Thanks to literature and films, Caribbean pirates are depicted either as mythical and fearless heroes or as malicious cutthroats cursing their way through children's imagination. However, pirates were real people who lived in the 17th and 18th centuries, raiding trading ships transporting goods across the Caribbean from the New World colonies. Legends of their misdeeds have long outlived them.

Explore the evolution of maritime piracy from the Malacca Strait to the shores of Somalia. This article analyzes the technical, political, and economic drivers behind modern sea raiding and why traditional naval power struggles to contain an asymmetric threat.