Week 11
Yesterday and today: pirates
What is “piracy”?
Who are “pirates”?
Why talk about pirates in a course on “old” and
“new” wars?
“Piracy” is robbery or criminal violence at sea, on
land, or in the air; the word comes from “pirata”
. it is not “privateering”, i.e.
.. any war-like activity carried out by nonstate actors under a state’s mandate (e.g.
“soldiers-of-fortune”); it is the government
sanction that makes this legitimate
. “privateering” was outlawed, however, by the
Peace of Westphalia (1648) and by those who
signed the treaties involved
“… ‘pirata’ [brigands]”
“… [French privateer from Saint-Malo]”
“Piracy” is defined today by Articles 101-103 of
the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982):
. Art. 101 says that piracy is “any illegal act of
violence or detention, or … depredation,
committed for private ends by the crew or the
passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft
… on the high seas, against another ship or
aircraft … outside the jurisdiction of any State
… [plus] any act of voluntary participation in …
making … a pirate ship or aircraft” (n.b., how
it also refers to stealing copyright material and
trade secrets)
. Art. 102 says piracy can also involve any
“warship, government ship or government
aircraft whose crew has mutinied … and
taken control of … [that] ship or aircraft”
. Art. 103 says that a “ship or aircraft is
considered a pirate ship or aircraft if it is
intended by the persons in dominant control
to be used for the purpose of committing one
of the acts referred to in article 101”
“... [mutiny on the Bounty]”
This definition was initially part of the Convention on
the High Seas (Art. 15/17), signed in Geneva in 1958
. one problem is that it defines piracy in terms
of activities that only occur on the “high seas” (i.e.
in international waters, like the oceans)
. in the case of criminal behavior like this, a state
can still act, however, using the doctrine of
“universal jurisdiction” (this allows states to police
criminals, despite their nationality, where their
crimes are seen to be against everyone)
“... ‘high seas’”
“… ‘universal jurisdiction’”
. those committing theft on the high seas, for
example, inhibit trade and endanger maritime
communications; they are considered by states,
therefore, to be the “enemies of [all] humanity”
. this allows action to be taken against such pirates
regardless of the national flag their vessels fly
.. critics of this doctrine say it
- undermines sovereignty
- creates a “universal tyranny … of judges”
- allows states to try their political enemies
“ … ‘enemies of humanity’”
“… critics … say … it … creates a ‘universal
tyranny … of judges’”
Since the majority of acts of piracy occur within
territorial waters, however
. some pirates are able to go free because the
states concerned do not have the ability to
police their borders adequately, i.e.,
. they cannot catch and prosecute the pirates
.. even if they want to and
.. even if the crime is too serious to be
considered just a state-centred one
“… territorial waters [exclusive economic zones]”
This concept goes back to the Roman emperor
Justinian (482-565AD) who said that:
. “All nations … are governed partly by their
own particular laws, and partly by those laws
which are common to all, [i.e. those that]
common Reason appoints for all mankind”
. the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius (1583-1645)
extended this idea of a “universal law available
to reason” to say that there are “universal laws
of right and wrong” and these include laws
with regard to piracy
Piracy parallels the use of the seas for trade and
therefore has a long history; firstly we find
. the “Sea Peoples” who threatened the Aegean
and the Mediterranean in the 14th century BC
i.e. at the end of the Bronze Age
. these pirates came from western Anatolia
(today’s Turkey or southern Europe)
. they raided Syria, Canaan (today’s Lebanon,
Israel, Palestine and west Jordan), Cyprus and
Egypt
. n.b. it is not certain who they actually were
“… threatened the Aegean and the Mediterranean”
. in classical antiquity the “Illyrians” and the
“Tyrrhenians” were also much feared as pirates
.. it was not until 168BC the Romans finally
conquered “Illyria” and made it a province,
ending the threat it posed to their ships
. the “Phoenicians” specialized in kidnapping
boys and girls who they sold as slaves
. in the first century BC various states along the
Anatolian coast threatened the trade of the
