In which century did pirates prevail?

Pirates have a long history. It can be said that where there is a ship, there are pirates. Both the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire tried to establish their own rule in the Mediterranean, but in the end they failed to eradicate the pirates in the Mediterranean. Pirates were rampant throughout the Middle Ages, and their activities extended from the Mediterranean to the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean.

Pirates: the itch of the Roman Empire

Since the 5th century BC, the Romans had to take pains to deal with pirates on Corsica and scattered islands. Although the establishment of Roman colonial rule has curbed the increasingly rampant piracy to some extent, the biggest threat still comes from these two inaccessible islands. Because the Romans couldn't catch the elusive pirate ship, they wanted to destroy the pirates by eradicating their rear bases.

On the north shore of Apennine Peninsula, Ligurians often attack some ships. After several years of hard work, Rome finally gained a firm foothold here and put some Ligurian people in central Italy. Many small islands scattered along the Illyrian coast of the Adriatic Sea are still the nests of "barbaric peoples" who robbed passing ships. They are good at shipbuilding and often harass the Italian coast. The kingdom ruled by Queen Tita became a real "land of predators". Her rule did not end until Rome sent troops in 2 19 BC.

The Romans themselves were invaded by pirates from Crete. In BC 189, more than 4,000 Roma were brought to the island. But Rome at that time had been at war with the kingdom of Seleucia ruled by King Antioch for many years and didn't want to get involved in this matter again. Italian businessmen also saw business opportunities from pirates, because pirates brought them tame labor. Tyrol became a stronghold for their human trade with pirates from Silesia, Crete and Ethiopia. Pirates have landed in Sicily since the 2nd century BC. They plundered the Roman fleet and made the eastern Mediterranean restless.

In Silesia, south of Asia Minor, there are several groups of rampant pirates hiding in a maze-like island. They also built two strong castles to challenge Roman territory. They allied themselves with Mithradati VI, the most powerful king in Asia Minor. Angry Rome sent troops to fight pirates many times, but they were not thorough enough.

By BC 1 century, piracy was more rampant. They attacked cargo ships carrying grain, and even the ships of Roman governors dared to rob them. This time, Rome was serious: in 67 BC, Rome decided to send General Pompeii to destroy pirates. Pompeii led 5000 warships and1.2000 soldiers to the Mediterranean and destroyed the pirate's lair. The rest of the pirates were either incorporated into the Roman army or moved to some agricultural areas to start farming for a living. The Mediterranean returned to its former calm.

Later, the tranquility of Roman maritime territory was broken by pirates, this time in the form of an uprising against Roman rule. The most unsafe are the waters along the Roman border: the Atlantic Ocean, the Black Sea and the Red Sea. Although there are garrisons in the ports here, they are beyond our reach and cannot monitor the vast sea area, so pirates can breed again. After the 3rd century, frequent wars were accompanied by serious economic and political crises, which provided fertile soil for the prosperity of pirates. The era of peace in the Roman Empire is gone forever, and the shadow of pirates once again enveloped the Mediterranean region.

Pirates: The Pain of National Destruction in Byzantine Empire

In the vast Byzantine Empire, the Mediterranean Sea is a fortress for transportation, so it is necessary to combat pirates. The empire did make some achievements in dealing with traditional pirates. However, with the arrival of Arabs who conquered this area in the 7th century and crusaders in the 3rd century, the sea power of the Byzantine Empire was completely shaken.

The determined Arabs launched a holy war. They will do anything to weaken the enemy. They plundered wealth and sold prisoners into slaves. Arabian pirates poisoned people and people fled the pirate-infested areas. Byzantium had to redeem the prisoners with gold, which led to a steady flow of wealth into those Arab countries. In this difficult period, pirates off the coast of Italy also caused the Byzantine Empire a deep headache.

