Of Pirates, and Patriots

ABOARD their slender and agile ships, pirates cover practically every part of the seas in Southeast Asia. The reputation of the pirates is hardly positive: they are known to be brutal and often violent whenever they are active in the open seas of the Malacca Strait.

The history books describe the numerous kingdoms along the Malacca Strait, which include among others the kingdoms of Sri Indrapura, Samudra Pasai, and Malacca. They expanded, ruled and eventually disappeared. These kingdoms are now non-existent, but the pirates survive until now. The exception was during the British and Dutch colonial period when faster steamships were used to eliminate the pirates in the 19th century.

In reality, the story of the sea pirates is more than just anecdotes of criminals. Some had respectable political motives, like fighting the colonial powers. It was their anti-colonial spirit that inspired them.