E X T E N S I O N OLD AND NEW PIRATES Piracy1 began over 2,000 years ago in Ancient greece, but it really grew between 1620 and 1720; this period is known as the golden age of piracy. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, there were privateers who were basically pirates authorized by their government to attack ships from enemy countries. then they shared2 their profits3 with the government. Francis Drake was England s most famous privateer. in the 16th century, he attacked Spanish ships full of gold that were returning from the new world; he shared his profits with Elizabeth i. Pirates used flags to frighten ships. the original pirate flags were blood red, but then they used the famous Jolly Roger skull and crossbones (see picture above). there were not many women pirates; seamen believed that it was unlucky to have women onboard ships. So women had to dress like men. However, there were some powerful women pirates, such as ching Shih, who led 80,000 men! the two most famous women pirates were Anne Bonny and mary reed, who were captured4 in 1720. the punishment for piracy was death by public hanging5. the bodies of pirates were often put into an iron cage6. the body of the famous pirate, William Kidd, hung7 for three years at tilbury Point in the thames estuary8 as a warning9 to seamen and pirates. 1. piracy: the illegal activity of pirates, that is, the act of attacking ships in order to steal from them. 2. shared: divided. 3. profits: money that you get. 4. captured: taken as prisoners by force. 5. hanging: killing someone as a punishment with a rope around its neck. 7. hung (hang-hunghung): remained suspended in the air with a rope around his neck. 8. estuary: the wide part of a river where it joins the sea. 9. warning: a notice to tell you about something dangerous or unpleasant. 6. cage: 30