Piracy has generally only thrived where abetted by corrupt officials:

Piracy Passage Precautions – Central America - Caribbean Safety and Security Net

Today's selection -- from Pirates: A New History, from Vikings to Somali Raiders by Peter Lehr. 

“For piracy really to thrive, to grow into a lucrative business attracting even merchants and members of the nobility, more than the approval of society at large was required. What was crucial for a flourishing pirate business was at the very least 'a nod and a wink' from corrupt officials, if not the state, as had been the case for the pirates of the Middle Ages. What was different now was the rapid expansion of the various Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch and French colonial empires, which made this (semi-)official connivance even easier than before. This was mainly due to two factors: first, the now truly enormous booty that could be gained by capturing Spanish or Portuguese treasure ships laden to their gunwales with gold, silver, jewels, silk and spices, or similar treasure ships from India on Hajj (pilgrimage) to the Red Sea and back, or Chinese junks in the East and South China Seas; and, second, the vast distances between imperial centre and colonial periphery. The riches that could be gained in distant waters were worlds apart from the far more mundane booty typical of northern waters: everyday commodities such as fish, salted pork, wine, sugar and the like. Even Elizabeth I succumbed to this 'lure of easy money', as we shall see — no wonder, then, that lower ranks of officialdom did likewise. Nor was this only the case for English officialdom: Dutch and French officials also knew how to feather their nests, while many Spanish and Portuguese officials returned home immensely wealthy. For lower-level officials, this was a high-stakes game, depending on the protection they enjoyed, which might for various reasons be suddenly withdrawn when, for instance, a previously powerful backer lost favour with the Crown. For officials of higher rank, especially for governors, getting rich by taking a slice of the pirates' booty was child's play. For them, the vast distances and the poor communications between the centre of power and the peripheral colonies worked in their favour: what the governments in faraway capitals such as London, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon or The Hague decreed was one thing, and what the local officials actually did was another. 


“The individual choices and attitudes of local government officials were of paramount interest to maritime raiders: if local powers were favourably inclined towards piracy, a pirate's business was greatly facilitated. The reasons for which appointed governors chose to play their own shady roles with regard to piracy vary, and cannot be reduced to personal greed. While the lazier ones simply did not care about what was going on in their areas of responsibility, many actually feared the very real danger posed by pirates much more than the wrath of a distant government. The military resources at their disposal— regular soldiers, militia and warships — were usually scant (if they existed at all), and not always a match for local pirates. For these officials, it was pretty much a matter of plata o plomo: either you take our silver (plata), or you will get our lead (plomo, in the form of bullets). Furthermore, many of the governors of remote colonies were themselves former pirates. Sir Henry Morgan, for example, ended his illustrious and colourful buccaneering career as lieutenant governor of Jamaica in the second half of the seventeenth century. These pirates-turned-pirate hunters were usually happy to issue commissions to their former comrades without asking questions — as long as a fee was paid; the governor of the French possession Petit-Goâve, Hispaniola, had a habit of providing his captains with blank commissions 'to hand out to anyone they pleased', while the governor of a West Indian island then belonging to Denmark allegedly issued impressive-looking 'privateering commissions', which were in fact only licences for hunting goats and pigs on Hispaniola.  

The Vitalienbrüder. Piracy became endemic in the Baltic Sea in the Middle Ages because of the Victual Brothers.


“Even in the North Sea, much nearer to European seats of power, governors or feudal lords of small coastal principalities made quick money out of issuing commissions of dubious value. For example, according to Lunsford-Poe, a 'Grave' (Duke) of Ormond in Ireland issued such a document to the Dutch privateer Jan Corneliszoon Knole in the year 1649. Knole's legitimate Dutch commission only permitted him to attack and seize the vessels of Dutch enemies; the Duke of Ormond's commission, however, entitled him to prey on ships along the coast of Dutch Zeeland, which was exactly what he did, promptly attacking and seizing a vessel from Rotterdam. Knole was far from the only privateer who stacked the cards in his favour by accepting another commission from a conveniently uninquisitive party: the more commissions one held, the broader the range of vessels one could legitimately attack. Even had they been inclined to care about legal trifles, most pirates and privateers were illiterate and could not possibly read the conditions and limitations mentioned in their commissions— which helps to explain why the Danish governor of Petit-Goâve could do such a brisk trade selling worthless hunting licences for an island not even under his control: his illiterate customers mistook these impressive-looking documents for privateering commissions. 


