Piracy

"Perhaps on the rare occasion pursuing the right course demands an act of piracy, piracy itself can be the right course?"

- Weatherby Swann

Piracy is the term given to robbery at sea, or sometimes on shore, by an agent without commission from a sovereign nation. Those who commit the act of piracy&mdash;and by extension, robbery, pillaging, or plundering at sea&mdash;are known as pirates. Piracy in the Caribbean was regarded as the Golden Age of piracy, lasting from around 1560 up until some point around the 1750s. Two of the most infamous pirate bases were Port Royal and Tortuga.

Ancient Origins
Pirates have been around since people began transporting goods through sea. The earliest known pirates were the Sea People, who pillaged and plundered the Mediterranean Sea in the 13th century B.C. The ancient Illyrians had spent years pillaging Roman and Greek vessels in the Adriatic Sea. The piracy in the old times was mostly prominent in the Mediterranean, although there were the Vikings in the Northern seas. Mediterranean pirates were hunted down by powerful empires, such as Greek, Roman, and Persian; while the Vikings flourished and conquered new lands.

Piracy in India
Ever since India war exploded between the two kingdoms in the southern peninsula of India, there has been a need for fresh supplies, and the easiest way to get them was to raid the trade routes coming from Persia to Africa. European pirates also saw treasure in this area and began to pillage Mughal vessels and ships transporting pilgrims heading to Mecca for their annual pilgrimage. This constant raids sparked a war between Portugal and the Mughal Empire, because Portuguese pirates captured a ship belonging to the Mughal queen. In the 18th century, the famous Maratha privateer, Kanhoji Angria, ruled the seas between Mumbai and Goa. The Marathas demanded the East India Trading Company to pay a fee if sailing through their waters.

Piracy in Asia
In the 13th century, the Wokou made their debut in Asian waters, terrorizing ships and harbors for 300 years. Piracy in this area started when the Mongol fleet retreated from the area. Marooned Navy officers began setting up small fortresses and headquarters in rivers, hiring foot soldiers and mercenaries, and building up a Junk fleet. However, the most powerful pirate fleet belonged to Chinese pirates in the mid 18th century. Large scale piracy began affecting the Chinese economy greatly, they preyed on vital trading routes and cargo ships. The downfall of piracy in this area was credited to Portuguese smugglers that sold tropical goods at a better price than the Wokou, destroying a very important source of income in their empire; driving them back to their seafaring activities. The Wokou where somewhat eradicated when they made peace with Korea and Japan.

Piracy in North Africa
The Barbary Corsairs were a threat in the Mediterranean Sea. They where operating since the Crusades, robbing and pillaging Christian vessels, making the Christian pilgrims slaves in their ships. The coastal villages and ports from Spain, Italy, and Mediterranean islands, were under constant threat of a pirate raid. Eventually, these places were deserted, the Barbary pirates spread out into the Atlantic Ocean and even reached Iceland. Tripoli was a city they used as a pirate base. Between 1 million and 1.25 million Christians were made slaves and sold.

Piracy in the Caribbean
The Caribbean was the most prominent area for piracy. The vast loads of Aztec gold traveling from the New World and Spain was the perfect target for aspiring swashbucklers. Colonies were settled in the islands and on the mainland, triggering trading routes and transportation by sea. Many people became pirates shortly after the end of the Spanish Succession War. Buccaneers began arriving in the mid-late 17th century. The buccaneers were people that smoked meat over a structure called a buccan, thus earning their name. The buccaneers lived on the island of Hispaniola, selling their smoked goods to passing ships. After the Spanish slaughtered their pig cattle, the buccaneers, not knowing any other job to do and seeing the fleets of gold being transported in open waters, turned to piracy. Pirates were rising in fame and some were forever immortalized as the most fearsome pirates that have ever sailed.

Notable pirates
"It seems the only way a pirate can turn a profit anymore...is by betraying other pirates."

- Sao Feng to Hector Barbossa


 * The Brethren Court
 * Pirate Lords
 * Jack Sparrow
 * Hector Barbossa
 * Elizabeth Swann
 * Sao Feng
 * Ammand
 * Chevalle
 * Sumbhajee Angria
 * Mistress Ching
 * Gentleman Jocard
 * Eduardo Villanueva
 * Keeper of the Code
 * Edward Teague
 * Will Turner
 * Bootstrap Bill Turner
 * Edward Teach "Blackbeard"
 * Jolly Roger
 * James Sterling
 * Nathaniel Hawk
 * Henry Morgan
 * Bartholomew
 * Edward Low
 * Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts
 * Black Smoke James
 * Mary Reade
 * Dulac
 * Isenbrandt Jurcksen