Even piracy has returned, what next?

[Zainab_M]

Sea pirates were always a horror.  Scary bedtime stories for children seldom exclude the daring escapades of pirates with straggly hair, polly beak noses, large golden hoops hanging from their ear-lobes and bright colored tattered clothes going on a rampage to grab their booty.
 

This is what a typical medieval pirate looked like

There's little doubt about the notion that the culture of pirates loitering on the high seas in the 1300s to loot and plunder other vessels began in the Atlantic region along the waters of Spain, France and England.  Their favorite targets were the merchant vessels that would be loaded with valuables such as gold, silk, perfumes, spices etc. for trade.

As the culture of piracy began getting more popular as a shortcut for getting rich - the types of pirates were divided into different categories.   

Pirate
'Pirate' was the earliest and commonest term for a thief who stole in the sea from other ships.  They roamed the open seas.  Generally they had no affiliation nor loyalty to any country nor ruler.  They were just groups of thieves who wanted to grab riches for themselves.
 
Privateer
This basically meant a 'good guy turned bad.'  A captain of a non-pirate ship who attacked other ships for stealing valuable booty out of sheer greed was termed a privateer.  Now this may sound somewhat funny but it portrays that same unchangeable element of the Western policy never to recognize their own shortcomings.  Though downright violators, privateers were not seen as "pirates" by the kings and rulers of their countries.  On the contrary, they were given special licenses by their 'governments' to plunder at sea.  They were only hunted and punished by countries from whom they stole .. if at all they ever got caught.  In the process, 'good' sea captains who's country had been a target of pirates and who were thus sent out to catch pirates often turned rogues and became pirates themselves.

That's much like the Americans at present pointing a finger at others crying "terrorism" whereas the CIA itself (a state within the State) is given a special budget every year to kill and terrorize around the world.
 
The scourge of piracy at its peak was between the 14th and the 16th centuries.  It gradually ended by the 1800s.  But a lot happened between the 14th and 19th centuries, and also before that. 

Vikings
After the fall of the Roman Empire, piracy became a popular profession of Scandavian men.  These were no other than the Vikings, meaning 'pirate men.'  Vikings came from Denmark, Sweden and Norway.  In their respective countries, they were commonly looked upon as 'versatile and talented' men.  They were recognized as poets and storytellers, and also ruthless plunderers and barbarians.  They terrorized the European waters between the 8th and 11th centuries.  Everyone was petrified of them.

Buccaneers
Then there were the 'Buccaneers.'  They were thorough professionals difficult to defeat. They consisted of a large group of sea thieves from England, France and Holland who settled in the Islands of West Indies.  The natives of West Indies carried special knives called 'boucans.'  These European pirates who lived in the West Indies sailed the Carribean Sea carrying the boucan knives.  It was their favorite weapon which added to their 'credentials' giving them the title of Buccaneers.
 

The Carribeans where the Bucaneers eventually settled.  Their base
was at Hispaniola. To view full picture, please use horizontal scroll bar at the
base of this post.

Piracy in the Mediterranean region
In the same era, another hub of piracy was the Mediterranean Sea.  Pirates sailed from different countries that bordered it.  Many groups of pirates had an agreement with the governments of their countries to share the valuables they stole at sea.  In return, their governments legalised their profession and never arrested nor punished them.  The more greedy pirates who didn't want to share the riches with their governments, retreated to the Barbary Coast situated along the coasts of North African.  Not being controlled by any country nor government, the Barbary Coast pirates were the awfully brutal.  They terrorized the merchant ships of England and France and rejected all truce agreements.  Finally, they were chased out of the Mediterranean Sea by the French who armed their ships with cannons.  The Barbary Coast pirates then joined their buddies at the Islands of the West Indies and made themselves a frightening nuisance for the ships sailing across the Carribean Sea.  They set up their base at Haiti. 
 