“Against the backdrop of endemic corruption, it is unsurprising that some officials who could not simply hand out fraudulent commissions chose to cross the line in a more obvious way in order to profit from pirates. Usually, they did so by directly aiding and abetting them, as it would nowadays be called in criminal law. In the seventeenth century the aptly named Thomas Crook, justice of the peace and chief officer of Irish port of Baltimore, openly supplied pirate ships with victuals and other necessities, even entertaining their crews in his house — with the foreseeable effect that other inhabitants of the port also saw it as their right to wheel and deal with the pirates to their hearts' content. It is obvious that in this case, as in many others, the pirates and their supporters on land hailed from a society that saw piracy as a perfectly normal, honest occupation — and probably one far superior to serving a monarch or a government seen as an alien intruder into local affairs. Sir Henry Mainwaring, having himself been a successful pirate before turning pirate hunter for James I, even called Ireland 'the Nursery and Storehouse of Pirates', while his contemporary Lord Falkland, lord deputy of Ireland between 1622 and 1629, opined that Ireland's coasts were favoured by the pirates because there they were 'much more cheaply victualled, much more easily out and in, at and from sea, which lies opener with less impediments of tides and channels'.”

Pirates: A New History, from Vikings to Somali Raiders
 
author: Peter Lehr  
title: Pirates: A New History, from Vikings to Somali Raiders  
publisher: Yale University Press  
date:  
page(s): 78-81

The White Death


Nicknamed The White Death Hyh was a prime target for the Soviets who struck him with mortars and heavy artillery to halt his killing spree which once claimed 25 men in one day This image in which Hyh poses with an M28-30 in his winter camouflage shows how he was able to blend into the icy terrain of eastern Finland

Nicknamed The White Death, Häyhä was a prime target for the Soviets, who struck him with mortars and heavy artillery to halt his killing spree, which once claimed 25 men in one day. This image, in which Häyhä poses with an M/28-30 in his winter camouflage, shows how he was able to blend into the icy terrain of eastern Finland


Where Mayonnaise Comes From

April 19

Anniversary of the Battle of Port Mahon
 

The Battle of Port Mahon 1756. Artist unknown
 

The Mediterranean island of Minorca which is now a Spanish possession has an interesting history of conquest and ownership. One of the first conquerors of the island was Hannibal who named the capital city after his brother Mago pronounced "ma-ho"). The city later became known as Port Mahon. There is some debate over what the correct spelling of the city's name in English should be; due to the general tendency in English to ignore accents in foreign words, many dictionaries refer to the city by an adaptation (Mahon) of its Spanish name (Mahón), while many other sources vouch for using the Catalan spelling (Maó) in English-language publications.

In 1756 when Minorca was under British control, the French landed 15,000 troops in Port Mahon under the leadership of the infamous Duc de Richelieu. Port Mahon had a British garrison of 3000 men, but the principal protection of the island was the responsibility of Admiral John Bang who commanded a fleet of thirteen British ships in the Mediterranean. Because of a major tactical error by Bang, the British fleet was decimated and Minorca surrendered on May 28th. Bang returned to Gibraltar where he was tried by court-martial for incompetence and subsequently shot, a form of indictment and punishment which unfortunately has gone out of vogue. In commenting  about the trial in Candide, Voltaire wrote: "The British shoot an admiral every so often pour encouragerles autres" (to encourage the others).

The invasion of Port Mahon on April 19th was so successful that the French didn't suffer a single fatality. The Duc de Richelieu was ecstatic at his initial success and requested his chef to create a special meal to celebrate the success of the invasion. A dinner of fresh seafood was served which was bound by a special dressing created by the chef. The dressing, named after Port Mahon, was called mayonnaise.

