Piracy
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Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically intending to steal cargo and valuable goods, or take hostages. Those who
A mosaic of a Roman trireme in Tunisia
A fleet of Vikings, painted mid-12th century
The Vitalienbrüder. Piracy became endemic in the Baltic Sea in the Middle Ages because of the Victual Brothers.
Cossacks of Azov fighting a Turk ship by Grigory Gagarin
Privateer
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A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since piracy was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant shi
Piracy
…Mediterranean civilizations. Narrow channels which funnel shipping into predictable routes have long created opportunities for piracy, as well as for privateering and commerce raiding. Historic examples of such areas include the waters of Gibraltar, the Strait of Malacca, Madagascar, the Gulf of Aden, and the…
The French privateer Confiance (right) boarding the British East Indiaman Kent on 7 October 1800
A Dutch squadron engaging the Dunkirkers off Nieuwpoort in 1640
Greek privateer Lambros Katsonis raided Ottoman shipping in the 18th century
Woodes Rogers and his men searching Spanish ladies for their jewels in Guayaquil in 1709