Barbary Coast pirates


The Barbary Coast and Mediterranean Region

Pirate hooliganism in the name of civilizaiton with the approval of Queen Elizabeth I of England
These were known as the Pirates of the Spanish Main.  This era is recognized in European history as the "Golden Age of Piracy."  It began during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.  She appointed her best sailors as 'Privateers.'  The Queen gave them permission to plunder and loot the ships sailing on this region of the Atlantic "in honor and glory of England."  The following men were given the title of "sir" and held in much esteem in British history were actually plain thieves and murderers:
 
- Sir John Hawkins
- Sir Walter Raleigh,
- Sir Francis Drake, and
- Captain William Kidd
 
All of the above were ordinary sailors who later became 'privateers.'
 
These pirates of the Spanish Main were at loggerheads with the Buccaneers settled in the West Indies who sailed the Carribean waters.  The Spanish naval pirates hunted the Buccaneer sea thieves, not because they wanted to reform them.  But each wanted to steal from the other.  As a result, the Buccaneers became more close-knit and formed a group called Brethren of the Coast.  They attacked not only the Spanish pirate ships and the Spanish merchant ships bringing supplies to the Americas from Spain, but they also attacked the Spanish colonies of the region.  The most successful buccaneer was 'Sir' Henry Morgan.  He came to the West Indies when he was very young and plundered the Spanish settlements south of Panama.  In 1671 Morgan completely destroyed the city of Panama and then took all of their valuable goods.  The Buccaneers had a long history of ruthless piracy in the Carribean and Panama region until the early 18th century.  In 1717, a British captain named Woodes Rogers surprisingly defeated them after a long battle near the Bahamas.
 
 
Sea war with the pirates

Pirates in the East / Orient
Piracy was rampant in the Indian and Pacific Oceans as well.  They sailed the waters of Japan and India.  Not many details are known about them, except that they terrorized the shipping industry of this region.  It is also recorded in history that they had a pirate base at Taiwan till the 1600s, then known as the Island of Formosa.
 

Asia - route of the pirates of the orient

The sudden re-emergence of piracy in 21st century  -  The Somali pirates
 

Somalia - Somalian waters and the Gulf of Aden within
the marked red square
 
Just as all medieval dramas of violence and violations concerning pre-emptive wars and occupations are being repeated in our 'civilized' society at present, the culture of piracy is no exception.  They too have returned with a vengeance, this time starting from the Horn of Africa on Somalian waters.  And just like their European predecessors, they seem to be getting more bold and brazen.  Their most recent attack was only two days ago on the 17,000-ton U.S. cargo ship, Maersk Alabama, with 21 unarmed American crew members.  It was hijacked early morning, 280 miles off the eastern coast of Somalia.  With a stark reminder of how history is repeating itself, the Globe and Mail reports:

"Somali pirates defied international naval powers yesterday to keep an American ship captain hostage on a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean after their first seizure of U.S. citizens.  The gunmen briefly hijacked the 17,000-tonne Maersk Alabama freighter Wednesday, but the 20 American crew retook control after a confrontation far out at sea, where pirates have captured five other vessels in a week.  Four gang members were holding the captain, Richard Phillips, on the ship's lifeboat after he apparently volunteered to be a hostage for the sake of his crew."


Maersk Alabama freighter  (sorry image not available)


In the olden days, pirates seized all valuables directly from the ships they captured.  The modern-day piracy differs a little, in that, it's all about hostage-taking and ransom.  At present, it has been reported that the pirates are asking for a ransom of $2 million by holding the Captain hostage.  Somalia has been mired in conflict and without any effective central control for 18 years.  The re-emergence of this scourge is one of the awful consequences of this miserable situation.  These Somali pirates are much like the ones of the Barbary Coast or probably their mentality is no different from the Buccaneers either.  They seem to be independent groups of gun-toting gangs.  They just want money and are unhesitant to attack any ship, regardless of country, nationality, religion, language or race.