Roman Empire in the eastern Mediterranean
“… ‘the Illyrians’ … the ‘Tyrrhenians’ and the …
‘Phoenicians’”
. Julius Caesar, the famous Roman dictator, was
kidnapped and held prisoner by “Cilian”
pirates from today’s Turkey so, in 67 BC, the
Roman Senate authorized three months of
naval warfare to eliminate them as a threat
. in 264AD “Goth” pirates landed on Cyprus
and Crete, seizing a large amount of booty and
taking thousands of captives
“ … Julius Caesar”
. in medieval Europe the best known and most
far reaching of the pirates were the Vikings
. these were warriors/looters from Scandinavia;
their raids took place between the 8th and 12th
centuries AD
. they attacked the coasts, rivers and inland cities,
not only of western Europe but also North Africa,
the Baltic and eastern Europe, as far as the Black
Sea and Persia (modern day Iran), using
versatile wooden long-ships
“… Viking[] … long-ships”
. towards the end of the 9th century, Moor pirates
built bases along the south coast of France and
northern Italy; in 846AD they sacked Rome and
damaged the Vatican
. from 824AD to 961AD Arab pirates spread out
across the whole Mediterranean from their base
in Crete
. Barbary (North African) corsairs took 1 million
Europeans as slaves from the 16th-19th centuries
. the “Golden Age of Piracy” in the Caribbean …
… was from about 1650AD to the mid-1720s. It
followed the development by the English, French,
and Dutch of their empires there; shipping
between Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean grew
with the “triangular trade”, i.e., ships sailing from
Europe to Africa with weapons to sell for slaves;
then to the Caribbean where slaves were sold
for sugar, tobacco and cocoa; then back to Europe
.. pirates like Henry Morgan, Edward Teach, Jack
Rackham and Bartholomew Roberts preyed on
every leg of this trade
“… Moor pirate[s]”
“… Arab pirates”
“… Barbary (North African) corsairs”
“… Henry Morgan, Edward Teach, Jack Rackham,
and Bartholomew Roberts”
.. of the Irish pirates of the 18th century, one of the
most famous was Anne Bonn(e)y (1702)
- Bonn(e)y was the illegitimate child of a lawyer
and his house-maid
- they emigrated to America after her birth
where, as a young woman, she eloped with a
young criminal named James Bonn(e)y
- Bonn(e)y took her to a pirate port in the Bahamas
- he was offered a pardon there to become an
informant, which he accepted; Anne was angry
and left him, only to fall in love with Capt. John
“Calico Jack” Rackham; together with Rackam
she dressed as a man and raided Spanish treasure
ships off Cuba and Hispaniola (D.R. and Haiti)
. another famous female pirate was Mary Read
- born in Plymouth, England, in 1690, her
father was a sailor who left on a long voyage
and never came back
- her mother took her to London to ask her
mother-in-law for help; the old lady disliked
girls so her mother dressed Mary as a boy; the
old lady was fooled and agreed to support them
- as a teenager Mary joined a “man o’ war”, then
a foot and later a horse regiment
- she fell in love with a fellow soldier, revealed
to him her true sex, and began dressing as a
woman; after their marriage they ran an inn
until he died; with no money, and knowing
that life as a man was much easier, she went
back to wearing men’s clothing and joined a
Dutch merchant ship bound for the Caribbean;
the ship was captured by English pirates; she
joined them until she met Rackham’s band
and Anne Bonn(e)y; they became close friends
“ … Mary Read”
. Other famous female pirates include:
- Teuta of Illyria who inherited the Ardiaen
Kingdom when her husband died in 231BC;
she plundered Greek and Roman merchants
… Teuta of Illyria”
- Jeanne de Clisson was born in Brittany in 1300;
she married a wealthy nobleman who was
killed by King Philip VI; Jeanne swore revenge;
sold her lands to buy 3 warships; and had them
painted black and their sails dyed red
- she then hunted down any and every royal ship
she could find, killing all the crew she captured;
she continued even after the King himself died;
she eventually retired to England because the
the English hated the French as much as she did
“… Jeanne de Clisson [Jane de Belleville] … the
‘Lioness of Brittany’”
- Sayyida al Hurra was born in Granada in
1485AD; her family was forced to move to
Morocco where she married the King; her
hatred of Christians drove her to ally herself
with Barbarossa of Algiers, however, and
become a pirate
“… Sayyida al Hurra … ”
