A pirate is a robber who attacks ships. Although piracy has occurred since ancient times, the golden era of piracy was the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries on the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas. When the early American colonists established successful trade routes to Europe, many pirates turned their attention to the Atlantic. Pirates have been the subject of much literature, and hundreds of websites are devoted to their study. Welcome aboard, swabbie!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"