Pirate or Pyrates? What Gives?

Nothing really. Today, the words "Pirate" or "Piracy" are spelled with an "I". In the Golden Age of Piracy, spelling was a haphazard kind of thing, and the word was often spelled with a "y". So there was a time when the word Pirate was spelled Pyrate, Pirate, Pyrat, or Pirat. I use pyrates, just for the whimsy and feel of it.

Piracy Any robbery or other violent action, for private ends and without authorization by public authority, committed on the seas or in the air outside the normal jurisdiction of any state. Because piracy has been regarded as an offense against the law of nations, the public vessels of any state have been permitted to seize a pirate ship, to bring it into port, to try the crew (regardless of their nationality or domicile), and, if found guilty, to punish them and to confiscate the ship.

A key point in the definition of piracy: according to international law, is that the act takes place outside the normal jurisdiction of a state, without state authority, and that the intent is private, not political. Thus, although acts of unlawful warfare, acts of insurgents and revolutionists, mutiny, and slave trading have been defined as piracy by national laws of various countries or by special treaties, they are not, in most cases, piracy by the law of nations.

Piracy has occurred in all stages of history. In the ancient Mediterranean, piracy was often closely related to maritime commerce, and the Phoenicians appear to have engaged in both, as did the Greeks, Romans, and Carthaginians. In the Middle Ages, Vikings from the north and Moors from the south also engaged in piracy. At the conclusion of European wars during the Renaissance and after, naval vessels would be laid up and their crews disbanded. From among these men, pirates recruited their crews. A common source of piracy, for instance, was the privateer, a privately owned and armed ship commissioned by a government to make reprisals, to gain reparation for specified offenses in time of peace, or to prey upon the enemy in time of war, with the right of the officers and crew to share in prize money from captured vessels. The temptation was great to continue this profitable business after the war without authorization. During the Elizabethan wars with Spain in the late 16th century, treasure-laden Spanish galleons proceeding from Mexico into the Caribbean were a natural target for privateers, and the line between privateering and piracy became difficult to draw.

From the 16th to the 18th century, after the weakening of Turkish rule had resulted in the virtual independence of the Barbary States of North Africa, piracy became common in the Mediterranean. Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli so tolerated or even organized piracy that they came to be called pirate states. In the early 19th century they were suppressed by successive actions of American, British, and French forces.

The increased size of merchant vessels, the improved naval patrolling of most ocean highways, the regular administration of most islands and land areas of the world, and the general recognition by governments of piracy as an international offense resulted in a great decline in piracy in the 19th and 20th centuries. Piracy has, however, occurred in the 20th century in the South China Sea, and the practice of hijacking ships or airplanes has developed into a new form of piracy. Much of the Piracy in the Caribbean may be related to drug smuggling. In the South China Seas, much of the piracy is typical of the piracy that has plagued the oceans since man first ventured off to sea.

Typically, armed thugs will try to sneak on board a ship and try and overcome the crew in an attempt to steal the cargo. Today, the sloop had been replaced by small motorboats. Often ships are attacked while docked and most of the crew is away. Typically the pirates of today are armed with axes and long knives. Occasionally some may have guns. They tend not to fight hard and prefer to flee if the crew manages to organize any kind of defense.

The following are some actual incident reports from the waters around Indonesia. As you can see there is really nothing romantic about these thugs:

• On 15.4.2000 at 0300 LT at Belawan anchorage, Indonesia. Seven pirates boarded a chemical tanker from bow. When spotted by duty seaman, they jumped overboard and fled in two wooden boats. They stole some ship's stores.
• On 14.4.2000 at 0300 LT at Bintulu anchorage, Sarawak. Pirates boarded a timber carrier and tried to enter forecastle store room. Duty watchman alerted the crew. Pirates fled in their motor boat.
• On 07.05.2000 at 1956 LT at position 13:07N - 048:37E, off Somali coast, Gulf of Aden. A fishing boat followed a yacht for about two hours at a range of 1.5 miles. Gun shots were fired at the yacht. The yacht took evasive action and prevented the pirates from boarding.
• On 29.04.2000 at 0320 LT while berthed at Cigading, Indonesia. About ten pirates armed with long knives boarded a bulk carrier and broke open funnel door and entered into the engine room. The pirates tied up the duty watch keeper and threatened him with a knive and cautioned him not to raise the alarm. The pirates went about breaking in to various store rooms and stole ship's stores.
• On 20.07.2000 at 2245 LT at position 01 50.2N 102 22.5E, Malacca Straits. Six pirates armed with long knives boarded a LPG vessel. They tied up the crew and threatened to kill them if they did not co-operate. The pirates stole ship's cash about US$ 10,000 and valuables from the crew.