![\"Captain](\"http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/081120-pirates-william-kidd.hsmall.jpg\")
As the pirate Blackbeard monitored the waterways from his castle in Barbados, outlaws now scout the Gulf of Aden. These modern-day pirates have earned celebrity status in some Somali villages.Throughout time, pirates have been glorified and vilified. Some were rich, others not so much, while one man used his wealth to finance retirement as an outlaw on the high seas.
Like outlaws of the past, today's pirates are no different.
\"It's kind of funny that nothing has changed,\" said Rob Ossian, a 35-year-old history buff in Texas whose Web site, www.thepirateking.com, pays tribute to all things pirate. \"We're talking about people who are out of work, where there is no work and no options whatsoever for work. It's coming from the same circumstances as before.\"
Piracy off the Somali coast continues to grab world headlines. Brazen gangs from the lawless Horn of African have pocketed millions from heists in the Gulf of Aden. So far this year, pirates have hijacked 39 vessels and taken at least 700 hostages.
'Dangerous waterways'As the pirate Blackbeard monitored the waterways from his castle in Barbados, outlaws now scout the Gulf of Aden. These modern-day pirates have earned celebrity status in some Somali villages.
International policing agencies, however, say what's fashionable in Somali isn't acceptable on the water.
\"These are the most dangerous waterways in the world,\" said Cyrus Mody, manager with the International Maritime Bureau, a non-profit organization in London created to protect maritime businesses from crime. \"Precious little is known of the pirate's structure or heirarchy, but we believe there are 1,000 to 1,200 pirates in total. We feel that they are operating in groups and there is little cooperation that is required for their common good.\"
Nothing to lose
\"We're dealing with dangerous people,\" Mody said.
Mody's sentiment also applies to pirates of the past. Take a moment to read about the legends, the recent piracy surge and what Blackbeard actually tied to his beard.
";
pirate_tool[i++] = new Array("","Legends ","Blackbeard, circa 1715 ","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/081120-pirates-blackbeard.hsmall.jpg","","", "sub", "", "", "", "right", "Hulton Archive", "Getty Images", "273", "251", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
pirate_tool[i-1].body = "
They flew the Jolly Roger, sailed the open seas, and plundered and pillaged Spanish galleons.
Pirates raided ships for gold, silver and other treasures that included silk, jewels, ivory and spices such as pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon. They claimed ships, adding them to their fleet, while marooning crew or recruiting men.
Some pirates were better than others. Among the famous:
• Blackbeard
His name was Captain Edward Teach. During battle he would often weave burning slow fuses into his beard and hair to give him a menacing halo of smoke, according to Rob Ossian, creator of www.pirateking.com. Ossian's life passion is pirates.
Plundering was Blackbeard's life. He devoured the coasts of the West Indies, North Carolina and Virginia. He died in 1718.
• Black Bart
Bartholomew Roberts was the most successful — and most menacing pirate, Ossian says. During his brief four-year career, he captured more than 400 ships. He died in 1720.
• Captain Henry Morgan
Henry Morgan was the mastermind behind the sacking of Panama, Ossian says, giving this account: \"This daring raid proved so profitable that the Queen of England made him the governor of Jamaica. It was in this post that he became so wealthy that, when he died in 1688, he had grown so fat that there was no coat on the island of Jamaica large enough to fit him for his burial services.\"
Morgan died in 1688. His name and image live on, gracing rum bottles around the world.
";
pirate_tool[i++] = new Array("","The gentleman ","","","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
pirate_tool[i-1].body = "
Major Stede Bonnet was a rich, retired man from the island of Barbados.
In 1717, he decided he needed something different. So, he bought a sloop and named it \"Revenge.\" After he gathered up his sailing crew, Bonnet took off for North America.
They robbed a few ships, but Bonnet was said to keep his crew from mutiny was by paying them wages.
Historians paint the \"gentleman pirate\" as incompetant in piracy. He usually knew little and was a lousy sailor. That was underscored when Bonnet met up with Blackbeard.
Blackbeard invited Bonnet to sail his ship alongside the lengendary pirate's. After some time, Bonnet's poor leadership and lousy sailing became apparent.
Blackbeard grounded Bonnet's ship and marooned him on an island. Bonnet eventually made his way home and was finally hanged for piracy in North Carolina in 1718.
";
pirate_tool[i++] = new Array("","Loose cannons ","Mary Read, 1715. ","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/081120-pirates-mary-read.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Hulton Archive", "Getty Images", "273", "191", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
pirate_tool[i-1].body = "
They were a rebellious, notorious pair, who became legends in their own lifetimes.
In an age when women were never allowed on ships, the women literally ran into each other in a sea battle. Both were expert shots.
Anne Bonny was the illegitimate daughter of an English nobleman and his maid. The couple left England and traveled to America to raise their child, who was known for her tantrums.
Mary Read was born to the widow of a sea captain. She spent her life in England and Holland.
A fiery lass
Bonny was described as an attractive, intelligent and hot-tempered woman who married a solider and later abandoned him for pirate Calico Jack.
