The history of piracy, which was captured by historical sources, began about 3 thousand years ago, although sea robbers, of course, existed much earlier. Serious research on the history of piracy is very different from the beloved by many adventure novels about sea robbers. In them, pirates are often either notorious fraudsters, or, on the contrary, knights without fear and reproach. In fact, most of the characters in children's books have nothing to do with real pirates. The true history of maritime piracy part of world history. Piracy is inextricably linked to the development of trade ties, wars, politics and law. This is confirmed by the biographies of many famous pirates: all of them, at first small crooks and felons, then became captains of pirate ships, and the popular rumor often turned them into folk heroes. It happened that the "feats" of pirates were awarded recognition by the authorities and they were awarded the rank of royal admirals. War, Trade, and Piracy They Are One, Inseparable . And therefore, now that most of the countries of the world have committed themselves not to war with each other, to conduct peaceful trade and to observe the laws of the sea, the end of sea robbery is foreordained. If humanity one day achieves this goal, it will be finished with the last remnants of evil, which is still making itself felt, for example, off the coast of Indochina, Africa or in the Caribbean Sea. "What Is What" is a series of thematic encyclopedias published from 1994 to 2001 by the publishing house "Word" and aimed at school-age children. Initially, it was translated materials of a similar German series "Was ist was", but later, as part of the series, the publishing house began to produce works by domestic authors. The abundance of illustrations, fascination, diversity and accessibility of the presentation of the material predetermined the great popularity of the series. "What is What" easy reading - serious knowledge!Other books in the series "What is What":Byzantine Wolves of Heaven. Flags Calendar. Caves of the Cat. Time. Dolls. Butterflies Sculpture. Our Body . Ancient Greeks Ancient myths Myths of Slavs Sun Apes Ancient China . Painting Orbital Stations . Underwater exploration of the Earth Planet Ancient Greece. Trees. Forest. Poisonous plants . Money from Russia . Multimedia and virtual worlds Natural Disasters Mountains Pyramids Museums Travelers . Crusaders Weather. Bees, Bumblebees, Wasps Moors Elephants Fish Birds Ships Gladiators Samurai. Pirates. Water. Bridges . Geographic Maps of the Witch Star. Internet Seven Wonders of the World Predators Nuclear Power Arctic and Antarctic. Indians Horses Dinosaurs Ancient Russia . Moscow Rus Revival . Mysterious Treasure Phenomena . Tropical Forest