each African Country that was controlled.

The starting of the pirates activities started when Algeria asked for help in controlling the then occupying group. Khayr al-Din, A Greek-Ottoman pirate and his brother, Horuk, came to help. These two, sons of a Turk from Lesbos have come to be known as the Barbarossa brothers, hated the Spaniards who were terrorizing Algeria and other areas, probably, and that was their initial reason for helping out. But, in truth, they wanted to gain the area for themselves. And in time they did with the help of other pirates. No country's ships were immune from these thieving and dangerous pirates. They controlled the seas. And the same thing is happening today almost and would be a reality if the countries that must use this broad expanse of the Mediterranean to deliver and to pick up goods.

Then, the plundering was somewhat different, or we like to think so. Then they not only ransacked and burned the ships, at least the non-complying ones, but they stole people. The slave trade was a big business and it was from these shores that African people were abducted and forced on board and taken to the places who were buying them. A great demand for them was in our southern states before the Civil War put a stop to the practice.

Yet, in our not wanting to believe that such horrendous happenings are going on today, we are looking at the situation from our standpoint. Just as our businesses that ship goods and deal in commerce on the seas are seeing how this modern day piracy is eating into their bank accounts, wherever we are in the world, the country of Somalia that has revived this ancient practice has a different story. Their thinking is not our thinking. They live according to their rules, to their inherited ways of life and to their surroundings. It is in trying to understand why piracy is so important to them, that maybe settlements will come. Possibly, they are reacting to being ignored as a people almost as much as to the money that is needed.

And too, the notoriety that being a pirate brings must be a minor reason for going into piracy as a career. This must have been instilled into their minds by those who having heard of the exploits of their forebears. Humanity, unlike angels and heavenly creatures deal on their own turf and a great deal of this turf is not acceptable to mankind. Yet, how different is thievery? Is it worse when done on water as it is when on land? How much of this is inborn traits acting themselves out in the name of homeland love? How much is evil and how much is ignorance?

I was shocked years ago when learning that the phrase, son-of-a-gun, originated from the common practice of sailors dragging slave girls, or lower ranking indentured servants, behind the ship's big guns and raping them. What could be more evil than that? I've never gotten over reading that. Although I have never used the phrase, after knowing how it became into common use, I expect I never will.

All that makes us wonder at how the world has become tainted with evil and how easy it is to be shocked when it plays itself out big time in some other parts of the world. Evil is color blind and is rampant throughout the world. It is not mindful of race whether black, white, or somewhere in-between. Piracy is one such crime, but then so is stealing by whatever words we use to describe it.

Learn more about this author, EMoore.
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