POL343Y5 Lecture : Pirates then and now oct 11.docx
8 Jun 2014
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Pirates then and now: how piracy was defeated in the past and can be again. Piracy off the coast of east africa is growing at an alarming rate, with 41 ships attacked in. 2007,122 in 2008, and 102 as of mid-may 2009. The more high-profile captures include a saudi supertanker full of oil and a ukrainian freighter loaded with tanks and other weapons. An estimated 19 ships and more than 300 crew members are still being held by pirates who are awaiting ransom payments from ship owners or insurers. Rooting out pirates meant risking not only an international incident but also full-scale war. In its early days of independence, the united states paid large tributes to the barbary states in exchange for the safe passage of its ships. Under a treaty signed in 1795, algiers alone received more than million in goods and cash, or one-sixth of the u. s. federal budget at the time.
