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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Capt. Miguel Enríquez

D. Miguel Enríquez (c. 1674–1743), was a privateer from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Spain, who operated during the early 18th century. A mulato born out of wedlock, Enríquez was a shoemaker by occupation. After working for the governor as a salesman he was recruited to defend Puerto Rico, then a part of the Spanish Empire, and commanded a small fleet that intercepted foreign merchant ships and other vessels dedicated to contraband. These outlaws were thriving in the waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, notably in the areas surrounding Saint Thomas, Curaçao and Jamaica. Operating during the height of the Golden Age of Piracy, his fleet was also credited with controlling the proliferation of buccaneers in the region. However, he was considered a pirate himself by the enemies of Spain, since it was common practice of the government to ignore when foreign ships were attacked. After some time operating independently, Enríquez received a letter of marque and reprisal from the Spanish Crown, this was a special permit granting him the privileges of a privateer. Corsairs from Puerto Rico were often called guardacostas, or "coast guards". They operated in the same fashion as any other pirate, the only difference was that they did it in the name of Spain, protecting imperial trade restrictions. Employing a systematic approach, Enríquez was able to become the most successful and influential Puerto Rican of his time. However, despite this, he was never able to gain the acceptance of the higher social classes, something that he strived to earn throughout his life.

During his years as a privateer, Enríquez established close links with the Spanish Monarchy. His ships were also responsible for the distribution of urgent messages that arrived at San Juan or La Aguada to the rest of the Spanish viceroyalties. When there was a shortage of royal vessels, Enríquez's fleet was responsible for transporting items on behalf of Spain without charge. His fleet also provided transportation for the authorities that arrived at Puerto Rico en route to other locations and for missionaries. Throughout the War of the Spanish Succession, Enríquez's ships were responsible for guarding the Antilles from British and Dutch incursions. Among the places where he established connections was the adjacent island of St. Thomas. Enríquez also dealt directly with the governor of Curaçao. At a time when letters of marque were being regularly issued in neighboring islands his actions converted San Juan into one of the most important ports in the Caribbean. Between 1702 and 1713 Enríquez owned a fleet of more than thirty vessels, losing at least a dozen and capturing more than twenty others. By the time that his career was over, he had reportedly commanded a fleet of over 300 privateer ships, of which approximately 150 were lost, employing close to 1,500 sailors. (Full article...)

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United States Coast Guardsmen patrolling Falcon Lake, October 2010.

Piracy on Falcon Lake refers to an increase in crime at the border between the United States and Mexico on Falcon Lake. The lake is a 60-mile (97 km) long reservoir of the Rio Grande that was constructed in 1954 and is a known drug smuggling route.

A turf war between rival drug cartels for control of the lake began in March 2010 and has led to a series of armed robberies and shooting incidents. All of the attacks were credited to the Los Zetas cartel and occurred primarily on the Mexican side of the reservoir but within sight of the Texas coast. The so-called pirates operate "fleets" of small boats designed to seize fishermen and smuggle drugs. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

... that indigenous Australian artist Daniel Boyd has depicted colonial figures including Captain James Cook and Governor Arthur Phillip as pirates?
... that HMS Redpole, one of the aptly-named coffin brigs, sank in an action with a pirate vessel in August 1828?
... that since 1904 the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Florida, has featured a pirate-themed parade?
... 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 there is only one account of walking the plank?
... 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 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

“

Nobody but myself and the devil knows where my treasure is hid, and the longer liver will take all!

”

