International maritime piracy: an old profession that is capable of new tricks, but change is possible.

AuthorBarker, Simon
PositionEnd Game: An International Conference on Combating Maritime Piracy

For those of us living in North America, the history of piracy coincides with the history of the colonization of the New World. Today, pirates may be dressed differently but to practice their profession still requires a fast craft and a slower victim. In places like the Malacca Straits, the South China Sea, West and East Africa, the crime pays handsomely so pirates will not be disappearing any time soon. What also has not changed over the years is the law on the subject. The rules are still based upon an artificial line drawn in the water, twelve nautical miles from land. Whether the law gets reformed will depend on the world's appetite to amend the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Until then, the solution to curb maritime piracy must remain a combination of diplomacy, military force, continued vigilance, and a desire to treat the matter as nothing more than a law enforcement problem.

CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION II. THE WAY PIRACY USED TO BE COMMITTED III. THE WAY THAT PIRACY IS CONDUCTED TODAY IV. THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK THAT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND THE PIRATES ARE WORKING WITHIN TODAY V. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCTION

The term "piracy" today is one that is frequently misused. While reading the daily news, whether via hard or electronic copy, it is common to find the term used in a loose, popular sense to refer to acts of violence or lawlessness at sea, no matter where the piratical act takes place, whether inshore or offshore.

It is important to realize that there is nothing particularly romantic about the crime of piracy. The term "pirate" is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as meaning a sea-robber, or a marauder. (1) A marauder, simply put, is someone that goes about pilfering. Thus, in effect, pirates are nothing more than common thieves--but that is not how Hollywood has characterized them. Today, characters such as Captain Jack Sparrow, portrayed by Johnny Depp, have done much to make the life of a pirate look both cool and stylish. It was, and is, anything but that.

For those of us living in North America, especially those of us residing on the Eastern side of the continent, the history of piracy coincides with the history of the colonization of the New World. (2) By understanding the evolution of piracy, from the changing modus operandi of pirates and the motivations driving their actions, the international community can work to first amend existing legal instruments, as well as to create a modern and comprehensive solution to piracy both on and offshore.

  1. THE WAY PIRACY USED TO BE COMMITTED (3)

    It has been said that looking back at the history of piracy can provide part of the explanation for why the term itself is so misused today and why there is a widespread misunderstanding of the essential purpose of the rules of international law on piracy. (4) From stealing Spanish galleons to the taking of simple cargoes of furs, the romantic definition of piracy stems from a Golden Age during which pirates freely roamed the open seas with little or no regulations.

    On the heels of the Spanish thrust into Central America came the fishing fleets of the English, French and Portuguese. Fishery in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland grew quickly, employing hundreds of ships and thousands of men and women; all resided and worked in a land with no government closer than Europe and no authority higher than that of a "fishing admiral." (5) As a result, Newfoundland quickly became a haven for pirates. The reward was wealth and, for some, social status. At a time when the annual wage for the working man was five to ten pounds Sterling, a pay-off of 1,000 dollars at the end of a pirate voyage was quite the prize. Some pirates, upon retirement, were actually able to buy their way into the European nobility; one retiree even became a judge! (6)

    The "gold medal" of piracy was said to be the taking of a Spanish treasure ship. (7) Yet equally as popular were French cargoes of wine and English cargoes of shore-cured fish and furs from Hudson Bay and the St. Lawrence River. (8) The pirates favored no one particular state, and there was no shortage of cargoes to sell on the black market in the "free ports" of Southern France and years later in the colonies, from New England down to the Carolinas. (9) Thus, the need for every state to act against piracy on the high seas was simply a reflection of the common interests of European powers to protect their fleets, which were the lifeline of their colonial empires. The need was styled as a duty of every state, not a right.

    Piracy in the "Golden Age" was not something that was easily accomplished. It was a complex undertaking. To do it properly required a fast, well-armed ship, a navigator, and a large crew, none of which came cheap. Piracy depended upon constant recruitment: seamen were being "taken," either at sea as a prize, or on land, or they were recruited either voluntarily or through force by the use of a press gang. Further, piracy was very much a young man's game, with the age of most pirates ranging from 18 to 30 years. (10) Even boys as young as ten years...

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