Pirates are sea raiders who prey on other ships and rob them of their goods, and sometimes capture the ship itself for their own purposes. Piracy began more than 2,000 years ago in ancient Greece, when sea raiders threatened the Greek Empire's trade routes. Since then, this threat has continued among maritime nations until the rise of regular navies. The Roman ships were attacked by pirates who seized their cargoes of grain and olive oil. The Vikings (meaning sea raider) were famous for attacking ships and coastal settlements. However, piracy truly flourished between 1620 and 1720, a period known as the Golden Age of Piracy. Between the 16th and 19th centuries there were different types of pirates: privateers, buccaneers and privateers. In ancient Greece, where piracy originated, the coastline along the Mediterranean Sea was unsuitable for agriculture, forcing people to search for a new source of food and other valuable goods. The answer lay in the riddled coves along the Greek coast where groups of bandits hid in dinghies and ambushed elegant ships traveling along the trade routes. These early raiders attacked anyone of any nationality and owed loyalty to knowing one. Due to their roots in land raiding, they were known to attack coastal Greek cities as well, causing some of these cities to locate further inland to eliminate the pirates' main source of power and speed in the mountainous terrain. This caused the raiders to mostly get involved in nautical affairs. Over the next few centuries pirates terrorized much of the Middle East and Europe in countries such as Scandinavia and Rome. Around 80 BC ports around Rome and Greece began to gain a foothold on the Pyra... middle of paper... and Bartholomew Roberts was captured by the British navy and executed or killed in battle. Captain Chaloner Ogle of HMS Swallow cornered Bartholomew Roberts in 1722 at Cape Lopez and a fatal broadside from Swallow killed the pirate captain instantly. This shocked all the pirates and the navy as he was thought to be immortal. That event began the collapse of the "Golden Age of Piracy". Since the 19th century, piracy has gone from grand tales of grandeur and adventure, turning instead to small dinghies of African pirates blocking merchant ships in trade routes. In conclusion, although the golden age of piracy has come to an end, the legendary stories of famous, ruthless and cunning pirates live on in films and books, reminding us of times when you couldn't go for a swim without being kidnapped or hanged. up to the mast of a ship!