Portal:Piracy

The Piracy Portal

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 valuable goods, or taking hostages. 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 in 2004. (Full article...)

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Sir Chaloner Ogle

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Chaloner Ogle KB (1681 – 11 April 1750) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer during the Nine Years' War, a ship he was commanding was captured by three French ships off Ostend in July 1706 in an action during the War of the Spanish Succession. Ogle was given command of the fourth-rate HMS Swallow and saw action against the pirate fleet of Bartholomew Roberts in the Battle of Cape Lopez in February 1722. The action was to prove a turning point in the war against the pirates and many consider the death of Roberts to mark the end of the Golden Age of Piracy.

In December 1741, Ogle was despatched with a fleet of some 30 ships to support Admiral Edward Vernon in his engagement with Spanish naval forces under Admiral Blas de Lezo off the coast of Colombia during the War of Jenkins' Ear. The attack on Fort San Lazaro was a disaster for the British forces and the Battle of Cartagena de Indias ultimately proved a decisive Spanish victory: 50 ships were lost, badly damaged or abandoned, and 18,000 soldiers and sailors died. Ogle went on to be Commander-in-Chief, The Nore. (Full article...)

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Piracy in the Strait of Malacca has long been a threat to ship owners and the mariners who ply the 900 km-long (550 miles) sea lane. In recent years, coordinated patrols by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore along with increased security on vessels have sparked a sharp downturn in piracy.

The Strait of Malacca's geography makes the region very susceptible to piracy. It was and still is an important passageway between China and India, used heavily for commercial trade. The strait is on the route between Europe, the Suez Canal, the oil-exporting countries of the Persian Gulf, and the busy ports of East Asia. It is narrow, contains thousands of islets, and is an outlet for many rivers, making it ideal for pirates to evade capture. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

... that a search engine for pirated books has been used to train large language models?
... that Black Sheep Radio dedicated its first day of programming to a fallen pirate?
... that since 1904 the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Florida, has featured a pirate-themed parade?
... that HMS Redpole, one of the aptly-named coffin brigs, sank in an action with a pirate vessel in August 1828?
... that Pixel Piracy's developers released a free torrent of their game?
... that the developers of Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number suggested that Australian customers pirate their game?

... that, unlike traditional Western societies of the time, many pirate clans operated as limited democracies, demanding the right to elect and replace their leaders?
... 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?
... that red Jolly Roger flags were the most feared of all; all prayed they never encountered the "Bloody Red," which boldly declared that no mercy would be shown and all victims would be killed?

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Selected quotations

“

Come all you brave Boys, whose Courage is bold,
Will you venture with me, I'll glut you with Gold?
Make haste unto Corona, a Ship you will find,
That's called the Fancy, will pleasure your mind.

Captain Every is in her, and calls her his own;
He will box her about, Boys, before he has done:
French, Spaniard and Portuguese, the Heathen likewise,
He has made a War with them until that he dies.

”

— A Copy of Verses, Composed by Captain Henry Every (1696)

More quotations...

