THE PIRATE SONG: Eye Patches and Peg Legs in Somalia?
“Coming up to them, there has passed some common shot between some of our fleet and some of them; and as far as we perceive, they are determined to sell their lives with blows.”
-Sir Francis Drake
Although quite chic these days, piracy is not a new concept. Since man has plied the sea for commerce, other men have made a living by taking those cargoes for themselves. In fact, even the ancient Greeks were forced to enlist a massive naval force to suppress a pirate threat in the picturesque Mediterranean in 67 BC.
Piracy spread rampantly throughout the middle ages, with Viking and Muslim Pirates attacking not just sea-going vessels, but often raiding small coastal cities; taking slaves and robbing villages of their riches. Eventually, piracy evolved to the way we like to think of it today: eye patches, pieces of eight, buried treasure, and a democratic utopia for crewmen with equality for all. Continue reading
