Pirates

A pirate is an adventurer, a bandit, an outlaw who sails the seas to plunder ships, murdering crews without flinching.

A pirate spreads fear among honest mariners…The word pirate is derived from the greek “peiratès”» which means “who takes with violence”.

Piracy is as old as sea travel and commerce. Wherever wealth is transported by sea, pirates will never be far away.

The history of piracy

In the Mediterranean, as early as the Antiquity, coastal populations engaged in piracy. For example, for the Aetolians, piracy was an instrument of foreign policy. Later, between the 8^th and 9^th centuries, pirates operated in more northern seas (Baltic, North Sea). The Normans were among the most active pirates of the western world.

To defend their maritime commerce, European towns and cities created guilds, or Hanses, in other words societies of merchants and cities. These guilds took measures to combat piracy.

The 17^th century was the golden age for pirates on the Atlantic Ocean. During this period, Spain transported South American riches back to Spain. Its gallions loaded with gold were for many an object of desire. The term filibuster, which is derived from the Dutch « vrijbuiter », means freebooter. A filibuster operated on his own behalf. This new breed of pirates first appeared between the 16^th and 18^th centuries operating in the Caribbean Sea, the Antilles Islands and Central America. Filibusters operated together to plunder Spanish vessels and colonies along the coasts of the Americas. They were thus known as Brothers of the Coast.

French filibusters from Tortuga and English freebooters from Jamaica were sometimes helped by French bucaneers from the Spanish Island of Saint-Domingue. They were notorious, especially during the first half of the 17^th century, when they scoured the Antilles Islands and the coasts of Venezuela. When the Spanish war of succession made Spain an ally of France, filibustering came to an end.

But before Spain became an ally of France, the maritime powers created privateering. States would attack the merchant ships of enemy states, and in this context  pirates operated as corsairs on behalf of a State. They would attack and take possession of the enemy’s commercial ship under the cover of a “letter of marque” or “commission”. They used either a merchant ship or a military vessel loaned by the royal navy. The legitimacy of their plunder had to be recognized by a special court: the prize court. The ship’s cargo would then be sold with the proceeds going to the corsair; under the Ancien Régime, a tenth of the prize would go to the Admiral.

As of 17^th century, there were fewer pirates and these were hunted down by the maritime powers, which had by this time a more established foothold in the Caribbean Sea (with colonies in the Antilles Islands and in Central America). Today, the areas considered to be of high risk are the China Sea, the strait of Malacca, the Gulf of Thailand, and certain coasts of Africa and the Antilles Islands. Pirates can attack pleasure boaters as well as cargo ships and bulk carriers.

The modi operandi of pirates and corsairs

How did they compare between the 16^th  and 18^th  centuries?

The term pirate refers to an adventurer who scours the seas seeking to plunder ships for personal profit. The term filibuster refers to pirates of the Antilles Islands. The corsair worked for a State and could only operate in wartime.

But their common goal was to attack ships. 

How did they operate in practice? Let’s take a more detailed look at the pirate’s and corsair’s modi operandi through during the 16^th and 18^th centuries, the golden age of privateering and filibustering. Privateering would end at the end of the 19^th century (in France in 1815, after the abdication of the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte).

PIRATES AND FILIBUSTERS

Goals

Attacking shipping vessels to loot their cargo for personal gain

Geographic range

During the 16^th and 18^th centuries, filibusters  concentrated their activities in the Caribbean.

Who did they recruit?

• pirates leaders were often former naval officers seeking to get rich
• the others were mutinous sailors or cabin boys kidnapped from ports
• the most sought-after men were surgeons and master caulkers
  
  

Equipment

• ships:
  • cargo ships taken during attacks
  • sail luggers,  sloops or other fast, light and easily manoeuvrable ships
  • frigates  whose small size and speed enabled them to hide in small bays inaccessible to larger vessels, as well as to hug the coastline without risk of running aground
• pirate flags:
  • Each pirate designed his own flag, which had a particular meaning. The skull and crossbones was the symbol of death. The red flag meant  “no  quarter”,  in other words, no survivors.
    
    

Code of conduct

Filibusters had  codes of conduct at sea; their captain was democratically elected and respected.  The booty was also distributed according to rules and injured pirates were generously rewarded. Those who lost a limb in combat received an additional share of the spoils. Theft and treachery were severely punished - for example, by marooning the guilty pirate on a desert island with a barrel of water and a gun.

Methods of attack

• in order to get close to ships, pirates would hide on deck, disguise themselves, lure victims with distress signals or would hoist the same flag as their target ship - pirates would swarm onto the deck of their victim, armed with sabres, daggers or pistols – and would sometimes throw bottles filled with gunpowder, iron and lead which exploded onboard their enemy’s ship. Later, they would scuttle or burn the larger ships, keeping only the faster more manoeuvrable ones.

