The Sulu and Celebes Seas, a semi-enclosed sea area and porous region that covers an area of space around 1 million square kilometres, have been subject to illegal maritime activities since the pre-colonial era and continue to pose a maritime security threat to bordering nations up to this day. While piracy has long been identified as an ubiquitous challenge, being historically interwoven with the region, recent incidents also include other types of maritime crimes such as kidnapping and the trafficking of humans, arms and drugs. Attacks mostly classify as 'armed robbery against ships' according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as they occur in maritime zones that lie under the sovereignty of a coastal state. Incidents in the Sulu and Celebes Seas specifically involve the abduction of crew members. Since March 2016, the Information Sharing Centre (ISC) of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) reports a total of 86 abductions, leading to the issue of a warning for ships transpassing the area. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

... that since 1904 the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Florida, has featured a pirate-themed parade?
... 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 the developers of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number suggested that Australian customers pirate their game?
... that HMS Redpole, one of the aptly-named coffin brigs, sank in an action with a pirate vessel in August 1828?

... that in the Golden Age of Piracy, the word "pirate" was often spelled "pyrate" or "pyrat"?
... that English pirate Henry Every, who was sometimes known as Long Ben, was one of the few major pirate captains to retire with his loot without being arrested or killed in battle?
... that, while it is unknown if pirates actually kept parrots as pets, it is thought that at least some captains kept cats aboard to keep populations of rats and other vermin down?

