From 2007–2012, a dramatic upsurge in maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia captivated global attention. Over three hundred merchant vessels and some three thousand seafarers were held hostage with ransom amounts ranging from $200,000 to $10 million being paid to release these ships. Somali piracy operated exclusively on a kidnap-and-ransom model with crew, cargo, and ship held captive until a ransom was secured. Ransom, unlike theft or seizure, requires willing parties and systems of exchange. Ransom economies, therefore, bring together disparate actors and make visible the centrality of protection as a mode of accumulation and jurisdiction. As an analytic, this article proposes an anthropology of protection to undercut divides between legality and illegality, trade and finance, piracy and counter piracy. It argues that protection is key to apprehending processes of mobility and interruption central to global capitalism.

中文翻译：

---

劫持：西印度洋的海盗和保护经济

从 2007 年到 2012 年，索马里沿海海盗活动的急剧增加引起了全球的关注。超过 300 艘商船和大约 3000 名海员被扣为人质，赎金金额从 200,000 美元到 1000 万美元不等，以释放这些船只。索马里海盗活动完全采用绑架勒索模式，船员、货物和船只都被俘虏，直到获得赎金为止。与盗窃或扣押不同，赎金需要自愿的各方和交换系统。因此，赎金经济将不同的参与者聚集在一起，并使保护作为积累和管辖模式的中心地位可见。作为分析，本文提出了一种保护人类学，以缩小合法与非法、贸易与金融、盗版与反盗版之间的鸿沟。