If we want an insight into the current problem of piracy occurring off the east coast of Africa then we should relearn the lessons of history. That is the view of academic Virginia Lunsford, who has studied piracy and is the author of several works on the subject. Her analysis of the current situation around Somalia, published in a recent issue of in the US Nautical Institute magazine, is modelled on her studies of the golden age of piracy between 1570 and 1730.rnFive factors allow piracy to flourish. The first is an available population of potential recruits. In this, the area of east Africa is well supplied. There are numerous trained militia fighters who populate the semi-autonomous regions of Puntland and Somaliland.
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