Piracy
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Piracy is a criminal act of robbery or violence, typically at sea, and can also range from naval warfare and coastal raids. Acts of piracy can be committed on land, in the air, or near bodies of water, including shores.[1]
An individual who participates in piracy is known as a pirate, though they should not be confused with privateers, who were state-sponsored sailors allowed to steal from the ships of enemy countries.[2]
Although pirates have existed for most of recorded history, they were especially prevalent during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, a period traditionally known as the "Golden Age of Piracy". During this period, acts of piracy were widely committed in many regions of the world but especially in the Caribbean. Piracy in the Caribbean was facilitated by the establishment of a Pirate Republic in the captured settlement of Nassau, where a large number of pirates, privateers, and other sailors came together to form the Brethren of the Coast to better represent and coordinate their interests.[3]
History[edit | edit source]
5th century BCE[edit | edit source]
Around the time of the Peloponnesian War, pirates were a common sight on the Aegean Sea. The Spartan misthios Kassandra encountered them often aboard the Adrestia, a trireme commanded by Kassandra and her first mate, Barnabas.[4] Occasionally, Kassandra took on a bounty for especially mighty pirate ships,[5] or agreed to help people by sinking various pirate vessels.
12th century[edit | edit source]
Pirates sailed the Mediterranean Sea during the Middle Ages, including a group of Cypriot pirates who allied themselves with the Templars controlling Cyprus. During the Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's trip to Cyprus in 1191, a pirate named Pasha sailed him to Kyrenia. However, the majority of the pirates there attempted to capture him for the Templars.[6] When Altaïr returned to Limassol in 1193, he assassinated their captain.[7]
14th century[edit | edit source]
In 1321, the Templars in Italy hired pirates to steal Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad's Codex from Domenico Auditore, murdering his wife in the process.[8]
16th century[edit | edit source]
Due to the establishment of several trade routes in the Barbary Coast, there was a dramatic increase in piracy from the 16th century onwards. During this time, the Barbary Coast also became notorious for its slave trade. From bases in North Africa, Barbary pirates raided ships in the Mediterranean, plundering cargo and enslaving crew. Raids were also conducted along the seaside towns of Western Europe, with thousands of people captured, regardless of their race or religion. This eventually led to the Barbary Wars of the early 17th century.[9]
In 1511, Al-Scarab was an honorable pirate who sought revenge on the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze for humiliating him, but after they worked together to fight off some watchmen, he returned the favor by sailing him to Acre.[10] Soon after, the Ottoman Assassins allied with the Barbary pirate Hayreddin Barbarossa to undermine Spanish control of Algiers.[11] Also active at the time was the Templar pirate Eveline Guerra, and Blaise Legros, whose only loyalty was to money, transporting Templars and Assassins wherever they desired so long as they could pay him.[12]
17th century[edit | edit source]
The Golden Age of Piracy was considered to have taken place from the late 17th century to the early 18th century in the Caribbean Sea. The French pirate François l'Olonnais was active in the Caribbean Sea during the late 17th century. He was infamous for his cruelty, torturing his prisoners.[13]
During this time, William Kidd was a Scottish privateer active in the area. He was captured and executed on charges of piracy in 1701, but in truth, the accusations were made by Templars, hoping he would reveal the location of the Shard of Eden he had found.[14]
18th century[edit | edit source]
Alonzo Batilla and Olivier Levasseur were French privateers-turned-pirates operating in the Caribbean during the early 18th century. Levasseur, better known as La Buse, would later be executed by the British.[13]
Edward Kenway was a privateer-turned-pirate active in the Caribbean, who joined the Assassins later into his life. In the Pirate Republic of Nassau, there were other pirates such as Stede Bonnet, Mary Read, Edward Thatch, Benjamin Hornigold, Charles Vane, Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny, and Christopher Condent, many of whom eventually banded together to form a coalition they referred to as "the Brethren of the Coast". By September 1715, almost five hundred men had joined the Brethren.[3] However their capital, Nassau, fell to the British in 1718, quickly discouraging many members from staying.[15] Most of the captains who had formed the group died over the years, leading to the Brethren's dissolution by 1722.[3]
Other pirates in the Caribbean during this time operated independently, such as Bartholomew Roberts, Howell Davis, Abel Bramah, and Jing Lang.[3]
On the other side of the planet, in Southeast Asia, piracy was also prevalent. In 1725, a group of pirates occupied the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea and plundered countless European ships,[16] until they were killed by Edward Kenway and his organization, the Zhang Wei Union, on behalf of the Dutch East India Company.[17] Other notable pirates included Rupiya and Nagamasa, both of whom eventually joined the Union,[18][19] and Zheng, who became a privateer for the Qing Empire, serving the businesswoman Lee Huiyin as the admiral of her personal fleet.[20]
The city of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies hosted a significant number of pirates and privateers, most of whom were recruited by Edward and joined the Zhang Wei Union's fleet.[21] They subsequently accompanied the Assassin and his allies to Indochina, where they battled and defeated a combined East India Company and Qing fleet, which had formed a blockade around the peninsula to prevent the Union from reaching the mainland and finding the Forgotten Temple.[22]
During the mid-18th century, the pirates Joseph Reed and William Crest made a fortune attacking trade ships in the Atlantic Ocean. However, their Men O' War, the Pilgrim and the Cauldron, were eventually sunk by Shay Cormac's ship, the Morrigan.[23]
19th century[edit | edit source]
In 1805, Sultan Selim III sent Barbary pirates to board a ship and kill the Black Cross Solomon Bolden as he travelled from Italy to Tripoli. Bolden defeated the pirates with the help of Jan van der Graff, who was also traveling to Tripoli.[9]
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
Though the emblem of the pirates in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey seems to be based on a 3rd century BCE mosaic of a dragon from Caulonia,[24] according to the Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece, it's based on coins from Halikarnassos.[25]
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag's gameplay can give a false image about piracy. Pirates during the Golden Age did not fight frequently. They avoided battles, especially with armed navy ships, which is not possible in the game as all ships are military. They relied on intimidation by hoisting their colors and convincing merchant ships to surrender. A battle meant risking damaged cargo and sometimes the ship was the most valuable prize. Also, they usually did not kill and never pressed sailors from another crew to join them, but many volunteered. [citation needed]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed II (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations novel
- Assassin's Creed III: Liberation (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
- Assassin's Creed: Black Flag
- Assassin's Creed: Pirates
- Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag: Blackbeard – The Lost Journal (as "Pyrate")
- Assassin's Creed: Rogue
- Assassin's Creed: Templars
- Assassin's Creed: Reflections
- Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
- Echoes of History (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood of Venice
- Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple
- Assassin's Creed: Mirage (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Claws of Awaji (mentioned in Database entry only)
