Piracy today is still a serious problem, and has been increasing in recent years, especially in the East Indian Ocean. The last time I checked the statistics over 270 ship piracy incidents had occurred there. With our island base out there, Diego Garcia (where we have spent billions, and currently the natives are suing the British over their relocation from it. http://www.mydiegogarcia.com) you'd think maybe we'd be into bringing those pirates in. Of course historically, piracy had different roots than today, often in a politically incorrect world of slavery and exploitation as a colonial imperative.