Pirates everywhere

I was amused to find that in the years before Elizabeth 1 the Scots had a ‘powerful’ navy. Not so much the Scots, but the people of the West Coast and the Islands, people who had adopted the Viking culture, which would be little more than a reawakening of the old Dalriada one. In fact, modern research indicates that Medieval seaborne commerce was often Viking like piracy, and forced all nations to adopt a convoy system. In that situation, those countries which, due to the difficulty of internal communication, depended on sea transport, like fyord riven Scandinavia, Scotland and the Baltic countries, would have an advantage. The surprise is the Dutch, with their flat interior and ready access to central Europe but their early claim to fame was, of course, the Dunkirque pirates with their easy access to the trade routes of the North Sea. The interesting thing is that, while pirate tales are generally set in the Caribbean, for the Medieval period it extended from the Russian ports of the Baltic, through the North Sea, down the west Coast of Europe and into the Mediterranean. From a story line point of view, there are several episodes that could support a tale but I have no hero or any clearly defined protagonist and adversary as even the Lord High Admiral of England was a partner in the piracy game.