Were there land based pirates?

We know all about pirates who sailed the seas (and still do in some places). But what about pirates who didn’t go out to see? Were there pirates who spent all their time on land and not sailing?

Yeah, they were called bandits or highwaymen. Jesse James and his gang (which ranged in size from just him and his brother to as many as 30 men) were basically “land pirates” hitting banks and trains, and during the Civil War when he rode with Quantrill’s Raiders they were far more pirates than soldiers.

(The word pirate is from the Greek for “one who attacks”, incidentally, so I suppose it doesn’t have to be at sea, it just is in usage.)

Here’s some interesting (if only to me) trivia: ministers have based sermons on the symbolism of the line “Yea though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I shall fear no evil”, but it’s actually not symbolic at all. It’s an actual place, a narrow pass between two huge mesas in the Israeli desert that’s in shadow for hours each day, but it’s also the only way to get from one side to the other. Because it’s dark whenever it’s not high noon or a little before or after, bandits (land pirates) used to lurk there to attack caravans and travelers, so it was a very real “evil” people had to fear and not a metaphorical one. This mentioned because it’s relevant about the bandits in the ancient world. (Julius Caesar was kidnapped by pirates as a kid and sold to their comrades on land who were basically allied land pirates; they ransomed him, his family paid the ransom, and Caesar returned with an army and crucified them; his friend/enemy/co-consul/son-in-law Pompey declared war on bandits and pirates on land and on sea all over the Roman world because they had become more threatening than foreign armies.)
The first war America ever fought was against Islamic pirates in the Mediteranean including at their land bases in Tripoli in Lebanon. Most of the fighting was done by the newly formed marine corps, hence the line from their anthem “…to the shores of Tripoli/we will fight our countries battles/on the land and on the sea”.

Okay, I’m babbling too much, so I’ll say g’night.

70 plus mph landsailing

Thai Sailing Adventure – Koh Tao to Koh Samui $799 See for yourself why Thailand is known as the ‘Land of Smiles’ as you uncover the beauty and excitement of the Gulf of Thailand’s scenic islands. From Koh Tao, famous for its calm snorkelling waters to the legendary full moon parties of Koh Phangan, this compact four-day sailing adventure offers a taste of Thailand’s magical wildlife, nightlife and culinary delights. Perfect on its own or as an add-on with our other Thai adventures, this trip ends on popular Koh Samui. So grab a cold drink and experience beautiful Thai scenery from the comfort of a sailing catamaran.

Sailing $4.99 “By Rod Stewart. For piano, voice, and guitar (chords only). Love; Pop; Rock. 5 pages. Published by Hal Leonard – Digital Sheet Music”

Sailing On $14.99 Lml Music:24

Comments are closed