What is the difference between both modern day pirates and pirates?

Answer 1

Both groups are considered violent, antisocial, and mostly in poor health.

Pirates are lawless, and both the early ones and their modern equivalents killed without regard. The early pirates may been less violent, and probably didn't torture the people they killed. Modern pirates use the violence to send a message, and will dismember people and torture them in a effort to get more money.

Piracy is a capital offense and has been since the 1700's, so pirates very rarely come a shore. Early pirates established small settlements on Caribbean Islands, where they could hide from military ships that hunted them. Modern, Somalian pirates, sometimes take control over coastal towns, where they can protect themselves and the things they steal.

Earlier pirates usually suffered from scurvy, which is caused by a lack of fruit nutrients in the diet. They spent most of their time on the sea, so many of them were malnourished. Modern pirates still suffer from malnourishment, but better food preservation technology has limited this. Much of what modern pirates steal is illegal drugs, so many suffer from drug addiction.

Answer 2

The real difference between modern day pirates and the pirates of old are the equipment and arms available to modern day pirates. The boats and weapons are modern, but so are today's defenses against pirates. The motives and opportunities between historical pirates and today's pirates are pretty much the same; they were and are criminals who will rob, kill, and destroy property, either for themselves or under the auspices of a government.