The new pirates
History references the years of 1650 to 1720 as the Golden Age of Piracy. When sailors were laid off en masse during those years, privateers and pirate captains easily found skilled sailors for crew. Privateers were pirates and other captains in possession of letters of marques (letters giving them permission to attack ships of their home country’s enemies).
No one during that time referred to it as the Golden Age, but our society has greatly romanticized it. Many pirates looted and plundered to just get by, forsaking a landlubber’s job for easier money. This is where pirates of yore share similarities with the pirates today — impoverished people who can barely afford to feed their families taking deadly risks for a a pirate’s bounty.
Today, Somali pirates make up the bulk of pirate attacks on the high seas. Somalis were responsible for 54% of the attacks in 2008, 168 out of 293. This year, pirates are becoming more aggressive, with approximately 310 attacks already this year. According to CNN, five ships are currently being held for ransom.
Countries, such as France, have started sending out more patrols, which has helped to reduce the success rate of these attacks. However, ransoming a ship has made some pirates wealthy men in their impoverished nations, thus encouraging more to become pirates. As if to stoke the fire, the transitional government of Somalia has not been able to police the port cities, which have become a breeding ground for these pirates.
With countries busily worrying about their own economy, many are unable to fund a large-scale military action to flush out the pirates. Perhaps it is time for nations to bring back letters of marques and hire on privateers to help patrol the waters. Pirates to fight the pirates, so to speak.