The use of mayonnaise as a dressing and as an ingredient for sauces spread quickly throughout France after the Duc de Richelieu's successful return to France where he dramatized and elaborated the story of how mayonnaise was invented under his inspiration. As with many basic recipes, each region of France began to develop its own variation of mayonnaise or mayonnaise-based sauces.

Two of the most famous variations on the original mayonnaise theme are Sauce Aioli (garlic mayonnaise) from Provence and Bayonnaise (pimento and cognac mayonnaise) from Bayonne. Aioli also refers to one of the most famous dishes from Provence which involves either a poached or salted cod surrounded by a variety of vegetable and hard-boiled eggs served with the Sauce Aioli. Bayonnaise became so popular in the nineteenth century that there was a movement among some French food writers to make Bayonnaise the generic term for mayonnaise. Bayonnaise, served either hot or cold, is one of the most popular dressings for poached fish and shellfish.

In French culinary jargon, whenever the word "mayonnaise" is used in conjunction with a cold meat, fish, or shellfish, such as Mayonnaise de poissons (a mayonnaise of fish), Mayonnaise de vollaille (a mayonnaise of poultry), or Mayonnaise de homard (a mayonnaise of lobster), the terms refer to a cold meat, fish, shellfish, or poultry, covered with mayonnaise, and usually garnished with lettuce hearts, hard boiled eggs, capers, olives, and occasionally anchovy fillets.

The quality, consistency,  and taste of a mayonnaise depends on the type and quality of oil used. When you use an olive oil. the consistency will be more oily and the flavor may be too strong for a delicately flavored dish. When you want a more delicately flavored mayonnaise, use peanut oil. For salad dressings and cold meats, use half peanut oil and half olive oil. Use only olive oil for the more robust types of mayonnaise or mayonnaise-based sauces such as Sauce Aoili (garlic mayonnaise) or Sauce Callioure (anchovy mayonnaise).

Another key factor in a successful mayonnaise is the temperature of the ingredients. All ingredients (eggs,  lemon juice. mustard and other flavorings such as garlic, dill, etc) must be at room temperature. Never use ingredients directly from the refrigerator.  The thickness of the mayonnaise is dependent on the amount of egg yolk used. If you want a thicker mayonnaise, use less egg yolk. For a thinner mayonnaise, use more yolk.

Either lemon juice or vinegar can be used in making a mayonnaise, depending on your personal preference and on the specific type of mayonnaise being made. I prefer lemon juice in the basic mayonnaise and in any of the special mayonnaises designed as an accompaniment to fish such as a mustard mayonnaise. Some of the stronger types of mayonnaise such as Sauce Aioli require a more pungent vinegar and some of the fruit flavored mayonnaises require fruit-flavored vinegars.


 

Basic Mayonnaise Recipe

Ingredients

2 egg yolks
5 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon-style mustard
1 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper

Instructions

In a blender or a food processor fitted with a steel blade, blend egg yolks, lemon juice. mustard. salt & pepper for 15 seconds.
With the motor still running, slowly add the oil in a thin stream. As soon as oil is added. turn off motor. If necessary, the mayonnaise can be thinned with 1 tsp or more of water

The decline from democracy to tyranny is both a natural and inevitable one.

The Sandcastle

By Jeff Thomas
International Man

February 28, 2022

That’s not a pleasant thought to have to consider, but it’s a fact, nonetheless. In every case, a democracy will deteriorate as the result of the electorate accepting the loss of freedom in trade for largesse from their government. This process may be fascism, socialism, communism, or a basket of “isms,” but tyranny is the inevitable endgame of democracy. Like the destruction of a sandcastle by the incoming tide, it requires time to transpire, but in time, the democracy, like the sandcastle, will be washed away in its entirety.

Why should this be so? Well, as I commented some years ago,

The concept of government is that the people grant to a small group of individuals the ability to establish and maintain controls over them. The inherent flaw in such a concept is that any government will invariably and continually expand upon its controls, resulting in the ever-diminishing freedom of those who granted them the power.

Unfortunately, there will always be those who wish to rule, and there will always be a majority of voters who are complacent enough and naïve enough to allow their freedoms to be slowly removed. This adverb “slowly” is the key by which the removal of freedoms is achieved.

