Who Were the First Pirates?
In ancient times, sea traders often raided cargo ships on the Mediterranean Sea and in the Far East. These men were called sea rovers, or pirates. They also robbed coastal towns of their riches and held prisoners for ransom. Since piracy was against the laws of all nations, pirates did not fly any one nation’s flag; instead, the
Piracy, which is robbery on the high seas, has been going on for thousands of years. Even ancient Greek and Roman ships were often attacked by pirates in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. In fact, the pirates became so powerful that they set up their own kingdom in part of what is now Turkey. The Romans had to send an expedition to destroy them in the year 67 B.C. A great period of piracy lasted from the 1300s to 1830. Pirates established themselves in ports of northern Africa in what were called the Barbary States: Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. They would capture and loot European ships that sailed the Mediterranean and sell their passengers and crews into slavery or hold them for ransom. This piracy did not stop until the French conquered Algiers in 1830.