— Blackbeard, November 17, 1718

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General images

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

Image 1A 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 2An LRAD sound cannon mounted on RMS Queen Mary 2 (from Piracy)
Image 3Bartholomew 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 4Pirate 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 5Kent battling Confiance, a privateer vessel commanded by French corsair Robert Surcouf in October 1800, as depicted in a painting by Garneray (from Piracy)
Image 6Born to a noble family in Puerto Rico, Roberto Cofresí was the last notably successful pirate in the Caribbean. (from Piracy)
Image 7An Algerine pirate ship (from Barbary pirates)
Image 8Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa (from Barbary pirates)
Image 9A Barbary pirate, Pier Francesco Mola, 1650 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 10A man from the Barbary states (from Barbary pirates)
Image 11Painting 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 12Dan Seavey was a pirate on the Great Lakes in the early 20th century. (from Piracy)
Image 13Captain William Bainbridge paying tribute to the Dey of Algiers, c. 1800 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 14Map showing the extent of Somali pirate attacks on shipping vessels between 2005 and 2010 (from Piracy)
Image 15Coat 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 16French bombardment of Algiers by Admiral Dupperé, 13 June 1830 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 17Castle of Ulcinj in the 1890s (from Albanian piracy)
Image 18Bombardment of Algiers by Lord Exmouth in August 1816, Thomas Luny (from Barbary pirates)
Image 19Puerto del Príncipe being sacked in 1668 by Henry Morgan (from Piracy)
Image 20Conquest of Tunis by Charles V and liberation of Christian galley slaves in 1535 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 21Capture 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 22Battle of a French ship of the line and two galleys of the Barbary corsairs (from Barbary pirates)
Image 23Somalia's coral reefs, ecological parks and protected areas (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 24Iban war prahu in Skerang river (from Piracy)
Image 25A Sea Fight with Barbary Corsairs by Laureys a Castro, c. 1681 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 26"Cossacks of Azov fighting a Turk ship" by Grigory Gagarin (from Piracy)
Image 27The Quattro Mori ("Four Moors") by Pietro Tacca; Livorno, Italy (from Barbary pirates)
Image 28A mosaic of a Roman trireme in Tunisia (from Piracy)
Image 29Map of Dalmatia in 1715 by Guillaume Delisle (from Albanian piracy)
Image 30Battle of Preveza, 1538 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 31Pirates attacking a French ship (from Albanian piracy)
Image 32Blackbeard's severed head hanging from Maynard's bowsprit; illustration from The Pirates Own Book (1837) (from Piracy)
Image 33Map of Vlorë in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy)
Image 34Map of Ulcinj in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy)
Image 35Photomontage of Somali pirates on the MV Faina (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 36Spanish warships bombarding the Moro Pirates of the southern Philippines in 1848 (from Piracy)
Image 37A 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 38Barbaria by Jan Janssonius, shows the coast of North Africa, an area known in the 17th century as Barbaria, c. 1650 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 39The 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 40The Barbary pirates frequently attacked Corsica, resulting in many Genoese towers being erected. (from Barbary pirates)
Image 41A contemporary flyer depicting the public execution of 16th-century pirate Klein Henszlein and his crew in 1573 (from Piracy)
Image 42International Maritime Organization (IMO) conference on capacity-building to counter piracy in the Indian Ocean (from Piracy)
Image 43The traditional "Jolly Roger" flag of piracy (from Piracy)
Image 44Time 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 45Four Chinese pirates who were hanged in Hong Kong in 1863 (from Piracy)
Image 46Map of Durrës in 1573 by Simon Pinargenti (from Albanian piracy)
Image 47Henry 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 48Anti 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 49Suspected Somali pirates keep their hands in the air (from Piracy)
Image 50A 19th-century illustration of an Iranun pirate (from Piracy)
Image 51An action between an English ship and vessels of the Barbary Corsairs (from Barbary pirates)
Image 52Lieve Pietersz Verschuier, Dutch ships bomb Tripoli in a punitive expedition against the Barbary pirates, c. 1670 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 53Incidents of pipeline vandalism by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, 2002–2011 (from Piracy)
Image 54Mural representing the attack of Charles Windon to San Sebastián de La Gomera (1743) (from Piracy)
Image 55Hanging of Captain Kidd; illustration from The Pirates Own Book (1837) (from Piracy)
Image 56Slave market in Algiers, Ottoman Algeria, 1684 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 57A private guard escort on a merchant ship providing security services against piracy in the Indian Ocean (from Piracy)
Image 58Map of Shkodër with the Buna river in 1571 by Giovanni Francesco Camocio (from Albanian piracy)
Image 59A French ship under attack by Barbary pirates, ca. 1615 (from Piracy)
Image 60A pirate skiff in Baltiysk, Russia — captured by the Russian Navy (from Piracy off the coast of Somalia)
Image 611890 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 62Modern 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 63Henry 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 64Sixteenth century Japanese pirate raids (from Piracy)
Image 65British captain witnessing the miseries of Christian slaves in Algiers, 1815 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 66A fight between Filipino pirates, Bugis trading ship, and Dutch mariners. (from Piracy)
Image 67Jacques de Sores looting and burning Havana in 1555 (from Piracy)
Image 68Armed 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 69Bartholomew 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 70Double-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 71Aerial photograph of the Niger Delta, a center of piracy (from Piracy)
Image 72A French Ship and Barbary Pirates by Aert Anthonisz, c. 1615 (from Barbary pirates)
Image 73The Bombardment of Algiers by the Anglo-Dutch fleet in 1816 to support the ultimatum to release European slaves (from Piracy)
Image 74The cemetery of past pirates at Île Ste-Marie (St. Mary's Island) (from Piracy)
Image 75"Mic the Scallywag" of the Pirates of Emerson Haunted Adventure Fremont, California (from Piracy)
Image 76Map of Tripoli in 1561 (from Albanian piracy)
Image 77A fleet of Vikings, painted mid-12th century (from Piracy)
Image 78U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur boarding a Tripolitan gunboat during the First Barbary War, 1804 (from Piracy)
Image 79British Royal Navy Commodore gives a presentation on piracy at the MAST 2008 conference (from Piracy)
Image 80The 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 81The Vitalienbrüder. Piracy became endemic in the Baltic sea in the Middle Ages because of the Victual Brothers. (from Piracy)
Image 82The Prisoner by Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ after Jean-Léon Gérôme, c.1871 (from Albanian piracy)
Image 83Pirate Anne Bonny (1697–1720). Engraving from Captain Charles Johnson's General History of the Pyrates (1st Dutch Edition, 1725) (from Piracy)
Image 84Views of Ulcinj in 1718 bz H. C. Bröckell (from Albanian piracy)
Image 85Amaro Pargo was one of the most famous corsairs of the Golden Age of Piracy (from Piracy)
Image 86A collage of Somali pirates armed with AKM assault rifles, RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and semi-automatic pistols in 2008 (from Piracy)