Booty and spoils

During the  16^th and  17^th   centuries,  the sailing ships crossing the Antilles (or Caribbean) sea were often laden with gold, silver and the treasures of the Incas, on their way back to Spain.

• In most cases, the booty consisted of food, clothing, crates of goods and pieces of gold. Cargoes were exchanged with merchants and inkeepers for arms, rum or money.

Punishment and policies for combating piracy

• captured pirates were routinely hanged.
  
  
  
  

CORSAIRS

Goals

Attacking ships on the behalf of a State as privateers in order to take prisoners of war, loot the ship and sell the spoils. The booty is shared, a share for the corsair and his crew and a share for the State.  

Geographic range

French Corsairs operated out of Saint-Malo, Dunkirk, Nantes, Bordeaux

• In the 17^th century, the Channel was a corsair fiefdom
  
  

Who did they recruit?

• naval officers or former pirates
• ship owners or private investors who take on the financial risk, rig and arm the vessels and hire their captains. As for filibusters, corsairs sought to hire surgeons and master caulkers for their crews but also writers to keep a log of their booty. A priest accompanied ships with crews of 40 or more.
  
  

Equipment

• a fast ship armed and manned by a crew with authorisation from their government to hunt and take possession of enemy cargo ships by boarding.
  
  

Code of conduct

COLBERT’s marine code (1681)  introduced rules to privateering and the recognition of the profession of corsair. In theory, no pillaging was allowed. Seized goods (spices,  silks,  pieces of gold,  etc.) were immediately logged, store hatchways were sealed and the crews of captured ships were well treated in accordance with the rules of war.

Methods of attack

• While corsairs preferred to capture their victims without fighting, boarding was sometimes inevitable..
• There would first be warning shots with canons – the corsair ship would then take position alongside its target ship and grenades would be thrown before boarding with pistols and bladed weapons (sabres, daggers, axes...) 
  
  

Booty and Spoils

Corsairs operated in the same way as pirates and buccaneers except that the booty went principally to the State which employed them, while they received a share. 

Punishment and policies for combating piracy

• If they were captured corsairs could avoid hanging by showing their ‘letter of marque’ and in this case were treated as prisoners of war.
  
  
  

Notorious pirates and corsairs

Certain pirates and corsairs became legends or changed the course of history. They included:  

Blackbeard

alias Edward TEACH (1680-1718): He began as a corsair before turning to piracy, firstly at the side of a pirate captain. He later became the captain of a fleet himself and in particular of one of his captured ships, which he renamed Queen Ann’s Revenge. Blackbeard was responsible for numerous boardings and had a fearsome reputation. When boarding he would terrify the crew of the target ship by setting light to locks of hair attached to his hat. He was killed in 1718 and his ship was scuttled in Beaufort Bay. The location of the sunken Queen Ann’s Revenge was recently found by archaeologists.  

Captain MISSON

MISSON was a French pirate with rather humane values, who, with a small group of convicts, set up a republic of free men, called Libertalia, in a harbour on the Island of Madagascar. Alexandre OEXMELIN was a surgeon with the privateers during the 17^th century. His writings are important historical documents providing information about the history of the Caribbean and privateers.

John AVERY

John AVERY was an English pirate who, amongst other things, attacked a Mughal ship with considerable riches and a princess aboard, and married the princess. This story inspired the author DEFOE, who wrote a book about it.

Other notorious pirates included William KIDD, a corsair who reluctantly became a pirate, Monbars known as the Terminator, Jack RACKHAM , fearsome privateer and husband of Ann Bonny, Jean-François NAU known as the Ollonais who was a “pirate of the land” sacking, among others, the town of Maracaïbo (Venezuela) in 1669, Henry MORGAN who cleared his name in the Courts, etc.

Women were also pirates. In the 18^th century, Ann BONNY (captain RACKHAM’s wife) and Mary READ (who posed as a man), were fierce both in combat and boarding. They were arrested and convicted but both escaped the hangman’s noose because they were pregnant.

Similarly, in the 19^th century, Ching-Yih Saou replaced her dead husband at the head of six squadrons of pirate junks and scoured the China Sea.

Notorious corsairs:

Jean BART was a French corsair born in Dunkirk in the 17^th century and was notorious in the north of France. He commanded his first corsair (ship) in 1674 and captured more than 50 ships over a 4 year period during the Franco-Dutch war. In 1694, he ran an English blockade of Dunkirk and attacked a Dutch convoy of 130 ships which he brought back to Dunkirk. Louis XIVth  rewarded him highly, including by raising him to nobility.

René DUGUAY-TROUIN (1673-1736) was also a famous privateer. Raised to nobility in 1709, he was responsible for the capture of16 vessels, frigates and more than 300 merchant ships.  

