[Ansteorra] RE: Pirates in Period

[Stefan li Rous]

On Sep 9, 2005, at 9:45 AM, Jay Rudin wrote:

> Eadric wrote:
>> I think the difference, and the reason some people have problems
>> with "pirates", and no problem with Sir Francis Drake,  is that
>> Sir Francis Drake didn't go around proclaiming himself as a "pirate".
>>
>
> Exactly.  Piracy is (and has always been) a *crime*, defined in  
> Black's Law
> Dictionary as "Those acts of robbery and depredation upon the high  
> seas
> which, if committed on land, would have aamounted to felony.".   
> Calling
> oneself a pirate is like calling oneself a murderer, arson or thief.
>
> Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin

"and has always been a crime". Part of what I was trying to point out  
is that what is and isn't considered piracy differs by the person's  
point of view.

When was Black's Law Dictionary written? If not pre-1600, do we have  
anything that indicates a universal view of piracy as a crime? Or  
only when perpetuated against the culture of the writer/speaker?

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****