P
IRACY IS AN AGE-OLD MENACE whose tide
is on the rise. In recent years, it has threatened
shipping around Indonesia, Bangladesh, and
areas of West Africa. In the past 18 months,
merchant vessel run-ins with waterborne rob-
bers have exploded around the Horn of Africa,
notably in the Gulf of Aden off So-
malia’s north shore. In 2008, these
modern-day Robin Hoods exacted
roughly $150 million in ransoms
from shipping off the Horn of Africa,
according to the U.N. An attack, ran-
som demand, standoff, and dramatic
rescue grabbed headlines — and the
public imagination — in April.
A long, ignoble history
Originating centuries before Christ,
early privateers often were state-
sponsored and regionally fi nanced.
The capture of wealthy citizens could
be more attractive than the theft
of merchant cargo. Julius Caesar rica’s northern coast, they command- The bombardment of Tripoli in
was seized and ransomed — though ed substantial fl eets and, on occasion, August 1804 is depicted in this 1846
after his release, he hunted down enjoyed a position within the navies lithograph by Nathaniel Currier.
and killed the bandits. Waterborne of the Ottoman Empire.
thievery spanned much of the known After years of losing ships, car- pirates’ increased demands had be-
world, stretching from the Mediter- goes, and crews, Europeans found it come untenable. President Jefferson,
ranean to the waters around the U.K., more cost-effective to pay a toll for who long had opposed payments to
Scandinavia, India, and beyond. safe passage than to fi ght the pirates. the outlaws, decided to fi ght.
The U.S. fi rst encountered this Great Britain provided protection “Millions for defense, but not one
unconventional enemy early in its his- and paid for the safe transit of the cent for tribute!” — fi rst uttered years
tory. The Barbary pirates had made ships of her colonies. But American earlier — became a rallying slogan
passage through the Mediterranean independence changed that arrange- for what later was known as the First
hazardous since the 16th century. ment, and the new nation had to pay Barbary War. Jefferson dispatched
Well-fi nanced by the states along Af- its own tribute. By 1801, the Barbary the U.S. Navy to North Africa to take
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