These men are typical part-time pirates: their every-day jobs don’t earn them enough money so they engage in piracy. Their prime targets are lone merchant ships and shipwrecks and they attack when the dark grants them cover using small boats to get to their target.

These men are typical part-time pirates: their every-day jobs don’t earn them enough money so they engage in piracy. Their prime targets are lone merchant ships and shipwrecks and they attack at clouded nights or at new moon when the dark grants them cover. To get to their targets they use small boats which are easily disguised from view in the bushes on the shore but which are not very searworthy. They are people who will always visit the shore after a storm.

Historically, pirates were usually groups of poor people living on the coast who, using small vessels, attacked lone merchant ships sailing along the coast. Most pirate ships were very light, as they were usually hidden from view on land, behind bushes and other vegetation. But under the leadership of powerful men, pirates sometimes gathered together in huge fleets and were able to blockade sea trade, raid coasts, and even storm fortified cities. These fleets often used bigger ships but sheer numbers were their main weapon against a proper navy. Lembos and liburnae are examples of pirate ships that became very popular and were adopted by major navies...