Instructor: Clive O'Malley

 Pirates have been with us since man first put to sea. Like on land, when one man had something of value, another man would usually try to take it. With today's movies and books focusing on the Caribbean we tend to think of this area being the only place to have had pirates however, the history of piracy has touched all areas of the globe. Ancient pirates plagued the Eastern Mediterranean long before the pyramids and dates back more than 3000 . Today the English word "pirate" has different meanings. According to the Webster Dictionary, it means:

• A robber on the high seas; one who by open violence takes the property of another on the high seas; especially, one who makes it his business to cruise for robbery or plunder; a freebooter on the seas; also, one who steals in a harbor.

• An armed ship or vessel which sails without a legal commission, for the purpose of plundering other vessels on the high seas.

 It appears that the word "pirate" was used for the first time by the Roman historian Polybius about 140 BC. An early written source of piracy and its description can be found in Homer's "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey". The first clear definition of piracy was written down by the Greek historian Plutarch in about 100 AD. Plutarch describes the pirates as people who attacked ships and maritime cities without legal authority.

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