Q is for Quarreling with weak but promising societies

Throughout the years pirates have feuded with governments by disobeying laws, stealing and kidnapping.
They prey on unstable or militarily weakened societies.

During the golden age of piracy (1620-17200) pirates seemed to dominate the seas.
This was a result of privateers and naval seamen finding themselves jobless and needing money. In Fact
they were so desperate they decided to go after valuable cargo being shipped across the Atlantic. They
were very successful since many societies were temporality militarily weakened due to a conflict between
England, France and Spain. But stealing wasnt as bad as it got. Pirates progressed to kidnapping for
ransoms and even murdering people who got in their way.
Even though the golden age of piracy is now over acts of piracy are still seen today. The main
place that you will find raids close to the severity of the ones in the 1600s is in Somalia. Somalia has a
rich shoreline filled with valuable resources such as fish, so in 1991 when their government collapsed,
pirate activity exploded. Because the shoreline was unprotected conflicts on both land and sea escalated.
By the end of 2010, Somali pirates had affected fishing off the coast of Somalia, collected more than $238
million in ransom, and affected trade routes drastically.