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PIRATES
Pirate is a person who attacks and robs ships. Such robbers have also been called buccaneers, filibusters, freebooters, ladrones, pickaroons, and sea rovers. Pirates differ from sea raiders known
as privateers. Pirates were not licensed by any nation, but privateers were licensed by a particular nation during wartime to attack enemy ships. Therefore, privateers were generally not considered pirates.
Pirates have robbed ships and raided coastal towns since ancient times. The greatest period of pirate attacks, or piracy, occurred from the 1500's through the 1700's on the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas. The most famous pirates of this age included Henry Morgan, Blackbeard, and William Kidd. Most pirates were men, but a few women became pirates.
Widespread piracy no longer exists. But attacks have occurred in some areas. In the 1980's, for example, pirates carried out numerous attacks against Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees in the Gulf of Thailand.
How pirates lived. People became pirates for various reasons. Sometimes, the harsh conditions of
life at sea led honest seamen to desert or mutiny their ships. These men often turned to piracy to survive. Others sought riches or adventure. Many privateers drifted into piracy when wars between


nations ended.
Legend, fiction, and motion pictures have helped create an exciting, romantic image of pirates. A
typical pirate is portrayed as a fierce-looking man with a beard. He is sometimes handsomely dressed.
In real life, however, most pirates probably led miserable lives. They were often drunk and quarrelsome. Many pirates died of wounds or disease. Some were shot or marooned by their own crews or captured and sentenced to death by authorities.
In spite of their unlawful way of life, most pirate crews developed rules and regulations to govern
their ships. Crew members elected a captain and other officers and had a code of punishment for breaking agreements. They also developed pay scales to determine each person's share of the booty (stolen goods).
Until about 1700, pirate ships flew a red banner called the Bloody Flag. They then began using flags
that pictured such objects as skeletons, flaming swords, and hourglasses. The most popular of the
new pirate flags showed a white skull and crossbones on a black background. This symbol became known as the Jolly Roger.
Ships involved in trade carried weapons in case of attack. But a pirate crew usually outnumbered the
other crew and could defeat it in hand-to-hand combat after coming aboard. Pirates seized trading ships by first maneuvering their vessel next to the ship. They boarded by using hooks and ropes to keep the ships together.
Besides robbing ships, pirates also attacked towns. In the towns, they murdered innocent people and took prisoners. The pirates held some captives for ransom and enslaved others. They
sometimes tortured prisoners to get information about treasure. There is little evidence that they made their victims "walk the plank."
102
MANDELA
Mandela Nelson (1918-...), was president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black president. Mandela was elected by the country's National Assembly. The Assembly had been chosen in South Africa's first elections in which the country's blacks were allowed to vote. Blacks won a majority of the Assembly seats, and the Assembly selected Mandela as president.
These developments marked the beginning of a new era in South Africa. They resulted in blacks gaining control of the government after a long period of domination by the white minority.
Since 1991, Mandela had served as president of the African National Congress (ANC), a largely black group that opposed the South African government's policy of rigid racial segregation called apartheid.
He had long been a leader of protests against apartheid and was imprisoned in 1962 on charges of conspiring to overthrow the white-minority government. While in prison, he became a symbol of the struggle for racial justice. After being freed in 1990, he led negotiations with white leaders that eventually brought an end to apartheid and established a nonracial system of government.
Mandela and then-President F. W. de Klerk of South Africa won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize. They were honored for their work to end apartheid and to enable the country's nonwhites to fully
participate in the South African government.
Early life. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Umtata, in the Transkei territory of South Africa. His father was a chief of the Xhosa-speaking Tembu tribe. Mandela gave up his right to succeed his