General images

The following are images from various piracy-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Extent of pirate attacks on shipping vessels in the Indian Ocean between 2005 and 2010. (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 2The Barbary corsairs frequently attacked Corsica, resulting in many Genoese towers being erected. (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 3Amaro Pargo was one of the most famous corsairs of the Golden Age of Piracy (from Piracy)
Image 4Double-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 5Hanging of Captain Kidd; illustration from The Pirates Own Book (1837) (from Piracy)
Image 6Iban war prahu in Skerang river (from Piracy)
Image 7An Algerine pirate ship (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 8Pirates attacking a French ship (from Albanian piracy)
Image 9Castle of Ulcinj in the 1890s (from Albanian piracy)
Image 10Currimao Watchtower, Ilocos Norte. 'Currimao' comes from the Iloco term cumaws (pirates) and the Spanish word correr (to run), reflecting the warnings given by watchmen during pirate attacks. (from Piracy)
Image 11Sixteenth century Japanese pirate raids (from Piracy)
Image 12Bombardment of Algiers by Lord Exmouth in August 1816, Thomas Luny (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 13A fleet of Vikings, painted mid-12th century (from Piracy)
Image 14Spanish warships bombarding the Moro Pirates of the southern Philippines in 1848 (from Piracy)
Image 15Barbaria by Jan Janssonius, shows the coast of North Africa, an area known in the 17th century as Barbaria, c. 1650 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 16Time 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 17The Prisoner by Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ after Jean-Léon Gérôme, c.1871 (from Albanian piracy)
Image 18A collage of Somali pirates armed with AKM assault rifles, RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and semi-automatic pistols in 2008 (from Piracy)
Image 19A mosaic of a Roman trireme in Tunisia (from Piracy)
Image 20A private guard escort on a merchant ship providing security services against piracy in the Indian Ocean (from Piracy)
Image 21"Mic the Scallywag" of the Pirates of Emerson Haunted Adventure Fremont, California (from Piracy)
Image 22Battle of a French ship of the line and two galleys of the Barbary corsairs (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 23Map of Shkodër with the Buna river in 1571 by Giovanni Francesco Camocio (from Albanian piracy)
Image 24Map of Tripoli in 1561 (from Albanian piracy)
Image 25Bartholomew 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 261724 engraving of Bonny from A General History of the Pyrates (from Piracy)
Image 27Incidents of pipeline vandalism by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, 2002–2011 (from Piracy)
Image 28British captain witnessing the miseries of Christian slaves in Algiers, 1815 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 29A pirate skiff in Baltiysk, Russia — captured by the Russian Navy (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 30A contemporary flyer depicting the public execution of 16th-century pirate Klein Henszlein and his crew in 1573 (from Piracy)
Image 31A 19th-century illustration of an Iranun pirate (from Piracy)
Image 32Jacques de Sores looting and burning Havana in 1555 (from Piracy)
Image 33Pirate 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 34The work of the Mercedarians was in ransoming Christian slaves held in Muslim hands, Histoire de Barbarie et de ses Corsaires, 1637 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 35Lieve Pietersz Verschuier, Dutch ships bomb Tripoli in a punitive expedition against the Barbary pirates, c. 1670 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 36The Vitalienbrüder. Piracy became endemic in the Baltic Sea in the Middle Ages because of the Victual Brothers. (from Piracy)
Image 37Map of Dalmatia in 1715 by Guillaume Delisle (from Albanian piracy)
Image 38Captain William Bainbridge paying tribute to the Dey of Algiers, c. 1800 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 39Views of Ulcinj in 1718 bz H. C. Bröckell (from Albanian piracy)
Image 40Map of Vlorë in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy)
Image 41Photomontage of Somali pirates on the MV Faina (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 42Anti 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 43International Maritime Organization (IMO) conference on capacity-building to counter piracy in the Indian Ocean (from Piracy)
Image 44U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur boarding a Tripolitan gunboat during the First Barbary War, 1804 (from Piracy)
Image 45Four Chinese pirates who were hanged in Hong Kong in 1863 (from Piracy)
Image 46A Barbary pirate, Pier Francesco Mola, 1650 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 47Somalia's coral reefs, ecological parks and protected areas (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 48Map of Ulcinj in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy)
Image 49Blackbeard's severed head hanging from Maynard's bowsprit; illustration from The Pirates Own Book (1837) (from Piracy)
Image 50Battle of Preveza, 1538 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 51"Cossacks of Azov fighting a Turk ship" by Grigory Gagarin (from Piracy)
Image 52Mural representing the attack of Charles Windon to San Sebastián de La Gomera (1743) (from Piracy)
Image 53French bombardment of Algiers by Admiral Dupperé, 13 June 1830 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 54A Sea Fight with Barbary Corsairs by Laureys a Castro, c. 1681 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 55The Bombardment of Algiers by the Anglo-Dutch fleet in 1816 to support the ultimatum to release European slaves (from Piracy)
Image 56A man from the Barbary states (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 571890 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 58A 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 59Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 60Dan Seavey was a pirate on the Great Lakes in the early 20th century. (from Piracy)
Image 61An LRAD sound cannon mounted on RMS Queen Mary 2 (from Piracy)
Image 62Map of Durrës in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy)
Image 63Armed 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 64Conquest of Tunis by Charles V and liberation of Christian galley slaves in 1535 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 65A French ship under attack by Barbary pirates, ca. 1615 (from Piracy)
Image 66Henry 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 67Kent battling Confiance, a privateer vessel commanded by French corsair Robert Surcouf in October 1800, as depicted in a painting by Garneray (from Piracy)
Image 68Modern 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 69The cemetery of past pirates at Île Ste-Marie (St. Mary's Island) (from Piracy)
Image 70The 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 was carrying a cargo of Ukrainian T-72 tanks and related military equipment. (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 71The Quattro Mori ("Four Moors") by Pietro Tacca; Livorno, Italy (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 72Bartholomew 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 73Map showing the extent of Somali pirate attacks on shipping vessels between 2005 and 2010 (from Piracy)
Image 74An action between an English ship and vessels of the Barbary Corsairs (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 75Painting 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 76A 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 77Puerto del Príncipe being sacked in 1668 by Henry Morgan (from Piracy)
Image 78A French Ship and Barbary Pirates by Aert Anthonisz, c. 1615 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 79Barbary pirates were involved in the Barbary slave trade in North Africa (from Piracy)
Image 80Aerial photograph of the Niger Delta, a center of piracy (from Piracy)
Image 81Suspected Somali pirates keep their hands in the air (from Piracy)
Image 82The traditional "Jolly Roger" flag of piracy (from Piracy)
Image 83Baluarte Watchtower, La Union. A 400-year-old Spanish-era structure built to guard against pirates, later used in World War II as a communication tower for the USAFIP-NL airfield. (from Piracy)
Image 84British Royal Navy Commodore gives a presentation on piracy at the MAST 2008 conference (from Piracy)
Image 85Slave market in Algiers, Ottoman Algeria, 1684 (from Barbary corsairs)
Image 86A fight between Filipino pirates, Bugis trading ship, and Dutch mariners. (from Piracy)
Image 87Coat 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 corsairs)
Image 88Capture 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 89Henry 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 90Born to a noble family in Puerto Rico, Roberto Cofresí was the last notably successful pirate in the Caribbean. (from Piracy)