- Grace O’Malley was born in Ireland in 1530,
the daughter of the leader of a sea-faring clan;
after her husband was killed and his castle
captured, Grace raised an army to take it back;
between her first and second marriages she
took over her father’s role of collecting taxes
from local fishermen; she then began
demanding cash or cargo from passing ships in
exchange for safe passage; those who refused
were killed; she also attacked the fortresses of
neighboring Scottish and Irish nobles …
… she used her knowledge of the west coast to
hide from her pursuers; she also recruited her
crew from the very poor, who appreciated her
anti-English attitude as well as the chance to
get rich; England began to fight back in the
1580s and 1590s, so Grace went to see Queen
Elizabeth I to ask for land for her sons and a
pension for herself in return for a commitment
to fight for her former enemy; the Queen
accepted her request
“… Grace O’Malley”
. Lady Mary Killigrew was also born in 1530;
she married Sir Henry Killigrew of Arwenack in
Cornwall; though Sir Henry was a former pirate,
he was made a Vice-Admiral by Queen
Elizabeth I and told to suppress piracy; when he
was at sea, however, Mary used the castle staff
as pirates; when she captured a ship that
belonged to one of the Queen’s friends she was
arrested and tried but probably pardoned; after
that she became a “fence” for stolen goods
“… Lady Mary Killigrew”
- Christina Anna Skytte was born in 1643 in
in Sweden, the daughter of a baron; her
brother, despite his wealth, was a pirate who
plundered ships in the Baltic Sea; when
Christina joined the band she had one of its
members killed for trying to leave; in 1663
the band attacked a Dutch merchant ship,
killed the crew and stole the cargo; this led to
the capture of her fiance, Gustaf, and Christina
was forced to flee
“… Christina Anna Skytte[’s ship] … in the Baltic Sea ”
- Anne Dieu-Le-Vent was deported from France
to Tortuga (today part of Haiti); born in 1650
she married a pirate called Pierre Length; in
1683 he was killed in a bar fight by a fellow
buccaneer, Laurens de Graaf; Anne challenged
de Graaf to a duel; he drew his sword but she
drew a pistol; impressed by her spirit he
proposed on the spot; Anne accepted and they
sailed together, seizing ships and, in 1693, even
raiding Jamaica
“… Tortuga … Anne Dieu-Le-Vent [‘God-wills-it’]”
- Jacquotte Delahaye was born in Haiti to a
Haitian mother and a French father: when both
died she had to earn money to support herself
and her brother; she turned to piracy in the
Caribbean; active in the 1660’s, she faked her
death to escape a hunt for her; after living for
years as a man she returned to piracy; she was
known as “Back from the Dead Red” because
of this and the color of her hair; she is thought
to have sailed with Anne Dieu-Le-Vent
“ … Back from the
Dead Red”
- Rachel Wall was born in 1760 on a farm in
Pennsylvania; after her marriage she worked
as a maid in Boston; she was the first female
American pirate; with her husband she helped
lure vessels off the Isle of Shoals by pretending
to be in distress; after taking any valuables, they
sank the boats together with their crews;
Rachel’s husband was finally washed away in a
storm; she became a petty thief, was caught,
tried and hanged on November 16, 1789
“… Rachel Wall … [and] the Isle of Shoals”
- finally, Ching Shih ruled the South China Sea
in the 19th c.; born in 1775, she became a
prostitute in Canton; captured by pirates in
1801 she married Zheng Shih, their captain;
Zheng headed a coalition of pirates known as
the “Red Fleet”; after his death, in 1807, Ching
took it over; her fleet grew to 1,500 junks and
80,000 sailors; the British, Chinese and
Portuguese navies could not defeat her; China
sued for peace; Ching accepted and retired
“… Ching Shih”
Asia provides many examples of pirate groups
beyond that of Ching Shih’s, e.g.,
.. the Buginese sailors of South Sulawesi who
were infamous for their pirate activities, from
Singapore to the Philippines
.. the Orang Laut (“Sea Gypsies”) who
controlled the Straits of Malacca and all the
shipping that moved through them
.. the Malays and Sea Dayaks who sailed from
their base in Borneo to prey on ships going
from Singapore to Hong Kong
“… the Buganese sailors of South Sulawesi”
“… the Orang Laut … who controlled the Straits
of Malacca”
“… the Malays and [the] Sea Dayaks”
What about piracy today? Who are the pirates and
where are they currently active?
