"Pirate" comes from the Latin word "pirata". It should not be confused with privateer, which was mandated by their respective governments to plunder and steal from ships from other countries.
So piracy was made popular by the movie "You-all-know-the-name" starring Johnny DeEp and the sweet NIGHTLY along with the handsome Orlando BROOM.
(actually I was at the cinema and there was this dude with his funny foochow slang trying to pronounce the name and he was mentioning "neh... JONNY DEEP lorr... KIRA NIGHTLY lorr.. and also ORLANDA BRROOOM is SOOO HANSEM ohhhhhh)
Piracy began when Man started using the ocean as a mean of transport. Popular pirates include: the Vikings from the Scandinavian region, Muslim pirates of the Mediteranean, and also pirates from the Baltic sea.
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The pirates of our Straits of Malacca are also notorious for their ferocity and efficiency. Malaysia Boleh!!! XDD
Pirates usually plunder the ship and kill all the crew along with their captain. Pirates are thieves, but they are subjected to the code of the ship; respect the captain or you'll be thrown overboard. Both the captain and the quartermaster were elected by the crew; they, in turn, appointed the other ship's officers.
The captain of a pirate ship was often a fierce fighter in whom the men could place their trust, rather than a more traditional authority figure sanctioned by an elite. However, when not in battle, the quartermaster usually had the real authority.
Many groups of pirates shared in whatever they seized; pirates injured in battle might be afforded special compensation similar to medical or disability insurance. There are contemporary records that many pirates placed a portion of any captured money into a central fund that was used to compensate the injuries sustained by the crew. Pirates spend the wealth they plundered on food, wine, entertainment(most likely prostitution, as there are no woman allowed on the ship).
For your information, Jack Sparrow is a fictional character, along with Captain Barbosa and so on(disappointed?). Anyway real pirates should not be like Jack Sparrow, he is too lenient and polite. Pirates are a bunch of illiterate people, they don't brush their teeth, and they pee and shit into the ocean (to save freshwater supply on board). Pirates are not bound to any religious obligation and ethics. Thus real pirates are really fearsome, and you thought they're sexy like Johnny Depp~~~ damn i'm so sarcastic today XDDD
Popular pirates of the past
Blackbeard(Edward Teach)
This dude is one of the most popular pirates ever lived. As his name suggests, he had a long beard, and he allegedly tied lit fuse to his beard in battle to intimidate his opponent. Contrary to the modern-day image of the traditional tyrannical pirate, he commanded his vessels with the permission of their crews, and there are no known accounts of his ever having harmed or murdered those he held captive.
He was an awesome fighter too. When he was killed the person who examined his body found out that he has got no less than five gunshot wounds and more than 20 severe cuts on various part of his body. He was romanticised after his death, and became the inspiration for a number of pirate-themed works of fiction across a range of genres.
Blackbeard's head was attached to the ship's bowsprit
Anne Bonny
This woman is one of the only two women that has ever adorned a pirate ship. Her compatriot, Mary Read, was with her on the ship of Jack Rackham.
The Jolly Roger flag was accredited to Jack Rackham
Anne Bonny was a redhead (saliva dripping) and considered by many to be a sexy catch(gulp).
Anyway her story was a dramatic one. She was born in a wealthy family, got married to a not-so-famous pirate, then had an affair with Rackham, and her husband tried to sell her off but instead she ran away with Rackham and became his crew on board.
Mary Read
When Rackham's ship was captured the two women, along with another male pirate fought the invaders, but was overpowered. Rackham and the rest of the crew were too drunk to set up any resistance. Anne and Mary escaped the gallow because they pleaded their bellies, meaning they claimed that they were pregnant with baby and so their punishment was delayed. Mary died in the prison due to fever, and Anne presumably was rescued by her wealthy father and sent to America and since she disappeared from history.
Modern day piracy
Modern day pirates are better equipped and they are equally feared, just like their predecessors. The water off Somali and the Straits of Malacca are among the most dangerous water ways in the world.
Somali pirates waiting for negotiation
We have seen quite a number of Somalian piracy activities highlighted in the news in recent years, and there was this Turkish ship which was hijacked by Somali pirates four months ago, and it was released yesterday (30/7/2010) after the negotiation went through.
Somali is one of the poorest countries in the world, and piracy is a lucrative business. Because of the low salary of other jobs, they prefer piracy to working. The pirates usually demand several million dollars in return for the crews' release, and the success rate is relatively high.
All they need is just a small speedboat, with rifles and guns. No problem for a country wrecked by violence...btw they have an ongoing civil war in the country which started back in 1991...
Ongoing civil war in Somalia
Pirates aren't good, but they have no choice. What can they do in a country where most of the men are recruited into the army and the economy is so slumped you cant get a job.. They have petroleum but most of the factories are shut down, they have agriculture but rainfall is infrequent, and their livestock export receives periodic bans by the Arabian states for fear of disease.. They are so poor they couldn't afford an extra pencil for their children.
That's why.. Ongoing war, parliament has no budget for economic growth, citizens are poor, no education, and the child grows up with no knowledge, no ethics, no immunization against disease, no healthcare, no knowledge about oral hygiene, and so... they resolve to piracy, from which they could make several million over several minutes of negotiation and intimidation...
We are so lucky we are born in this era where legal justice and law enforcement are in place to protect us. We do not have to fear for our lives when travelling on cruise, and better still, the most serious pirate activity in Malaysia is in the form of VCDs and DVDs XDDDD
The Pirates' Lair of Malaysia
Malcolm
info:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy
For an indepth look at the Somali pirates, see the forthcoming book, Pirate State: Inside Somalia's Terrorism at Sea, available for preorder @ Amazon.com.
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