week 11 yesterday and today: pirates. what is “piracy”? who are “pirates”? why talk about...

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 non- state actors under a states 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)

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. Art. 102 says piracy can also involve any warship, government ship or government

... [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 14 th century BC i.e. at the end of the Bronze Age. these pirates came from western Anatolia (todays Turkey or southern Europe). they raided Syria, Canaan (todays 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 todays 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 8 th and 12 th 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 9 th 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 16 th -19 th 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 18 th 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 mens clothing and joined a Dutch merchant ship bound for the Caribbean; the ship was captured by English pirates; she joined them until she met Rackhams 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 OMalley 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 fathers 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 OMalley

. 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 Queens 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 1660s, 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; Rachels 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 19 th 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 Shihs, 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 UNs 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 IMBs Piracy Reporting Centre was created in 1992 since 50,000 merchant ships use vulnerable areas each year. it is the worlds 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)www.piracydaily.com. 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 Africas 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 ex- navy 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

week 11 yesterday and today: pirates. what is “piracy”? who are “pirates”? why talk about...

Documents

government slide

saintmalo slide

bounty slide

high seas slide

universal jurisdiction

enemies of humanity

private ship

government ship