. Piracy against transport ships is currently a
significant global issue
. estimated losses worldwide are US$13-16 bn.
each year
. the International Maritime Bureau (the IMB)
keeps a record of all pirate attacks; it also gives
advice on how to respond to such attacks (the
movie Captain Phillips is an accurate account)
The IMB is a specialized department of the
International Chamber of Commerce; it publishes
a weekly piracy report and maintains a 24-hour
piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia; its work is supported by the UN’s
International Maritime Organization, which is
designed to plan and promote safety and security
regulations for the 170 member states who belong
(those who do not are mostly landlocked, i.e., they
have no sea coast.)
“ … the International Chamber of Commerce and
the International Maritime Organization”
The IMB was established in 1981 to fight all types
of maritime crime. It has a memorandum of
understanding with the World Customs Organization
and observer status with Interpol
. the IMB’s “Piracy Reporting Centre” was created
in 1992 since 50,000 merchant ships use
vulnerable areas each year
. it is the world’s main independent crime-fighting
watchdog for international trade, listing where
piracy is currently likely to occur, for example …
… . Bangladesh: where robbers target ships at anchor
. Indonesia: where a number of ports are also
vulnerable
. the Malacca Straits: though the number of
attacks have dropped substantially of late due to
an increase in patrols by Indonesia and
Malaysia; vigilance is still advised, however
. the Singapore Straits: where anti-piracy
measures
are currently recommended
“… Bangladesh … [Bangladeshi pirates and the
Singapore Navy patrolling the Straits of
Singapore]”
. Lagos, Nigeria: the pirates are violent - attacking,
hijacking, and robbing vessels and kidnapping
crews up to 170 nautical miles from the coast;
indeed, nearly all Nigerian waters are risky
. Cotonou, Benin: the number of incidents has
dropped but this is still considered a risky area;
many tankers have reported being attacked;
pirates force captains to sail to unknown
locations to steal their cargo
. Lome, Togo: pirates in this area are well armed
and violent; ships are hijacked as in Benin
“… all Nigerian waters are risky”
“… Benin … Togo … and [the Ivory Coast, n.b.
pirates from the Gulf of Guinea]”
. Abidjan, Ivory Coast: the first hijacking took
place just recently; Gulf of Guinea pirates may
have spread to this area
. Gulf of Aden/Red Sea: attacks in this area have
dropped due to active military action and armed
guards onboard ships; there is an Internationally
Recommended Transit Corridor within the Gulf
of Aden where naval and air protection is
provided to merchant ships, though vessels have
been hijacked in this corridor regardless
. Somalia: attacks have dropped significantly
here for the same reasons; Somali pirates
usually attack using a “mother ship”; this allows
them to do so far from shore and to launch
smaller boats for the final approach; hence the
warning to captains here to stay clear of dhows
and what look like fishing vessels and to be
prepared at all times to take evasive action, e.g.
