16 centrespread centrespread 17 FEBRUARY 03-09, 2013 FEBRUARY 03-09, 2013 Raiders of the Arks Rogues’ Gallery From Blackbeard to Jack Sparrow, pirates have ruled the seas as well as the imagination. Modern sea robbers have traded Edward Teach (1680-1718) Better known as Blackbeard, Teach the eye patch for Kalashnikovs and a loot worth millions of dollars. ET Magazine charts their course rarely used force, depending more on his demonic appearance — big Text: Yusuf Begg | Design: Anand build with flowing hair and beard in which he lit slow-burning fuses! With his flagship Queen Anne’s Revenge, Raiders of thePrivateers Arks he terrorised the Caribbean. 1 ‘Lawful’ pirates, authorised by governments to 2 Pirate’s raid enemy ships and Pirates share profits Cheung Po Tsai (1783-1822) Sea robbers Kidnapped at age 15 by pirates, Log Book Cheung quickly became the leader. At his peak, he had thousands Buccaneers working for him and 600 ships Pirates/ privateers under his command. Famous for his Many 3 who operated in hidden treasure, he was active Shades the West Indies along the Guangdong coast of China. Piracy is as old as maritime trade, dating back to 14th century BC. That was when Phoenicians, Romans, Illyrians and Greeks engaged in some Barbary Corsairs Bangladesh sort of piracy around the Mediterranean coast. Legend has it that even Muslim pirates who (Chittagong) 1 Hot Mary Read & Julius Caesar was captured by pirates in the Aegean Sea. He is reported operated from North Africa 4 Anne Bonny to have demanded that the pirates up his ransom to reflect his worth! Spots Known as hell cats, they were the Between 8th and 12th century AD, Vikings ruled the waves, looting most notorious female pirates. coastal villages as well as sailing up rivers and raiding villages. Throughout the early 1700s, their The golden age of piracy was when cross-Atlantic trade took off, 5 fierce temper spread terror down Nigeria, the American east coast. between 1620 and 1720. Most pirates were English, French or Dutch. Maltese Corsairs Togo, Benin 2 And because Spain controlled much of the New World, its ships faced the Christian pirates, brunt of looting. This was the time when pirates became involved in who attacked slave trade, raiding the ships leaving West Africa for the Caribbeans. Turkish ships John “Boysie” Singh By the beginning of the 19th century, organised piracy was on the (1908-1957) wane as nations joined hands to clear the seas. In Southeast Asia, Kids in Trinidad and Tobago were piracy lasted from the 9th to the late 19th century, when British and told, “Behave yourself, man, or Somalia 3 American navies cleared the straits of sea raiders. Coast Boysie goyn getchu, oui.” Singh grad- Piracy around the Horn of Africa, and especially off Somalia coast, is a uated from petty crime to piracy and recent phenomenon. It started in the early 1990s. The root cause was smuggling (both goods and human). Legend has it that he killed 400. political instability and poverty. What started off as a reaction to stop 5 illegal fishing has become a full-fledged terror operation. Somali pirates 4 now move in speed boats and carry modern arms. Singapore Strait Malacca Jamal’s Pirate Strait Action Group Unruly Waters Modern-day pirates use Kalash- nikovs and speed boats. And some, like this Somali group, have official letterheads. While sending ransom Economic - Income over the Attacks in 2012. These demands, it gives the value of the No. of cost of $168,630 394,200 entire working life if included 28 vessels hijacked, vessel, cargo and crew. attacks piracy in pirates took up an 585 crew members taken bn Average annual earning of a Somali in 2011 $7 2011 alternative profession pirate over a five-year period* $14,500 439 297 hostage and 6 killed (Figures worldwide; Source: International Maritime Bureau) *Assuming there are only 1,500 active pirates off Somalia coast. Source: Oceans Beyond Piracy, Geopolicity Inc Who can forget classics like Treasure one episode the pirates even desert their When it comes to films on and about cised the idea of pirates. Adventure in Pirate Island and Peter Pan? Their portrayals of own ship when they find Asterix and pirates, the first that pops to mind is the high seas, sword fights and outre pirates have become cultural memes. The Obelisk have boarded it! Wide the Pirates of the Caribbean series. costumes make for great visuals. Add a Tales brigands also feature regularly in the For a non-fictional account, there is the A number of actors lapped up the dash of romance and the queues out- Asterix series — Asterix the Gladiator, superb The Pirates of Somalia by Jay Angle offer to play swashbuckling pirates – side the box office get longer. Think Asterix and the Black Gold, Asterix in Bahadur. The journalist captures the ori- from Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks The Princess Bride, A High Wind in Spain... But the roles are reversed. The gins of Somali piracy and the internal to Johnny Depp. Jamaica, or the delightful animation pirates live in mortal fear of the Gauls. In workings of those groups. A superb read. Most Hollywood films have romanti- The Pirates! Band of Misfits..