Timmy Bucktoo

1200 BC - Lukka sea raiders harassed Mediterranean trade routes of the roman empire, and Illyrians controlled the Adriatic Sea.

 

1st Century BC - Cicilian pirates controlled much of the Mediterranean. They received a resounding defeat after Roman senate sent organised military fleets against them.

 

286 AD - Roman military commander Carausius fought against the Frankish and Saxon pirates in the area of English Channel.

 

2nd Century - Piracy emerged in Asian waters after the fall of the Chinese Han dynasty.

 

13 Century - Piracy emerged in the Mediterranean.

 

Late 14th Century - English and French fleets combined their forces to battle against African based corsairs.

 

1400 - Klaus Stoertebeker, one of the most famous German pirates was beheaded.

 

15th Century - Chinese Ming dynasty regained control over Asian waters.

 

16th Century - The rise in maritime technology and increased trading between Europe, Africa and the new world - fuelled piracy. Numerous ships and towns were ransacked in the newly discovered America.

 

1557 - Conflict between England and Spain brought the rise of privateers. Many famous privateers fought in the seas of Central America, most notably Sir Francis Drake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1623 -1638 - The Caribbean became a haven for pirates. Over 500 ships were destroyed or raided.

 

1650 -1680 - Anglo-French commenced their attack on Spanish shipping lanes and ports, creating the first phase of the ‘Golden Age of Piracy’.

 

1695 - Pirate Captain Henry Every captured an Indian treasure ship that contained incredible wealth.

 

1690’s - Caribbean based pirates started doing their ‘Pirate Round’ by sailing to the Indian and Red sea in search of trade ships sailing two and from India.

 

1701 - Trial and execution of famous Scottish pirate William Kidd.

 

1718 - Begining of the end of the ‘Golden Age of Piracy’. Infamous pirate captain Blackbeard died in battle.

 

1720 - English government managed to capture famous pirate captain Jack Rackham and his two female shipmates Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1722 - Death to one of the most wealthiest pirates of his time - Bartholomew Roberts.

 

1716 - 1730 - Final stage of the ‘Golden Age of Piracy’. It was marked with scores of ex privateers who refused to retire after hostilities between European countries ceased. They returned to piracy, until the combined military forces of Europe and America weeded them out.

 

1775 to early 1800’s - Piracy returned to the Atlantic and Mediterranean during the length of the America Revolution and Napoleonic wars.

 

1807 - Female pirate captain Ching Shih (also known as Zheng Yi Sao) united Asian pirates into an immense organisation that counted 800 ships and over 100,000 men.

 

1810 - 1820 - American pirate Jean Lafitte operated in the waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1820 - Piracy eliminated in Central America.

 

1850 - Piracy eliminated in Asian waters.

 

1991 - Somali government collapsed, and the ensuing civil war gave rise to the first acts of piracy around the Gulf of Aden.

2005 - 2006 - Rise of organised pirate activity around Somalia.

 

2008 - International Combined Task Force 150” started protecting waters between India and the Suez Canal.

 

2011 - 2014 - Somali pirate continue to operate around their surrounding waters.