Guy Chet__piracy then & now

Preconditions for piracy & against suppression:
Lucrative cargoes
Vast seas

Economic and cultural factors for piracy & against suppression:
Wartime economies
Lucrative black market
Supportive hosts in local communities

Limited capabilities and high cost of naval enforcement:
Unmotivated captains in national navies
Inability of navies to seal coastlines and control maritime trade routes
Cost (to governments) of patrolling the seas
Cost (to merchants & ship owners) of convoying

Limited capabilities and high cost of regulatory enforcement at port:
Strained national finances – governments with limited funds and manpower
Communal resistance to state regulation at sea and port
Supremacy of custom over statutory law

Piratical stimulants:
Insurance
Competition between insurers
Sailors who were marginal in their home communities
Ransom