Pirates

Pirates are also present in Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe. Pirates are people who rob other ships in order to become rich. In ancient times, piracy was already widespread in the Mediterranean. In the late Middle Ages, rulers and municipalities began to issue private ship captains with letters of marque. With a letter of marque in hand, they could legally engage in piracy at their own risk, hunt down, and rob enemy merchant ships. One of the most famous privateers was the Englishman Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596), who carried out privateering voyages for Queen Elizabeth I, raided Spanish ships, and captured a tremendous amount of gold and silver, precious stones, and pearls. As a result, the “Queen's Pirate” was knighted.

Robinson Crusoe is set in the second half of the 1...