The old adage of “boiling a frog” is that the frog will jump out of the pot if it’s filled with hot water, but if the water is lukewarm and the temperature is slowly raised, he’ll grow accustomed to the temperature change and will inadvertently allow himself to be boiled.

Let’s have a look at Thomas Jefferson’s assessment of this technique:

Even under the best forms of Government, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.

Mister Jefferson was a true visionary. He knew, even as he was penning the Declaration of Independence and portions of the Constitution, that his proclamations, even if they were accepted by his fellow founding fathers, would not last. He recommended repeated revolutions to counter the inevitable tendency by political leaders to continually vie for the removal of the freedoms from their constituents.

Around the same time that Mister Jefferson made the above comment, Alexander Tytler, a Scottish economist and historian, commented on the new American experiment in democracy. He’s credited as saying,

A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.

So, was each of the above gentlemen throwing a dart at a board, or did they each have some kind of crystal ball? Well, actually, neither. Each was a keen student of history. Each knew that the pattern, by the end of the 18th century, had already repeated itself time and time again. In fact, as early as the fourth century BC, Plato had quoted Socrates as having stated to Adeimantus,

Tyranny naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery comes out of the most extreme form of liberty.

Today, much of what was called the “free world” only half a century ago has deteriorated into a combination of residual capitalism, which has been largely and increasingly buried by socialism and fascism. (It should be mentioned that the oft-misinterpreted definition of “fascism” is the joint rule by corporate and state—a condition that’s now manifestly in place in much of the former “free” world.)

Today, many people perceive fascism as a tyrannical condition that’s suddenly imposed by a dictator, but this is rarely the case. Fascism is in fact a logical step. Just as voters succumb over time to the promises of socialism, so a parallel decline occurs as fascism slowly replaces capitalism. Fascism may appear to be capitalism, but it’s the antithesis of a free market. As Vladimir Lenin rightly stated,

Fascism is capitalism in decline.

Comrade Lenin understood the value of fascism for political leaders. Whilst he retained a close relationship with New York and London bankers, and a healthy capitalist market was tapped into for Soviet-era imports, he was aware that his power base depended largely on denying capitalism to his minions.

So, from the above quotations, we may see that there’s been a fairly erudite group of folks out there who have commented on this topic over the last 2,500 years. They agree that democracies, like sandcastles, never last. They generally begin promisingly, but, given enough time, any government will erode democracy as quickly as the political leaders can get away with it, and the progression always ends in tyranny.

We’re presently at a major historical juncture—a time in which much of the former free world is in the final stages of decay and approaching the tyranny stage.

At this point, the process tends to speed up. We can observe this as we see an increase in the laws being passed to control the population—increased taxation, increased regulation, and increased promises of largesse from the government that they don’t have the funding to deliver.

When any government reaches this stage, it knows only too well that it will not deliver and that, when the lie is exposed, the populace will be hopping mad. Therefore, just before the endgame, any government can be expected to ramp up its police state. The demonstrations by governments that they’re doing so are now seen regularly—raids by SWAT teams in situations where just a small number of authorities could handle the situation just as well. Displays of armed forces in the street, including armoured vehicles, in instances of disruption.

In London, Ferguson, Paris, Boston, etc., the authoritarian displays have become ever-more frequent. All that’s now necessary is a series of events (whether staged or real) to suggest domestic terrorism in several locations at roughly the same time. A state of national emergency may then be declared “for the safety of the people.”

It’s this justification that will assure the success of tyranny. Historically, the majority of people in any county, in any era, choose the illusion of safety over freedom. As John Adams was fond of saying,

Those who would trade freedom for safety will have neither.

From this point on, it would be wise for anyone who lives in the EU, US, UK, etc. to watch events closely. If a rash of “domestic terrorism” appears suddenly, it could well be the harbinger that the government has reached the tipping point—when tyranny under the guise of “protecting the safety of the people” is inaugurated.

The most essential takeaway here is that, although some may object (even violently), the majority of the people will trade their freedom for the promise of safety.

Reprinted with permission from International Man.