The Root Cause Of Piracy In Somalia

Their contemporaries described them as “Robbers, Opposers, and Violators of all Laws, Humane and Divine.” Many viewed themselves as a more selfish reincarnation of Robin Hood, stealing from wealthy merchants, foreign traders, and abusive captains, and in doing so, threatening the hierarchical status quo of seventeenth and eighteenth English society by declaring “war against the world.” The Law considered them hostes humani generis, enemies of all mankind. In reality, Anglo-American pirates were none of those things, or perhaps more accurately, were not one but a combination. They were all robbers, since piracy in its most elementary definition is nothing more than a robbery at sea, something the English Admiralty recognized from its establishment in the fourteenth century. There was certainly also some relevance for their self-perceptive image of stealing from the rich and giving to themselves in order to escape the unjustness of a hierarchical society.

During the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries, piracy was rampant in the Atlantic, specifically in the West Indies. Piracy has existed since the earliest days of ocean travel, for a range of personal and economic reasons. However, one of the major reasons why piracy was wide spread and rampant in the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries was Great Britain’s endorsement and usage of piracy as an asset; in wars fought in the New World. Great Britain with its expanding power and conflicts with other nations would make piracy a lifestyle and lay down the foundation for the Golden Age of Piracy and eventually bring what it created to a screeching halt.

Most people do not know this but piracy on international waters and on the coast of Somalia has become an increasingly important issue to global businesses. Since most people are unaware of this growing problem it has just now been noticed. To help stop piracy most crews are encouraged to have trained officers aboard while shipping cargo to avoid attacks by pirates. 95 percent of the piracy on international waters is by somali pirates. That’s right 95 percent. Piracy is robbery/stealing at sea. Not a lot of people are aware that piracy occurs almost everyday.

Someone who robs or commits illegal violence at sea or on the shores of the sea is, by definition, a pirate. Piracy in the Age of Sails has set an image for what a pirate truly is. The collective perception of a pirate of old makes fondness for the modern pirate virtually unheard of, as they have become an excellent subject for entertainment and bring joy to many with modern interpretations of adventures undertaken by the buccaneers. Pirates have become a staple in the market, having multiple brands and products named and based on them, such as movies, liquors, video games, and music.

Because of the "poverty, lack of employment, environmental hardship, pitifully low incomes, reduction of pastoralist and maritime resources due to drought and illegal fishing and a volatile security and political situation all contribute to the rise and continuance of piracy in Somalia.”6 For one thing the pirate trade is easy to do; there is no real fear of their targeted victims shooting at them, because “by International agreement, civilian vessels” cannot have guns.7 The money a pirate earns is great, and has made the pirates “the country's most eligible bachelors,” pirating has become “Somalia’s biggest industry.”7 In 2008, Sugule Ali, a pirate who was part of the seizing of MV Faina, a Ukrainian freighter packed with Soviet-made tanks, grenade launchers …etc. “demanded $25 million for its release told a reporter, "We only want the money."

Villains of All Nations, by Marcus Rediker, is a collection of ideas and information about pirates in the Golden Age of Atlantic piracy, between the years 1650 and 1730. This book is a collection of the unprecedented social and cultural history of pirates, mainly at sea, but also before they became pirates, and how piracy affected maritime culture. It delves into the ideas and realities of pirate life and helps further an understanding of piracy during this time. Rediker claims, “The pirates of the 1710s and 1720s were among the greatest ever in the long history of robbery by sea” (Rediker 8). The text explores the Golden Age of piracy and the generation that shaped the modern, romanticized view of pirates.

According the the United Nations, their odious acts were caused by illegal fishing in boats that were taking advantage of the war. Another reason could be the dumping of toxic waste in Somali waters, therefore destroying their fishing economy. This resulted in a loss of income in the Somali communities. Now, they must rely on attacking large ships, and stealing money or goods aboard. One of these attacks was portrayed in the movie Captain Phillips - a true story regarding the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama ship by Somali pirates. Even though many ships are threatened, very few ships are successfully hijacked by these

Although pirates were popular in the Elizabethan Era, they are now negligible. There are anti-piracy groups who despise and are against piracy. From receiving support from the government, they expect the anti-piracy groups to make legal impacts on piracy cases. Even though schools talk about it and may even have a brief lecture about modern pirates and about today’s pirates, they have deteriorated over the years. Somalia is an old fashioned country in Africa where they are not updated on today’s clothing and technology showing that they’re still accustomed to old traditions which include piracy.

piracy was a last resort refuge for a dejected class of sailors who did not fit in with normative

For centuries, all forms of crime have been displayed across history. Since the time of the Greek civilization, pirates have roamed the seas. These men and women have left their homes and families in a daring attempt to take what does not belong to them, all in the name of money and glory. Even today, pirates are still a present and very real threat to trade ships and their crews all over the world, with the areas of pirate activity shifting from one sea to the next over time. As time and technology has moved on, so too have the methods and effectiveness of these sea thieves.

The United Nations and many of its committees and non-governmental organizations are actively involved in putting a stop to piracy and making the affected areas safe for trade ships and privately owned vessels to sail. The UN has several anti-piracy organizations that monitor and fight pirating. These NGOs (non-governmental organizations) include the IMO (International Maritime Organization), the IMB (International Maritime Bureau), and the BMC (Bureau of Maritime Crimes). The United Nations also uses the PRC (Piracy Reporting Centre) to collect incident reports and other data on pirate attacks. Within the UN there are also committees in charge of combatting piracy, some of which include: the Maritime Safety Committee and The Maritime Security

So I’m going to be taking a craft over in international waters without permission, which by definition… makes me a pirate. Mark Watney: Space Pirate.” This is Mark's view of things. In the U.S we have a very strict set of laws set in lace in the

Somalia has been dealing with piracy for decades now. Piracy is a major problem in today’s waters, but what exactly is piracy? Piracy is the practice of attacking and robbing ships at sea. The piracy epidemic in Somalia is not going to go away overnight. Piracy in Somalia has drastically affected everything about the country. Piracy might now sound like a whole lot of a big deal, but the real fact is, it is a big deal. Solving such an issue as piracy is not an easy task by any means. To solve any issue one must understand the effects of the issue. The effect of Somalian piracy on the shores of Somalia can be fully understood, but it takes, time, patience and hard work. The Somalian pirates have caused untold mayhem on

Piracy in Somalia has come about due to years of internal fighting and weakened government. With the overthrow of the president in 1991, Somalia has been a complete anarchy with only the laws of rival clans who have been in power. Though long before that the country has been in constant war between the people of the country because money and food have been always been scarce. Small amounts of money have been made through some exports but the real money came from the fishing off the coast. Recently because of the lack of laws commercial fisherman from all over the world have been over-fishing the waters and leaving the Somalis with too few fish to survive. European companies have used this lack of laws as a way to easily dump their

Maritime piracy in recent weeks has been on the rise around the Gulf of Aden, the Somali Basin, and the Indian Ocean. As stated in the text book, “In the first six months of 2011, there were 266 pirate attacks on the world’s seas. More than 60 percent of those were by Somali pirates who are increasingly bold in their actions.” For example, in 2011 there was an attack by Somali pirates which shocked most. The Somali pirates during monsoon season targeted a ship and proceeded to shoot at it in the Indian Ocean.