Modern Piracy
| Kevin Craig Carter |
Research
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| Student of the University of North Carolina |
on
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| Brother of Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity |
Modern
Piracy
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Modern Piracy
I enter this project knowing very little about the subject of modern piracy. I am a huge fan of pirates, and have read many books about the old days of buccaneers. Throughout the many history classes that I have taken, one of the topics that I found to be most interesting was that of the old pirates, especially Blackbeard and Captain Kidd. I also loved the great pirates of literature, mostly Captain Hook.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, piracy was a common practice, and a recognized problem throughout the world. Many world powers, especially the United States, England and Spain brought forth many anti-piracy measures during this time and firmly enforced them through powerful navies. The measures seem to have worked. In studying pirates, there is not much written after the Tripolitan War, which insured American ship protection from pirates. Today, piracy seems to have died out throughout the world, and there is no real worry about pirates in general. The only piracy that I ever hear about on the news or in the papers is that of Internet piracy and Napster, there is never any mention of the swashbuckling, ship-hijacking buccaneers of the old days.
Through my project, I would like to answer the questions: Does piracy still exist? Is it still a major problem throughout the world? Do modern pirates still make their living off of the hijacking of boats? How do modern pirates compare to the pirates of the 18th and 19th centuries? What are the current targets for pirates? Where are the current pirate hotspots? In answering those questions, and researching the topic of modern piracy, I feel that I will provide interesting information for others who are extremely interested in pirates.
| Here are some good Web sites that I found about the subject. |
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Web address: http://www.cargolaw.com/presentations_pirates.html
Description: While this page appears biased and somewhat corny upon first glance, it soon proves to contain excellent information, current statistics, and links to many articles on the subject of modern piracy. This site is easily understandable and is easy to navigate.
Source: The law offices of Countryman and McDaniel, author: Michael S. McDaniel, ESQ.
Web address: http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/pirates.htm
Description: A part of the Intelligence Resource Program of the Federation of American Scientists, this page discusses modern piracy and its effect on the world today. It contains many links to the origins of its research, and is fully updated.
Source: John Pike, the director of Intelligence, created the page for the Federation of American Scientists.
Web address: http://www.piratesinfo.com
Description: This is by far the best page that I found. The site presents a large database of pirate information. It outlines the general history of piracy, and goes into great detail on the subject of modern piracy. The page is organized well and updated very often. It is an extremely useful site, and is easy to navigate.
Source: The site was created by and is maintained by Mr. Kryzysztof Wilczynski.
Web address: http://www.sagharborchamber.com/pirates/today.htm
Description: This page outlines the history of piracy, and details modern-day piracy. The page provides good and easily accessible information.
Source: Donald Petrie of the Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce compiled the information for the website.
Web address: http://www.cindyvallar.com/pirates.html
Description: This page is part of the widely published author and columnist Cindy Vallar's site. It includes her numerous published articles on the subject of piracy and all of her extensive research. Much of that research and many of the articles deal with the issue of modern-day piracy. The site is well maintained and easy to use.
Source: Cindy Vallar maintains the page, as part of CindayVallar.com.
Here are some books that I found in the UNC libraries, and articles that are
available online.
Books and Videos:
Summary: The book details the rise and threat of modern piracy. It tells of the evolution of piracy and the part that pirates play in the modern world.
Summary: The book discusses the role that Pirates had in the development of modern Europe and in the modern world.
Summary: The report acknowledges the problem of piracy, and details the exploits of pirates in Asia.
Summary: The movie tells the story of the famous pirate, Captain Kidd, and some of his many adventures. Although Captain Kidd was a pirate long ago, many of the issues surrounding him remain issues today.
Articles found on-line:
Summary: The article discusses the growing number of incidents of piracy in the world and describes the horrific actions of modern-day pirates. It goes on to discuss the problems that governments and international organizations are having in preventing piracy.
Summary: The article discusses the fact that three is very little done by the countries of the world to prevent piracy. It comments on how there are many yearly incidents of piracy and very few investigations into those incidents. It goes on to blame government incompetence and fraud for the problem.
