What is Piracy, and who are Pirates?
To understand their plight let’s start with the history of pirates. The act of stealing, burglary, or criminal brutality by the boat or ship attackers from a coastal area to another ship is called piracy. They aim to steal the goods and other shipload goods. Those people or individuals who perform this act are known as Pirates. The ships or boats used for this purpose are named Pirate ships. When we hear the word pirate, we consider them as evil, brutish, daring, and challenging people, but the fact is that the vast majority of them were ordinary people who were compelled to go to crimes to make a living.
History of Pirates:
The historical backdrop of piracy goes back over 3000 years, yet its actual history relies upon the importance of the word “Pirate”. The word Pirate has different meanings in English. It changes with time. Significantly this word was used almost in the seventeenth century. A Roman student of history Polybius used this word (Pierato) in around 140 BC. The clearest and appropriate meaning of Piracy was defined by the Greek student of history Plutarch in around 100 A.D. He portrayed pirates as the people who assault without law power ships and seashore areas. Piracy was portrayed interestingly, among others, in Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey. From very ancient times, they are in history. They usually threatened the owners of ships and pirated goods like olive oil and grains from Roman boats.
Between the 9th and 11th centuries AD, pirates were generally called “Danes” or “Vikings”. One more famous importance of the word in middle age England was “Ocean Hoodlums.” The significance of the word privateer generally intently attached to the contemporary was laid out in the eighteenth century AD. According to this pirates were named “Outlaws”. It means that soldiers had no permission to kill them.
Then the first international law of Anti-Pirates was legally made. The main reason behind this step was that they commit a crime in sea or water, not under a specific country or borders.
Golden Age Piracy:
Throughout the history of pirates, no period is as prolific as the golden age or piracy. Piracy gained popularity from 1650 to 1720. This era is regarded as the “Golden Age” of Piracy. On account of the advancement of innovation secure and fast transport were assembled. Colonial development started with all the transportation made conveyed gold and different products. Contending interests and aspirations of pilgrim powers made it simple for aggressive mariners to constantly figure out how to legitimize the most savage demonstrations of theft. English privateers could, for example, assault and burglarize, without risk of punishment, Spanish delivery.
Then again, North African pirates had a permit to pirate English boats, and Madagascar pirates of the eighteenth century addressed the French ruler’s inclinations.
Popular privateers from this period incorporate Blackbeard, Calico Jack Rackham, Henry Morgan, Bartholomew Roberts, and William Commander Kidd. During this time insight about theft arrived at the ears of every single person. Pirates were the headline of every newspaper. Endeavors of the pirates showed mixed sentiments about them. However, their published photos and portraits showed them as powerful and elegant personalities.
Famous Pirates and their evil deeds:
It is considered that all the pirates are evil, but it is false. Few were performing duties for their governments too. They were known as “Privateers”. Some of the Pirates and Privateers are following.
Blackbeard:
Famous as “Blackbeard”, named Edward Teach was the most active pirate of the Golden age. He had a long black beard with braids. He spent a mysterious life. In 1716, he started pirating in the region of the Caribbean Sea. Within two years, he earned a terrible reputation in the area. His enemies were so terrified of his name that they usually surrender without fighting. His ship also has an interesting story. Blackbeard looted a French slave ship and named it “Queen Anne’s Revenge”. He loaded the ship with forty guns and barricaded the port of Charleston, South Carolina until the people fulfilled his demand of enormous medications. British Navy attacked his ship in 1718. He got five gunshots and almost twenty cuts wounds on his body before dying.
Sir Francis Drake:
Queen Elizabeth, I gave him the nickname “My Pirate”. He had a license for pirating the Spanish Ships. So he earned the mixed reputation of angle and demon because he was a pirate and privateer. He was famous in 1588 for slave-exchanging and piracy in the Caribbean. The attacks he drove, particularly on Spanish settlements in Central America, took the absolute most extravagant bounties in pilfering history.
Captain Samuel Bellamy
Regardless of kicking the bucket at 28, Bellamy known as Black Sam became well known in New World pilfering. He used to pirate daring ships. He pirated a slave ship, Whydah Gally. It was loaded up with a fortune in gold, silver, and different products. In 1717, Black Sam made this his flagship. In the same year, he died in a storm with it.
The Barbarossa Brothers:
Barbarossa means Red Beard. It was a moniker given to Turkish corsairs two brothers Aruj and Hizir, by Europeans. In the Mediterranean Sea, they used to catch European vessels. They became rich by doing so. However, their most worthwhile early casualties included two ecclesiastical galleys. In the sixteenth century, involving North Africa as a base, the Barbarossa siblings assaulted various seaside towns with their team of Barbary pirates and turned into a portion of the area’s most compelling men. Hizir was also known as Khair-ed-Din.
Henry Morgan:
He was the most well-known pirate in the Caribbean Sea. He was also known as Captin Morgan. Once, he locked the people of Puerto Príncipe, Cuba, in the church, so that he could loot the town without any trouble. He pirated during the 1600s, broadly unleashing destruction on the gold-loaded Spanish state of Panama City. In 1672 he was arrested, then he served as legislative head of Jamaica in 1678 and 1682. He was also a Privateer. When the Jamaican council announced the act of Piracy, he unexpectedly aided them in the process. Morgan is also one of the exceptional privateers to ever “resign” from the action without several consequences.
History of pirates – are they as bad as hollywood tells us?
Now understanding the history of pirates one wonders, are pirates as evil as movies make the out to be. Products of their situation, some pirates were taking what they perceived as theirs, to begin with. Bordering on Robinhood style retribution.