Robert SURCOUF is one of the  best-known corsairs. He became a privateer in 1795 in the Indian Ocean, targeting English merchant ships. He captures were spectacular and he inflicted heavy losses on the enemy to the extent that the English put a price on his head. After 1815, he devoted himself to his business interests.

Other families who gained reputations through privateering included the DANYCANS, the MAGONS and the COUDRAY-PERREES.  

Jacques-Oudart FOURMANTIN known as Baron Bucaille lived in Boulogne-sur-Mer during the Napoleonic era. He belonged to a family of corsairs. His activities developed during the Camp de Boulogne and his name remains popular to this day among the coastal communities of the Pas-de-Calais Department.

Modern piracy

Today, goods transported via sea routes continue to attract pirates.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) is working to address the problem of piracy and also raise awareness within the shipping industry.

Currently, from a legal standpoint, an act of piracy refers to an act of aggression against a ship taking place in international waters. Most attacks however take place in territorial waters. In 1999, the IBM recorded 285 official pirate attacks pirates (international waters) and 1,116 ships boarded by force.

In the last 20 years, the number of acts of piracy have been multiplied by 4 with 469 in 2000.

The areas the most affected by piracy are Indonesia (its 24,500 islands provide plenty of hiding places for pirates), the Chinese, Sulu and Celebes seas, the coasts of Africa, notably the Somalian coast, and the Gulf of Aden. For sailing boats the Red Sea and the maritime waters of Central America are reputed to be trouble spots.

The IBM recognizes 3 types of piracy: LLAR (Low Level Armed Robbery), MLAAR (Medium Level Armed Assault and Robbery), MCHJ (Major Criminal Hijack) according to the seriousness of the attack.

Pirates of the past preferred sloops and luggers and for the same reasons, speed and manoeuvrability, pirates of today generally use fishing smacks or launches.

Pirate ships sometimes operate from “mother” ships which can be old cargo ships that have been stolen and given a “makeover” with a new registration number.

Pirates use a wide range of arms ranging from knives and Molotov cocktails to rocket launchers.

Attacks are usually carried out by night. Pirates board vessels from the stern or sides, using a grapple. Once the crew has been immobilised, the pirates search the ship for valuables. In recent years hostage taking for ransom has been increasing and drugs are now a preferred target for pirates.The IMB believes that the actual number of acts of piracy is higher than the official figures.

In addition, the problem of collusion between public officials or personnel working for maritime agencies is often raised. The reason for this is that pirates are in general well informed about the cargo or contents of the vessels they board.

The fight against piracy continues to be a local one and faces a range of difficulties. The areas to patrol are immense, the principle of non-intervention in a State’s territorial waters is an obstacle, and so on. Yet the anti-piracy effort is being organised.

For example, the Indonesian and Malaysian police are cooperating to monitor and take action in the Strait of Malacca, which is subject to regular pirate attacks.

Similarly, European organisations are pushing for international cooperation for detecting, tracking down and taking action against pirates.

Moreover, it is difficult to accurately evaluate the economic cost of modern piracy, although it is very high. For example, in July 2002, a North Korean ship was highjacked and the pirates demanded $600,000 to free the crew. Besides, ship owners not always report attacks because of the impact this has on their maritime insurance.

As well as the financial side, acts of piracy can have negative consequences for the environment. Ships can be wrecked or abandoned in areas where there is a high level of maritime traffic, boarding can lead to pollution, containers can be lost or destroyed and attacks on ships carrying dangerous materials (chemicals, oil, gas, and so on) also poses a risk.

GLOSSARY

Pirate

A pirate is an adventurer, a bandit, an outlaw who sails the seas to plunder merchant ships.

Corsair

Was a fast armed ship whose crew was authorised to hunt, board and capture enemy merchant ships. By extension, the term “corsair”  has sometimes been used for military ships or submarines designed to attack and destroy the enemy’s fleet. Corsair may refer to the captain of a corsair vessel but the corsair as captain should not be confused with pirate. A corsair was employed by a State and had government authorisation to attack and capture enemy shipping.

Freebooters and filibusters

A filibusters was a pirate operating in the Antilles (Caribbean) sea during the XVII and XVIII^th centuries. Filibusters cooperated to pillage Spanish colonies and shipping along the coasts of the Americas. They were also know as the Brothers of the Coast.

Buccaneer

This term refers to certain aventurers who hunted wild cattle in the Antilles Islands to cure its meat or trade its skin. Originally buccaneers were adventurers of European origin (mainly French and English), who settled on the unpopulated Antilles Islands during the XVII^th century. They occupied vast areas of land.

IMB (International Maritime Bureau)

IMB refers to the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre, based in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. It centralises intelligence about maritime piracy and actively combats it. It is financed by the maritime industry and is a key ally for maritime companies (source: Cols Bleus n°2572). It is an important intelligence nerve centre for organisations involved in combating piracy.