Most successful Pirates

[Stumpfoot]

Who do you think was the most Successful? We are going to limit this to the Caribbean/Atlantic area. There were Chinese Pirates that commanded thousands of ships But their not as near and dear to our hearts as those listed above. :-D

My vote is for Black bart Roberts. He took over 400 ships before they finally got him off the coast of Africa.

[Phidippides]

I think the legends of pirates have flourished in recent times even though they likely lived brutal lives.  It would probably be interesting studying up on some in detail to see how they were able to comandeer their vessels and govern their crews in otherwise lawless microcosm "nations" on the sea.

[Stumpfoot]

Believe it or not most crews were a democracy. They voted where they would go what they would go after, etc. They could even vote out the captain in favor of someone else.

[Phidippides]

That's interesting to hear it.  What have you read on pirates in the past?

[Stumpfoot]

I,ve read a couple of general histories as well as a Jean Laffite bio and Captain Kidd.

[Phidippides]

I,ve read a couple of general histories as well as a Jean Laffite bio and Captain Kidd.

Then  you might like this news as it will undoubtedly lead to more findings about Captain Kidd:

Captain Kidd Ship Found

This was interesting:

It is remarkable that the wreck has remained undiscovered all these years given its location, just 70 feet off the coast of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic in less than 10 feet of seawater.

One would think that it would have been seen by air at certain times of day or even by someone on a boat near there.  I hope they record the recovery efforts.  The article also talked about how they weren't sure if Kidd was an actual pirate or not.  What does the biography you read suggest?

[Phidippides]

Modern-day Somali pirates have been pretty successful thus far.  Most likely because people don't expect it. 

[scout1067]

Modern-day Somali pirates have been pretty successful thus far.  Most likely because people don't expect it. 

Modern day pirates are successful because the nations of the world do not take the threat seriously.  This is one case where I am glad of increased press coverage to raise awareness of this.  Modern navies could stop this piracy in a few months if they really wanted too.  Look ta the history of the Barbary coast for a lesson in how to stop piracy.

[Phidippides]

Modern day pirates are successful because the nations of the world do not take the threat seriously.  This is one case where I am glad of increased press coverage to raise awareness of this.  Modern navies could stop this piracy in a few months if they really wanted too.  Look ta the history of the Barbary coast for a lesson in how to stop piracy.

You're right, it does seem like a relatively easy problem to stop from a security standpoint.  I read an article a few days ago about how the Somali pirates are building homes, buy SUVs, get the girls, etc.  They're basically living the high life.  It's not like they're hiding out in Blackbeard's Cove or something like that.  I'm sure they're well known in Somalia.  What I was saying was that people hadn't really expected piracy on the high seas to be a serious threat - until now.  Would cruise lines or oil tankers have taken piracy into account when considering routes past the Somali coast?  Before, probably not so much.  Now, yes.

[DonaldBaker]

I think the Somali Pirates are getting help from Western governments so that an excuse for a future invasion of the Horn of Africa can be justified.  But that might just be my tinfoil hat talking too.

[skiguy]

An invasion of the HoA is already justified and long overdue, IMO.

[DonaldBaker]

An invasion of the HoA is already justified and long overdue, IMO.

Perhaps, but who is going to pay for it?  We're broke as is Europe.  Maybe China can handle this one for us.

[Phidippides]

On what basis would such an invasion be justified??

[skiguy]

Because it's a very unstable area where terrorists (either home-grown, non-Muslim, or foreign Islamic jihadists) have controlled and/or created their own forms of government in the failed states.  If nothing is done about it, the terrorism will spread to other African nations at the very least, and perhaps spread further throughout other areas of the world.  Hopefully, part of the role of US-AFRICOM will be to address this issue.  I would not like to see a full scale US only 100,000+ troop invasion, but I would like to see some serious COIN campaigns going on there, if they're not being done already.  The African continent is rich in natural resources used globally.  For that reason alone it is justified to make sure these resources aren't controlled by the wrong people.  Plus all the human rights violations occuring.  Perhaps we don't like having to be the world cops all the time, but I think we have a moral obligation to lead or be part of a coalition, and it wouldn't surprise me that the AU would be quite willing to supply much of the neccessary manpower.

[DonaldBaker]

I agree, but who is going to pay for it?  I don't think we can fit it into our already strained budget, and I don't think Europe has the backbone to do it, and I don't think China or Russia give a rat's butt what goes on there because they obviously have no qualms with dealing with pirates and terrorists since they speak basically the same language....force.