Monitoring the rapid and sharp rise of this archaic crime, the Globe and Mail adds:
 
" .. last year when gunmen seized a Saudi supertanker with $100-million in oil on board, and a Ukrainian ship with 33 tanks.  The attacks have occurred for years but reached unprecedented levels in 2008. Pirates are currently holding 18 vessels with a total of 267 hostages .. Heavily armed sea gangs hijacked dozens of vessels last year and extracted millions of dollars in ransoms. The Saudi and Ukrainian boats fetched about $3-million each.  The surge in attacks has come despite an unprecedented international naval effort against the pirates." 


Saudi tanker Sirius Star which was attacked by Somali
pirates late 2008 for ransom

This has given rise to plenty of gossipy speculations.  As reported by
HubDub:

"Have the Somali pirates bitten off more than they can chew? Is Obama being "tested". Will Biden come to the rescue? Will Obama put on a superman outfit and fix it all himself?   Will Obama use the Stick or the Carrot?"

The high sea drama only got more complex and dangerous three days later when both pirates and the American forces rushed reinforcements to the scene on Somali waters. The captain of the cargo ship, Richard Phillips, held hostage by the pirates jumped into the water in a desperate attempt to escape was re-captured.

Almost at the same period, a French yacht was also taken over by Somali pirates with a family of four, including a three-year-old child.  The yacht was stormed by French commandos to free the hostages.  While the operation was partly successful with two pirates dead and three taken prisoner, one hostage was also killed.  He was the owner of the yacht.  It's not clear whether he was killed in the crossfire or murdered by the pirates.


Florent Lemaçon was killed when his wife and son were rescued.
 
 
Attacking or ambushing travellers and wayfarers, arson, pillage, robbery, destruction of farmlands and animals, destruction of peace and the perpetration of all such unrest are stictly forbidden in the Noble Quraan.  Rights of travellers and wayfarers have been highlighted in numerous verses of the Quraan.

To quote just a few:
 
"Eat and drink of that which Allah hath provided, and do not act corruptly, making mischief in the earth." (2:60)
 
"And when he turneth away (from thee) his effort in the land is to make mischief therein and to destroy the crops and the cattle; and Allah loveth not mischief."  (2:205)
 
"Work not confusion in the earth after the fair ordering (thereof). and call on Him in fear and hope."  (7:56)
 
"So remember (all) the bounties of Allah and do not evil, making mischief in the earth."   (7:74)
 
"And do not evil in the earth, causing corruption."  (11:85)
 
"Wrong not mankind in their goods, and do not evil, making mischief, in the earth."  (26:183)
 
"And unto Midian We sent Shu'eyb, their brother. He said: O my people! Serve Allah, and look forward to the Last Day, and do not evil, making mischief, in the earth."  (29:36)
 
"(Show) kindness unto parents, and unto near kindred, and orphans, and the needy, and unto the neighbour who is of kin (unto you) and the neighbour who is not of kin, and the fellow-traveller and the wayfarer .. "  (4:36)
 
"and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer"   (2:177)
 
Unfortunately, a small band of so-called Muslims are again doing all they can to tarnish the image of an entire global community by its total heedlessness to the strict commandments of the Noble Quraan.  A very disturbing and dangerous precedent indeed.
 
Finally, it's impossible that robbers, thugs and all those with criminal mindsets around the world aren't watching the tactics of these modern-day pirates and getting new ideas.  Crimes like robbery, murder etc. proliferate through trend-setting, much like the styles and designs promoted by the fashion industry.  It's a strange analogy but it's so true.  For instance, the Columbine High School shootings in the late 1990s had such an 'inspirational' impact on the minds of teens with twisted notions that within a decade it made school, college and university shootings a separate category of crime. 
 
Whether or not piracy has returned to stay, spread and involve their respective governments in this 'business' is just anybody's guess.  What we do know for certain is that the world already has a huge inventory of unresolved problems.  The last thing it needs is an addition in it. 

