Piracy was the act of robbery and other criminal/mercenary acts committed on the seas and in space by people who became known as pirates. Those that were authorized or paid by a government were known as privateers.
History and specifics
Acts of piracy could be traced back as far as Earth's 18th century, particularly to the Caribbean. Piracy continued well into the 1980s, when whalers illegally hunted whales.[1]
When humans went into space, they saw other species committing acts of piracy. In the 2150s decade, Earth freighter starships were attacked by Nausicaan pirates.[2] In the Delphic Expanse, some ships that were stranded were forced to resort to piracy. One group were Osaarian merchants that became trapped there.[3] Orions were also known to be pirates, when they stole equipment and people for their slave market from the 2150s[4] to the 2260s.[5]
During the USS Enterprise's five-year mission, they encountered two groups of pirates. In 2268, Capt. Black Jack Nova of the Windjammer stole dilithium crystals from starfleet.[6]In 2269, a group of Elasi pirates under Ies Bredell tried to start a war with the Federation. [7]
In the 2270s, a loose association of legitimate merchants, refugees and pirates existed called Free Traders. Pirates were found more often in Free Trader Lanes, an area notorious for criminal activity which the Federation had tried unsuccessfully to clean up for years. Traders operated out of at least one space station. [8]
In the 24th century, piracy was still in use. Some Ferengi, such as Daimon Lurin committed such as acts such as attempted theft of the USS Enterprise-D in 2369.[9] The Breen also committed acts of piracy on Bajoran colonies in the early 2370s.[10]. In the Delta Quadrant, a alien called Tau stole the USS Voyager's computer core and their Doctor's Mobile emitter.[11]
Following The Burn, Titan's colonists were forced to raid ships following the destruction of a third of their habitats. They tried to ask for help from Earth, but their ship was destroyed by United Earth's Defense Force. The Raiders under Wen would scan ships and take their dilithium. In 3189, the Defense force believed that the USS Discovery under Captain Saru was in league with Wen's raiders. With assistance from Commander Michael Burnham and Courier Cleveland Booker, were able to capture Wen and revealed to Captain Ndoye that Wen was human colonist that need supplies to help his people survive on Titan. Ndoye and Wen were able to agree to a truce and end Wen's raids.[12]
Known pirates
Known groups
- Human whalers - 1980s[1]
- Nausicaan pirates - 2151[2]
- Osaarians - 2153[3]
- Orions - 2150s-2270[4][5]
- Tortuga VI pirates - 2268[6]
- Elasi - 2266-69[7]
- Free Traders - 2270s
- Etoshan
- Ferengis - 2369[9]
- Breen privateers - 2372[10]
- Tau's pirates - 2374[11]
- Dogs of War - 2375[13]
- Titan Raiders - 3189[12]
Notable pirates
- Bardeck Gorales
- Benjamin Sisko
- Bivander Zane
- Caruch the Blessed
- Cophot
- D'Jinnea
- Desus
- Dormanis the One-Handed
- Fog
- Gan Leikan
- Ganz
- Half-a-Man Sooris
- Henry Morgan
- Ishar of the Jewel
- Jack Crusher
- Krulmadden
- Only Froun
- Qagh the Albino
- R'kah
- Solomon Kane
- White Wolf
See also
Appendices
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 TOS movie & novelization: The Voyage Home.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 ENT episode: "Fortunate Son".
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 ENT episode: "Anomaly".
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 ENT episode: "Bound".
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 TAS episode: "The Pirates of Orion".
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 TOS comic: "The Flight of the Buccaneer".
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 TOS video game: 25th Anniversary.
- ↑ TOS comic: "The Nogura Regatta".
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 TNG episode: "Rascals".
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 DS9 episode: "To the Death".
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 VOY episode: "Concerning Flight".
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 DSC episode: "People of Earth".
- ↑ (NF novel: The Quiet Place).
External link
- Piracy article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Piracy article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.