1204, crusaders captured Constantinople. Byzantines believed that the fall of the capital was attacked by a group of drunken pirates who killed and set fire to it. Crusaders burned and looted along the coast of Asia Minor and made huge profits by selling slaves. /kloc-the slave trade flourished in the 0/3rd century, especially in the 0/4th century. "Turks" and "Moors" were plundered to the slave market in Crete and then sold to Catalans, Venetians and Genoese as slaves.

However, these coastal cities did not only rely on slave trade, Genoa and Venice also traded with the East by sea. Through these ports, oriental spices, silk, ivory and gold flow to western countries. Pirates from Catalonia and Sicily, who are salivating over these wealth, have been waiting for opportunities to rob the ships carrying these goods.

Pirates: a stumbling block to European economy

After 1350, there were more and more pirate strongholds along the coast of Sicily, Lipari and malta island. The cavalry guarding malta island turned a blind eye to what adventurers from all over Europe did here, because their robbery brought prosperity to the island. The interests of Genoese and Venetians were threatened. They took action against malta island in 138 1, but with little effect.

At the same time, some Muslim pirates from Tunisia began to attack Sicily. Watchtowers have been set up on every coast of Sicily. Poor islanders also joined the pirates to fight against the "cruel" Saracens (what Europeans called Arabs or Muslims in Spain and other places in the Middle Ages). Under the guise of maintaining religious beliefs, extortion, violent conflicts and slavery are everywhere. In the Mediterranean ports of 14 and 15 centuries, maritime robbery has almost become a "national industry", a means for the poor to make a living, a pillar for maintaining the economy, and even seems to be the reason for the existence of ports and countries.

Under the invasion of Vikings (Vikings who plundered the European coast), the maritime trade in the Euro-Atlantic region was hit hard. It was not until the13rd century that economic prosperity began to revive maritime trade: more and more ships sailed along the coast, and the fishing industry flourished. International trade forms two main lines: one is eastward, passing through Bruges and Lubeck, leading to Novgorod; The other went west and ran to England via Holland.

Pirates dormant in winter woke up as soon as spring arrived and greedily peeped at the ships coming and going at sea. Their goal is clear: near the Danish Strait, they will rob ships from Baltic countries; In the English Channel, they robbed the Venetian and Dutch cargo ships carrying salt from Brno Bay and the British cargo ship carrying French aquitaine wine. Frequent foggy weather in spring and autumn makes navigation at sea extremely difficult, which is a godsend opportunity for pirates to take advantage of the fire to rob. When there are not many "trophies", pirates will not hesitate to attack fishing boats in the North Sea.

Those who live in remote ports or poor islands have benefited a lot from piracy and regard piracy as the savior who can bring them a rich life. On Godland Island, Helgolan Island, Isle of Wight, Matz Island, Visane Island and Groj Island, every passing boat makes the islanders covet. They are always ready to receive ships looking for a safe haven in bad weather. Whenever possible, or as long as they estimate that they can get the upper hand, they will take these ships and goods as their own.

At that time, violence was common at sea, national unity did not exist at all, and vendetta between families was the law. Many times, the insults and provocations of the crew and fishermen are an excuse for islanders to rob ships and kill people. 13 and 14 centuries, whaling ships can be seen everywhere in the English Channel and Atlantic Ocean. The shipowner is a nobleman who wants to take risks at sea. They seldom make friends, have no allies, and don't know which route is safer. Bordeaux, bretons, Basques and British people know sea routes like the back of their hands. They don't have to work hard, just wait quietly for their prey to bite.

After the ship was attacked, the prisoners were often beaten up and thrown into the bilge, and the pirates asked them to promise not to seek revenge. Sometimes, the crew of hijacked ships are robbed of all their belongings and then thrown into a small boat without food and water by pirates. Pirates sometimes mercilessly cut off prisoners' hands and feet or simply throw them into the sea. People who live by the sea have no chivalry.

In that bloody era, maritime violence spread like an epidemic and became a huge obstacle to the economic development of European countries.