2022-09-07 Wed

British Virgin Island issued a series of stamps on 16th November 1970. Pirates and Piracy have existed as long as sea trade. The earliest known records of piracy come from the Aegean and Mediterranean seas in 1400 BC. Homer mentioned in Iliad and Odyssey about the abduction of women and children to be sold into slavery.

The most famous and far-reached pirates were Vikings between the 8th and 12th centuries. The classical examples of piracies occurred in Gibraltar, the Strait of Malacca, Madagascar, the Gulf of Aden, and the English Channel. Pirates have their own set of rules to follow.

Now, piracy is considered an act of robbery. As per 2004 statistics, piracy was done of worth US dollars 16 billion per year between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, the Somali coast, and in the Strait of Malacca and Singapore.

In order to safeguard private ships or commercial trade, naval forces are used for protection.

Image Courtesy: Stampsoftheworld.co.uk