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Hi Terri. I find the theories on what caused the Viking age interesting, including the scenario you suggest. What prompts such behaviour elsewhere? And, can we assume similar socio-economic and culture impetus existed in the Early Medieval period? Impossible to know with respect to all the nuances that are invisible in the archaeology and not touched on in contemporary texts (when there are any - usually written by 'outsiders.' Though, since human nature itself doesn't seem to have changed that much (at least in terms of greed and desire for easy money) some of the prompts behind 21st century piracy may have been true for the Vikings, e.g. "'weak states' that are easily corruptible and scarce economic opportunities in legal forms of work make piracy an appealing alternative." I suspect there is no single answer with respect to the Vikings - or anyone else for that matter. [Source of quote: https://theglobepost.com/2019/09/24/modern-piracy-explained/]

- Kerry

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