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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 1A 19th-century illustration of an Iranun pirate (from Piracy)
Image 2Armed pirates in the Indian Ocean near Somalia. After the picture was taken, the vessel's crew members opened fire on U.S. Navy ships and the ship's crew members returned fire. One suspected pirate was killed and 12 were taken into custody (see engaged pirate vessels). (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 3Battle of a French ship of the line and two galleys of the Barbary corsairs (from Barbary pirates)
Image 4Amaro Pargo was one of the most famous corsairs of the Golden Age of Piracy (from Piracy)
Image 5Spanish warships bombarding the Moro Pirates of the southern Philippines in 1848 (from Piracy)
Image 6Battle of Preveza, 1538 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 7British Royal Navy Commodore gives a presentation on piracy at the MAST 2008 conference (from Piracy)
Image 8A fleet of Vikings, painted mid-12th century (from Piracy)
Image 9Somalia's coral reefs, ecological parks and protected areas (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 10Conquest of Tunis by Charles V and liberation of Christian galley slaves in 1535 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 11Coat 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)
Image 12Hanging of Captain Kidd; illustration from The Pirates Own Book (1837) (from Piracy)
Image 13Map of Tripoli in 1561 (from Albanian piracy)
Image 14A French ship under attack by Barbary pirates, ca. 1615 (from Piracy)
Image 15Map of Durrës in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy)
Image 16Painting 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 17Dan Seavey was a pirate on the Great Lakes in the early 20th century. (from Piracy)
Image 18Captain William Bainbridge paying tribute to the Dey of Algiers, c. 1800 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 19Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa (from Barbary pirates)
Image 20Map of Vlorë in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy)
Image 21The traditional "Jolly Roger" flag of piracy (from Piracy)
Image 22Map of Ulcinj in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy)
Image 23A collage of Somali pirates armed with AKM assault rifles, RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and semi-automatic pistols in 2008 (from Piracy)
Image 24French bombardment of Algiers by Admiral Dupperé, 13 June 1830 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 25A person costumed in the character of captain Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp's lead role in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series (from Piracy)
Image 26Pirates attacking a French ship (from Albanian piracy)
Image 27The work of the Mercedarians was in ransoming Christian slaves held in Muslim hands, Histoire de Barbarie et de ses Corsaires, 1637 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 28A pirate skiff in Baltiysk, Russia — captured by the Russian Navy (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 29Incidents of pipeline vandalism by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, 2002–2011 (from Piracy)
Image 30A man from the Barbary states (from Barbary pirates)
Image 31"Cossacks of Azov fighting a Turk ship" by Grigory Gagarin (from Piracy)
Image 32Four Chinese pirates who were hanged in Hong Kong in 1863 (from Piracy)
Image 33The Bombardment of Algiers by the Anglo-Dutch fleet in 1816 to support the ultimatum to release European slaves (from Piracy)
Image 34Modern 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)
Image 35Henry 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)
Image 36The Prisoner by Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ after Jean-Léon Gérôme, c.1871 (from Albanian piracy)
Image 37A fight between Filipino pirates, Bugis trading ship, and Dutch mariners. (from Piracy)
Image 38An action between an English ship and vessels of the Barbary Corsairs (from Barbary pirates)
Image 39Lieve Pietersz Verschuier, Dutch ships bomb Tripoli in a punitive expedition against the Barbary pirates, c. 1670 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 40Time 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 Tracking (LRIT) historical data. Operational authorities requested an increase of LRIT reporting frequency from ships in 2009 and 2010 in order to better track them remotely in the High 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)
Image 41Born to a noble family in Puerto Rico, Roberto Cofresí was the last notably successful pirate in the Caribbean. (from Piracy)
Image 42A contemporary flyer depicting the public execution of 16th-century pirate Klein Henszlein and his crew in 1573 (from Piracy)
Image 43Bartholomew 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)
Image 44The Vitalienbrüder. Piracy became endemic in the Baltic sea in the Middle Ages because of the Victual Brothers. (from Piracy)
Image 45Barbaria by Jan Janssonius, shows the coast of North Africa, an area known in the 17th century as Barbaria, c. 1650 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 46Iban war prahu in Skerang river (from Piracy)
Image 47Mural representing the attack of Charles Windon to San Sebastián de La Gomera (1743) (from Piracy)
Image 48Suspected Somali pirates keep their hands in the air (from Piracy)
Image 49Henry 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 50A French Ship and Barbary Pirates by Aert Anthonisz, c. 1615 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 51Views of Ulcinj in 1718 bz H. C. Bröckell (from Albanian piracy)
Image 52Map showing the extent of Somali pirate attacks on shipping vessels between 2005 and 2010 (from Piracy)
Image 53Pirate 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 54Puerto del Príncipe being sacked in 1668 by Henry Morgan (from Piracy)
Image 55British captain witnessing the miseries of Christian slaves in Algiers, 1815 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 56The Barbary pirates frequently attacked Corsica, resulting in many Genoese towers being erected. (from Barbary pirates)
Image 57Aerial photograph of the Niger Delta, a center of piracy (from Piracy)
Image 58"Mic the Scallywag" of the Pirates of Emerson Haunted Adventure Fremont, California (from Piracy)
Image 59A Sea Fight with Barbary Corsairs by Laureys a Castro, c. 1681 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 60Bartholomew 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)
Image 61Blackbeard's severed head hanging from Maynard's bowsprit; illustration from The Pirates Own Book (1837) (from Piracy)
Image 62Sixteenth century Japanese pirate raids (from Piracy)
Image 63Bombardment of Algiers by Lord Exmouth in August 1816, Thomas Luny (from Barbary pirates)
Image 64The Quattro Mori ("Four Moors") by Pietro Tacca; Livorno, Italy (from Barbary pirates)
Image 65Kent battling Confiance, a privateer vessel commanded by French corsair Robert Surcouf in October 1800, as depicted in a painting by Garneray (from Piracy)
Image 66Double-barrelled lantaka cannons, kalasag shields, armor, and various swords (including kalis, panabas, and kampilan) used by Moro pirates in the Philippines (c. 1900) (from Piracy)
Image 67Anti piracy operations by Indian Navy's INS Tabar, in the Gulf of Aden on 18 November 2008 (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 68The cemetery of past pirates at Île Ste-Marie (St. Mary's Island) (from Piracy)
Image 69An Algerine pirate ship (from Barbary pirates)
Image 70An LRAD sound cannon mounted on RMS Queen Mary 2 (from Piracy)
Image 71Slave market in Algiers, Ottoman Algeria, 1684 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 72U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur boarding a Tripolitan gunboat during the First Barbary War, 1804 (from Piracy)
Image 73A 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 74Castle of Ulcinj in the 1890s (from Albanian piracy)
Image 75A Barbary pirate, Pier Francesco Mola, 1650 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 76International Maritime Organization (IMO) conference on capacity-building to counter piracy in the Indian Ocean (from Piracy)
Image 77Pirate Anne Bonny (1697–1720). Engraving from Captain Charles Johnson's General History of the Pyrates (1st Dutch Edition, 1725) (from Piracy)
Image 78Map of Dalmatia in 1715 by Guillaume Delisle (from Albanian piracy)
Image 79A mosaic of a Roman trireme in Tunisia (from Piracy)
Image 80Jacques de Sores looting and burning Havana in 1555 (from Piracy)
Image 81A private guard escort on a merchant ship providing security services against piracy in the Indian Ocean (from Piracy)
Image 82The 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)
Image 83Photomontage of Somali pirates on the MV Faina (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 841890 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 85Capture 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 86Map of Shkodër with the Buna river in 1571 by Giovanni Francesco Camocio (from Albanian piracy)