Read, in male guise, had joined the British military. She fell in love with a soldier and dressed as a woman for only her wedding. She served in the military until her husband's death.
With peace at hand and her husband's death, Read retired from the military and boarded a ship for the West Indies.
That's where her life collided with Bonny's.
Read's ship was taken by pirates — Calico Jack and Bonny — and the women became instant friends. They were inseparable.
But their fun ended in 1720, when Calico's ship was captured by Jamaican government troops. The women, who were both pregnant at the time, confessed to their identities and the charges against them.
Read escaped hanging, dying from fever in her jail cell. Bonny, however, received several stays of execution and mysteriously vanished from record. It's believed her father pulled some strings and ransomed her to the Carolinas, where she started a new life.
";
pirate_tool[i++] = new Array("","No lady here ","","","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
pirate_tool[i-1].body = "
Her life was high drama on the high seas, loaded with sex and violence.
Cheng I Sao, also known as Ching Shih, was a Chinese prostitute. She also was a master manipulator, cruel and cunning.
She worked on a floating brothel when she met up with a notorious fella. His name was Zeng Yi, a commander of a pirate fleet, and they hit it off. They got married and happily spent their time fighting a Vietnamese rebellion and pillaging.
But something was missing in their relationship. Their dynasty lacked an heir. So, they adopted a son, Chang Pao.
More fighting, piracy and looting followed. Their son proved eager and followed in his adopted parents' footsteps. He was so good at piracy that they named him lieutenant of a massive fleet that included 400 ships and 70,000 sailors.
But in 1807 tragedy fell when a fierce gale killed husband Zeng Yi. Death and loss didn't stop Cheng I Sao. In a strange twist, she married her adopted son to cement her hold on the fleet, and became commander.
She was a tough pirate captain, but fair. Historians credit her with enforcing a rigorious code of conduct. Her captain's laws included:
• Only the leader issued commands and failing to honor that resulted in a beheading.
• No stealing from villages that helped pirates. Period.
• No sex on board. If a woman was raped, the offender was beheaded. If a female captive consented to sex, the male was beheaded. The woman kept her head, but weights were tied to her legs and she was cast overboard.
• Sailors who deserted and were caught had an ear cut off and were paraded through the squadron.
In her Cheng I Sao way, she sailed off into the sunset. She successfully sought amnesty from the Chinese government and quietly retired as a business owner. She ran her brothel and gambling den until she died in 1844. She was 59.
";
pirate_tool[i++] = new Array("","Somali pirates ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/081119-pirates-hmed-1130a.hmedium.jpg","","", "sub", "", "", "", "", "Stringer", "AFP - Getty Images", "273", "419", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
pirate_tool[i-1].body = " • Ex-fishermen: They made their livelihood on the waters and are considered the brains behind the operation. They know the sea and how to navigate through various conditions. • Ex-militiamen: They're the muscle. These men have survived many clashes while fighting on behalf of various Somali clan warlords. • Technical support: Basically, these guys are computer geeks. They're proficient at operating computers, satellite phones, GPS and other high-tech equipment. Unlike the pirates of the past, these outlaws hold ships ransom, often getting what they want. Companies have paid up to $1.6 million for the return of their goods and crews. ";
pirate_tool[i++] = new Array("","Why Somalia?","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/ap/05fc374f-5bd9-411a-b593-7a2d762730d4.hsmall.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Petty Officer 2Nd Class Jason R. Zalasky", "AP", "263", "368", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
pirate_tool[i-1].body = " In Somalia, piracy began to take off in the early 1990s, after warlords overthrew the regime of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. The result: lawlessness and civil war. In recent years, piracy has become an increasingly attractive job for young Somali men. Somali piracy started as a response to illegal fishing. With no government and no one patrolling the shoreline, commercial fishing fleets from around the world plundered Somalia’s tuna-rich waters. Somali fishermen took up arms, began to confront illegal fishing boats and demanded that the crews pay a tax. This proved lucrative. Then, in the early 2000s, the Somali fishermen started hijacking not just fishing boats but any vessel they could, from sailboats to oil tankers. They also became more sophisticated in their approach, using computers, GPS and other high-tech gear to supplement their machine guns and other weaponry. The number of pirate attacks has increased as the world struggles to figure out how to respond. Click here to view an interactive map of attacks in 2008.";
pirate_tool[i++] = new Array("","Quiz ","","","","", "sub", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
pirate_tool[i-1].body = " Do you know the original meaning of the term \"swashbuckler\"? Or the name of Blackbeard the pirate's flagship? Find out how well you know your buccaneer lore. Click here to test your mettle with our piracy quiz.
The Somali pirate has three faces:
";
pirate_tool[i++] = new Array("","Piracy in 2008 ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/TEASES/WORLD_NEWS/Pirates_VE_maps_IMAX/TZ_Pirates_VE_map_big.hmedium.jpg","","", "sub", "", "", "", "", "", "", "212", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
pirate_tool[i-1].body = "
";
// END editorial data