Summary: The article reports on modern pirates, and their growing tendency to strike bigger targets.
Summary: The article reports on the growing number of "missing ships" and the problems of piracy, especially in South Asia. The article also discusses the issues of piracy in the rest of the world.
Summary: The article reports on the most recent statistics regarding piracy by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which show a dramatic rise in piracy over the last year. It also discusses the many problems that South-east Asia is having with pirates.
Summary: The article contains excerpts from an interview with convicted pirate, Chew Chang Kiat, in which he describes his former pirate lifestyle and habits. It goes on to discuss the realities of modern piracy, including main pirate targets, modern tactics, and the future problems that sailor may expect.
During my research, I also wrote this short essay on the CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos: The architect of a multibillion company continues to strive for more in 2001.
As financial problems struck the United States in the year 2000, all of the once prosperous dot.coms seemed to crumble. Yet, despite the hard financial times, Jeff Bezos, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Amazon.com continued to stand tall. Not only did Bezos prevent his company from flopping will all of the other dot.coms, he actually managed to expand Amazon's operations in the year 2000 - 2001, and lead his company to making its highest amount of revenue in company history; not a bad achievement for the man who started the company in his garage. (Tran)
Jeff Bezos attended Princeton University, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering. From there, he went on to become a highly regarded investment banker, earning the title of vice president of his finance house by his mid-thirties, a feat that is widely considered to be an outstanding achievement by itself. (Dawson) Despite all of his early success, Bezos had bigger plans, and at the age of 37, he gave up his job and decided to move west, where he could start an internet-based company. As his wife drove the couple's truck across America, Bezos worked out his business plan using his laptop and cellular phone, and by the time the couple made it across the country, he had started a new business. In July 1995, Bezos hired his first four employees, and started working in his Seattle garage, finalizing business plans, and writing new software. (Tran)
Jeff Bezos' idea hit big, and he soon found many investors willing to help with the huge costs of the endeavor. In 1999, Time magazine named Bezos Person of the Year, calling Amazon the "poster-child of e-biz." (Khanna) Despite all of its success, Amazon has yet to make a profit in its seven-year existence, losing $49 million in 2000. Bezos remains confident of Amazon's future success, however, as he makes plans to expand the company's operations overseas even more in 2001, and to carry many products, in addition to books and music. Furthermore, Bezos remains confident that Amazon will continue to make financial gains, and if all goes well this year, will make its first solid profit. (Dawson)
Having accomplished so much so soon, it would seem that Jeff Bezos would be slowing down, but he shows no signs of doing so. He continues to work 65-hour weeks, in his effort to make Amazon a lasting success, and he will undoubtedly not rest until he has fulfilled his goals and made his company a highly profitable one. (Dawson)
Works Cited:
Dawson, Steve [2001, June 28]. Amazon boss laughs off the dot.com doldrums. The Straits Times (Singapore) [online], 24 paragraphs, 476 words. Available: Academic Universe [2001, July 18].
Khanna, Vikram [2001, June 25]. Amazon's ambitions; KING of e-trailing. The Business Times Singapore [online], 33 paragraphs, 2191 words. Available: Academic Universe [2001, July 18].
Tran, Mark [1997, February 6]. Net Book Disagreement. The Guardian (London) [online], 15 paragraphs, 1360 words. Available: Academic Universe [2001, July 18].
Here are three Web sites with more information on Jeff Bezos:
Web Address: http://www.redherring.com/index.asp?layout=story&channel=70000007&doc_id=1110013711
Description: The site contains an interesting article about and interview with Jeff Bezos. It tells of how he built the company, and his plans for the future.
Source: Red Herring Magazine
Web Address: http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/unc_main
Description: This site is a company profile of Amazon.com. It also contains links to articles about the company.
Source: Infotrac
Web Address: http://www.time.com/time/poy/intro.html
Description: The site contains the Time Magazine article, which named Jeff Bezos its 1999 Person of the Year.
Source: Time.com
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