[Heba E. Husseyn]

That was a fantastic illustrated read on the re-emergence of this menace and how some so-called Muslims are once again earning a bad name for the entire Muslim community by returning to the days of jahilya.  Such people are not entitled to retaliate because they are the aggressors.  I think, according to international laws, mariners should now be allowed to carry firearms.  This could lead to more fatalities because the battles would become more fierce but it may help on the long term.

Yes, it's sad to watch history repeating itself while the world can only watch helplessly.  It's even sadder that Muslims today only choose to repeat the negative aspects of history and forget wisdom of the past that once upon a time earned us so much praise and glory.

So, what would you call these Somali sea thugs - "pirates or the orient" or "privateers?"   

[N. Truth Seeker]

Really interesting composition and excellent comparison.  Thanks sister zeynab. 

First answering sister Cat's question, I think the Somali thugs are equivalent to privateers because they are backed or sponsored by the warlords of Somalia just as the British privateers of the middle ages were backed by their queen.  The only difference is that unlike them, the Somalis don't have any central control. 

This is definitely a very intimidating problem that looks potentially troublesome for the future.  From 2007 to 2008 these Somali pirates have obtained over US$ 150 million in ransom through this lawless business.  Just like the privateers and Scandavian sea thugs of the 1400s, 1500s onward, in Somalia too this is now becomeing a 'lucrative career.'  Young men from all walks of life are joining it.  They consist not only of ex-militias but also ex-technologists, fishermen, farmers etc.  I absolutely agree with sister Cat that cargo ships and freighters must be allowed to carry weapons.  Despite the dangers of ferocious gun battles at sea from both sides, it's better than armed thieves attacking unarmed victims.

Very very troubling situation.  The world must wake up to this crisis before it gets any worse. 

May Allah grant His help, ameen.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

I agree through and through.  It's said that more than 200 foreign sailors are still held hostage in lawless Somalia. 

Some people say that this is the result of the international community ignoring and not helping Somalia for years.  I understand that it's not unusual with the international community to ignore countries from which they have nothing to gain.  But that can't be used as a reason by the people of that country to do such things.  After all, Somalia is still surviving.  If they are left on their own, in a way it's good for them.  They can do their own nation-building without foreign interference .. even if that means building up a small and poor society.  But instead they are only promoting lawlessness which has no justification. 

[Zainab_M]

Thanks sister and brother for liking this bit and for your very interesting inputs. 

I too agree that such crimes can never be justified.  It's also obvious that they aren't even using the stolen money to improve the deplorable conditions of their country.  Br. Persian is right, I also read in one of the websites that uptil now they have extorted over $150 million through hostage taking.  All that is probably going into the pockets of warlords to buy more weapons and make the Somali society more lawless.

I'm sure there must also be some good Somalis in their country who do not approve of such piracy and crimes.  May Allah grant them greater strength so they can takeover from these bad guys. 

[Ruhi_Rose]

how interesting!  and how come I missed this thread so far?   Like Tawfik's post, this too is a wonderful re-cap of history .... the difference being, his was of the history of the piracy of Egyptian monarchy and this is of the history of sea piracy     Though the last act of sea piracy in world history was as recent as just a few days ago with the US cargo ship, the Somali pirates have gone amock since then and captured another 4 or 5 vessels in the Gulf of Aden. 

Talibans in the northern mountains of south and central Asia, pirates in the waters down south of that, Zionists to the north-west of it, al-Qaeda scattered everywhere, George Bush living in leisure in his Texas home .. how bad is this world goin to get?  -----  >   

[Heba E. Husseyn]

And the latest ..

An Italian cruise ship claims that it was attacked by pirates and chased them off by firing at them.  They also say that bullets fired by pirates caused ship glass windows to break and made several bullet holes on the ship.  If this is true, they're lucky the ship was still in a sailable condition. 

Italian cruise ship fights off pirates with gunfire