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 The "Golden Age of Piracy" may have ended in 1730, but piracy has never completely died out, and today it is thriving in many parts of the world. In the last decade alone, pirate attacks have risen by 75%, and in 2008, seafarers suffered a surprising 290 attacks globally.
Pirate Hotspots
While Somalia has captured media headlines with its brutal hijacking of ships in the last year, the sliver of ocean between Indonesia and Malaysia previously held the title as the most dangerous waters in the world. Today, attacks still occur in and around the Caribbean, while the west coast of Africa and India's Bay of Bengal also rank high in pirate hits each year.
The locations of these pirate hot spots signal that, in some ways, piracy hasn't changed much. Pirates still target waterways that see the highest commercial traffic. In today's world, our heaviest shipping lanes lie in the narrow passageways that link trading regions, such as the Gulf of Aden connecting Africa and Arabia to Europe, and the Straits of Malacca and Bay of Bengal, which form the primary portals from Asia to India. Jurisdiction for policing these passageways can be quite complicated, making law enforcement difficult.
The Roots of Piracy
Like pirates of the past, modern pirates still steal cargo, money, ships, and people. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that last year there were an unprecedented high of 49 ships seized and nearly 900 crewmen held for ransom. Part of organized crime gangs, the most sophisticated pirate crews gun for the big tankers carrying fuel, while smaller, low-end pirates often aim for private yachts or ships that might be carrying large amounts of cash for pleasure, payroll, or port fees.
Reasons for the rise of piracy also mirror those in the past: failing economies and the loss of strong governmental structures in pirate-host countries, few or poorly paid positions for seamen in nations dependent on shipping, etc. And the battles at sea continue to be bloody, making use of high-tech weaponry and modern navigational tools.
To learn more about piracy today, take a look at the following websites and articles:
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The International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre provides a weekly piracy report, a live piracy map, piracy alerts, and more.
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Somali Piracy, an article from the Atlantic Council of the United States, discusses Somali pirate activity.
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Dark Passage, a National Geographic article, describes piracy in the Straits of Malacca.
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Modern Pirates, a National Geographic article, covers where, how, and why pirates are active today.
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Piracy, A Continuing Problem is a National Geographic Xpeditions Lesson Plan that asks students to compare and contrast piracy in its "golden age" with modern piracy.
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The History of Maritime Piracy is a website that contains a comprehensive list of articles and resources that address both historical and modern piracy and related issues.
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* The content of this page was created by The Field Museum in response to recent events.
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