Piracy
Piracy, in international law, robbery on the high seas. Piracy is a crime against all nations. Since pirates are international criminals, and since their crimes are committed outside the jurisdiction of any country, they may be tried in the courts of any nation.
The hijacking of an airplane for ransom or to force some type of action is sometimes referred to as air piracy or skyjacking. Since the late the 20th century, air pirates have appropriated numerous planes. Due to the increasing deaths in some skyjackings incidents, governments have begun to impose serious penalties for air piracy. Air pirates greatly vary in terms of methods and actions during a hijack. Some may threaten to destroy an aircraft, kill the passengers aboard, or crash the craft into a heavily populated area. Others may make political demands, which would require certain policy changes by a nation's government or the release of certain prisoners. At times there are large monetary demands for the safe return of the craft and its passengers. Others demand a large sum of money in exchange for the safe return of the plane and the people aboard. There have even been instances where hijackers have stolen a plane in an attempt to escape from the country due to punishment of some crime.
The first recorded air piracy took place in 1930 in Peru. The United States experienced its first case of air piracy in 1961. In 1969, there was a total record of 40 attempts. In an attempt to prevent air piracy, the airlines started a voluntary program of skyjack prevention, in 1970. By 1973 the U.S. government began to conduct inspections of all passengers and other security action to prevent armed people from boarding planes. On Sept. 11, 2001, the worst skyjacking incident in the history of U.S. took place. This hijack resulted in the death of about 3,000 people. The domestic law of most nations considers the hijacking of a transnational airliner to be a crime. The Hague Convention of 1970 is a treaty providing international law for the trial and punishment of skyjackers. About 130 nations, including the United States and Canada, have agreed to support the terms of the treaty.
Piracy differs from privateering, a practice once common in wartime but abolished after 1850. A privateer was a privately owned ship with a government license—called a letter of marque and reprisal—authorizing the vessel to prey on ships of the enemy. Persons engaged in privateering often became pirates by preying on ships of neutral nations, or by continuing their raids after the war's end.
Piracy has existed for as long as men have sailed the seas. Sometimes the term has been used very broadly. In the Middle Ages the people of western Europe referred to the Norsemen, or Vikings, who raided their shores as pirates. Later, the corsairs of North Africa, acting as privateers under the authority of the Ottoman sultan, were called “Barbary pirates.” The buccaneers who preyed on Spanish ships carrying treasure from America were regarded as pirates. However, many of them were acting on secret orders from their monarchs when their countries were not at war with Spain.
True piracy did exist, however, especially after wars, when there were many unemployed sailors. Many privateers turned to piracy. Sometimes there was a mutiny on a ship, and the leader of the mutiny became the pirate captain. Crew members were recruited from captured ships. No wages were paid since all crew members shared in the loot. Many pirate ships flew the “Jolly Roger,” a black flag with white skull and crossbones. Pirates were notoriously disorderly, and the lack of discipline usually led to their downfall.
A famous sea captain hanged as a pirate, although many believed him innocent, was William Kidd. After his death in 1701, stories arose of treasures he had hidden. Tales of hidden pirate gold passed into folklore, and led to much searching and digging and inspired many stories.
Bartholomew Roberts, one of the most successful of pirates, was killed in battle in 1722 after taking more than 400 ships. Other famous pirates were Blackbeard (Edward Teach) and John Avery.
By the late 19th century, the power of the pirates in the last pirate stronghold, the Strait of Malacca and the China Sea, had been broken. Piracy, however, did not disappear completely from the oceans of the world. Various acts of piracy, usually by small private vessels attacking other small boats, have been reported in such areas the South China Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico.