Piracy

The term pirate is a sticky one, which the European powers apply to a wide variety of acts. For example, Kanhoji Angre of the Marthan Empire is claimed by the colonial powers to be a pirate, even though he is only acting in the interests of his country. His attempts to levy taxes against Dutch, Portuguese, and British ships is looked upon as simple piracy. The term pirate is also wrapped up in the slave trade because of the raids that some pirates make against coastal settlements. Here is a copy of the 1724 book written by Daniel Defoe entitled A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates.

Piracy usually happens on the Barbary Coast (the southern part of the Mediterranean), the Caribbean, the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, and any other place that pirates can find safe haven. Pirates sometimes form what are called pirate utopias or pirate havens, which are small communities, typically on an island, which answer to no nation. Buccaneer is a term roughly synonymous with pirate, though buccaneers usually have larger ships and are more likely to attack coastal cities.

The great powers view pirates as a cheap way to attack their enemies. When a pirate ship is issued a letter of marque, they become a privateer and can no longer be brought up on charges of piracy. A privateer is usually funded by investors hoping to get a large return on investment. The distinction between pirate and privateer is a fine one, depending mostly on who they are attacking. The arrangement is agreeable to the great powers because it allows a country with a small navy to force their enemies to deploy warships for protection. Privateering tends to go on regardless of who happens to be at war with whom at the time. Nations will sometimes also make alternate arrangements with pirates, such as giving them gold in return for a guarantee that their merchant ships will not be attacked.

Pirates generally operate under the Articles of Agreement, a pirate's code. Each man on a crew is required to sign the articles, then swear an oath (either on a Bible, astride a cannon, over crossed pistols, or similar). This entitles them to a share of the plunder, a vote for officers, and various other rights on the crew.

Edward Teach is the most famous pirate of the time, having cultivated an image of absolute terror. His beard smokes and flames when he appears on deck, and he has been known to murder people just so his crew will remember to fear him. He is suspected of having demonic blood running through his veins, though in reality he is of the genasi. Many pirates come from unusual stock, mostly because they are better tolerated by outlaws. Wood elves are also known as great sailors, and their disregard for rules and society makes them well suited to working a pirate ship.

The end of the War of Spanish Succession has meant that thousands of seamen have been relieved of duty. They are trained and idle at a time when colonial trade between Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa (triangular trade) is booming. The surplus of maritime labor is causing merchant vessels to lower their wages and reduce the quality of shipboard living conditions, which has pushed mortality rates higher. Many sailors would prefer the life of a pirate to that offered by legitimate work. Already, piracy is on the rise, and the next seven years will see the greatest proliferation of piracy in world history. Pirates come from all over Europe, as well as Arabia.

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