Piracy (Civ5)/Civilopedia

Raiding, pillaging, unspeakable violence at sea-a pirate’s life is a good one. Often romanticized by popular film and media, pirates are anything but the witty, wisecracking Captain Jack Sparrows and Pirate Kings entertaining the young masses. These naval criminals took cargo by force from other ships, raided seaside towns, and were a general menace to all forms of civilized society. Piracy has probably been around for as long as civilizations have ported goods and peoples across the seas-one of the earliest records of piracy dates back to the 13th century BC.
Some of the most famous piracy accounts are attributed to the European Vikings, who terrorized coastal villages and holdings, and the Caribbean pirates, who generally liked to seize Spanish treasure ships fat and heavy with gold. This classic ear of piracy is the one most commonly depicted in films and books, and lasted from about 1560 to 1720. While this illustrious pirate with saber sword and jaunty hat is regulated now to the work of fiction, piracy is still found rampant in many waters, especially off the coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Piracy however should not be confused or interchanged with the act of privateering, a form of naval raiding authorized by a legal government, usually for wartime benefit.