Ship-borne violence in its different forms has been a constant in the history of the Baltic Sea region, ranging from the earliest historical record to the modern era and echoed by present-day literature, film and popular culture. Piracy and privateering are directly linked to the manifold economic and cultural connections that linked the Baltic Sea area into a historical macroregion. A scholarly approach to piracy entails an engagement with questions of legitimate and illegitimate violence on the high seas and the life of marginalized groups in maritime societies. Compared to the intensive research on medieval piracy in the region – ranging from Viking raids to the infamous Victual Brethren – early modern pirates and privateers in the Baltic have been largely ignored by academic historiography and the general public up to now.

This research desideratum will be addressed in the upcoming workshop, organised by Humboldt University at Berlin in the framework of the KOSMOS programme. The following questions will be in the focus of the discussion:

- Which continuities resp. differences between medieval and early modern piracy can be discerned?
- How do characteristic geographical, legal and political traits differentiate maritime violence in the Baltic Sea region from comparable phenomena in other maritime areas?
- How did technological innovations – in ship-building, navigation etc. – influence piracy and privateering in the region?
- How did the rise of territorial states change the framework and the scope of different forms of piracy?
- Did transformations in economic policy – in particular the shift from cities to states as the dominant economic actors – and/or in legal norms facilitate or restrict piracy and privateering?
- Do historical sources allow us to trace changes in the societal and organisational structures of pirate communities (from single crews to larger groups)?
- Are there explanations for the unusually high number of female pirate leaders in the early modern Baltic – striking especially in contrast to the Middle Ages?
- Which ethical judgements on piracy and privateering were formulated during this period – for example by the clergy or by philosophers?
- How did (and do) popular media depict Baltic pirates and privateers – from contemporary broadsheets to present-day literature, film and computer games?

Historians and scholars in related disciplines are cordially invited to contribute a paper addressing these or other research questions. Papers (in German or English) should be roughly 20 minutes in length, with another 20 minutes scheduled for discussion. There are no conference fees; travel expenses and accommodation costs are covered by the organisers. If we have caught your interest, we would ask you for a short abstract of 200 – 300 words and a brief CV, to be sent to ralph.tuchtenhagen@hu-berlin.de and stefan.donecker@eui.eu by March 21st, 2019.