Piracy - Interesting Tidbits

One of the first uses of the word “terrorism” was by Thomas Jefferson in 1795, says Steven Johnson in Enemy of all Mankind. He used it in for what was happening in Paris several years after the French Revolution, the so called Reign of Terror.

“Robespierre’s terror took the state’s legal monopoly on violence to devastating extremes.”

 

Today, the meaning of the term has flipped on one significant aspect:

“(Modern terrorism) grants a disproportionate power to small bands of insurgents and shadow networks.”

And who were the first practitioners in its modern form? Pirates!

“Extreme violence carried out by non-state actors, creating disproportionate effects through media dissemination.” 

Media dissemination? Yes, even back then, the tabloid culture had begun to flourish – across “pamphlets, newspapers, magazines and books”.

 

“Dead men tell no tales” – it’s the pirate mantra we’ve all heard. We associate it with ruthlessness. But pirates also took that statement at face value:

“Dead men by definition can’t amplify the pirate’s reputation for bloodlust and savagery.”

And:

“Pirates institutionalized their reputation for ferocity and insanity into a piratical brand name through the same means Mercedes-Benz uses for this purpose: word of mouth and advertisement.”

Why did the pirates want to cultivate such a bad ass image? It scared the next merchant whose ship they attacked into surrendering without a fight.

“There was… a method in the madness.”

 

All of which is why Johnson says:

“The fact that the golden age of piracy coincides almost exactly with the emergence of print culture is no coincidence.”