to use more speed; alter direction to create wash;
to deploy fire-hoses and razor wire
“…Somalia [the Horn of Africa]… [and Somalian
pirates]”
“… [water cannon, molotov cocktails and armed
guards]”
“… the Internationally Recommended Transit
Corridor”
. Brazil: in 2011 the government created an
anti-piracy unit on the Amazon river
. Serbia/Romania: in 2011 shipping firms began
reporting pirate attacks on the Danube
Piracy Daily (www.piracydaily.com) promotes the
use of private maritime security companies (PMSCs)
. pirates have yet to successfully attack a ship
protected by armed security guards
. having largely succeeded in the Gulf of Aden
firms are now shifting their business to the new
“markets” in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, where
counter-piracy measures are still non-existent,
even though this is a major route for commodities
(e.g. US oil); here pirates want cargo not ransoms
. until states and international organizations can
agree on what to do, private firms are necessary
. these firms are “guns-for-hire” but they also have
codes of conduct and best practice to abide by as
issued by the IMO (n.b. compliance is uneven)
. firms also vary widely in quality; they include:
.. Britannia Maritime Security
.. Convoy Escort Programme Ltd.
.. Eos Risk Management
.. Protection Vessels International, and
.. Neptune Maritime Security
Britannia Maritime Security describes itself as
recruiting, training and retaining the “most
experienced maritime security advisers and
officers”; it is based in Glasgow, U.K.; it says that:
. “[a]ll our operators have military training and
commercial experience”, and it can provide
. “safe passage … anywhere in the world” plus
. “risk assessments, armed … unarmed … [and]
… escort … services … & anti-piracy solutions”
. it employs only former British military personnel
“or equivalent” [at a price, of course]
Convoy Escort Programme Ltd. uses seven exnavy patrol boats, each with eight armed guards,
to escorts ship through the Gulf of Aden
. in effect a private navy, it is backed by the U.K.
insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson
. setting it up cost $30m.; the company plans to
expand to eleven boats at a cost of $50m.; these
are all registered in Cyprus.
. the company charges $30,000 per ship, per
convoy of four ships, for 3-4 days
U.K.’s Neptune Maritime Security highlights how
much piracy costs in terms of the fear of attack and
the need to avoid particular areas and pay insurance
premium; there is also, it points out, the potential:
. abuse of crews
. repairs needed to vessels
. ransom monies (ships are held on av. 225 days)
. losses from trade
. lost or spoiled cargoes, and
. damages to corporate reputation
Eos Risk Management supplies protection to firms,
governments and NGOs; in each case it assesses
the threat and recommends the response, whether
this be a particular voyage or a fixed installation like an oil well
. Eos also provides training for those in the
private shipping, aviation, oil and gas, and ports
and facilities sectors, and
. the trainers themselves all have first-hand
industry knowledge
Protection Vessels International Ltd. calls itself the
global leader in armed maritime security; it says it
is the largest such company in the world; set up in
2008, it is independent, privately owned, and made
up of seafarers who provide security; it is not, in
other words, a security company working in
shipping (its managers are top ex-Royal Marines)
. it specializes in safe passage in the Indian Ocean
. it claims to deliver military-standard security for
commercial purposes only
So, what is the relevance of “pirates” to “old” and
“new” wars?
. pirates do not fight “old”-style wars with
regular armed forces; if they do, they lose
. they are criminals who rob/kill for themselves
. this said, they do engage in predatory financing
and state un-making (as in Somalia)
. they have no interest in “winning” though; they
only want what they can get from their victims
Kaldor talks about how “‘new’ war economies” are
“decentralized” and how those who fight in them
use hostage-taking and plunder; activities like these
can “only be sustained”, however, “through
continued violence so that a war logic is built into
the functioning of the economy. This retrograde set
of social relationships … spreads[s] across borders
through … organized crime. [Indeed i]t is possible
to identify clusters of war economies in places such
as … the Horn of Africa … or West Africa”
“… hostage-taking”
“… organized crime”
Is she talking about “pirates”, who should then be
seen as playing a role in “new” wars? It certainly
sounds like she might be
. what do you think?
. while “pirates” do not engage in “old” war
practices, do they engage in some (but not all)
“new” war ones?
. if so, how many must they engage in for us to
characterize them as “new” war actors?
Perhaps Captain Jack knows …
Thank you …
… and I hope to see you next week