Throughout history the high seas have been places of danger and adventure. So when Doctor Who found himself afloat in the Tardis in the Mediterranean of Roman times it was not surprising that he should witness an act of piracy.

In this instance, however, the victim was none other than the great Julius Caesar himself.

This incident aroused the Doctor’s interest in the subject of pirates, and off he went through time to trace the history of these buccaneers.

From the Barbary Corsairs, who pillaged the Christian galleys sailing to the crusades in the 16th century to Captain Morgan and the infamous William Kidd, the Doctor learns about the rogues who looted cargoes and whose names were feared by all who sailed the seas.

Now you can follow the Doctor’s adventures as the Tardis skips through the centuries on a very special seagoing mission!

The Tardis shuddered uncomfortably, pitching Doctor Who forwards onto the control panel. It came to an abrupt stop and seemed to sway and bob gently. “Now,” mused the Doctor. “I wonder in which place and time zone I’ve landed?”

He was puzzled by the Tardis’s curious motion and found it difficult to walk to the door in a straight line as the floor seemed to roll under his feet. As soon as the door opened he understood the reason: the Tardis was floating in the middle of a calm sea.

As the Doctor wrung out the ends of his scarf, which had trailed in the water, he tried to make a logical deduction of his position, both geographic and in time. “The sea is flat. The sun is high and warm. Well, we’re obviously on Earth — it being the only planet I know that is twothirds covered by sea. It’s not hot enough for the Pacific, too calm for the Atlantic. So, at an educated guess, I’d say we’ve vectored in on the Mediterranean.”

He was pleased with his conclusions, quite rightly too, for he was broadly correct. In fact, the Tardis had brought him down in the Aegean, the part of the Mediterranean that lies between Greece and Turkey. All he needed to know now was the historical period he had chanced upon.

The Doctor rummaged around in one of the Tardis’s numerous and capacious lockers until he came upon a long, brass telescope. “Ah! Just the thing!” He returned to the door and, putting the instrument to his eye, scanned the horizon. The lens focused on two indistinct blurs. As he watched, they sailed closer and eventually he made out the shape of two ships. One was long and sleek, with a large central sail; along each side were lines of oarsmen. They were chained together and each was pulling strongly on his oar, rowing furiously. “I recognise that vessel,” the Doctor said. “It’s undoubtedly a galley and by its lines I’m sure it must be Roman. But what on earth is the boat chasing it?”

This was much smaller and a great deal speedier than the rather cumbersome galley. As the Doctor watched, the little boat overtook the galley, drew alongside and, suddenly, men waving swords above their heads were swarming aboard it. “Good gracious! Pirates!”

The Doctor peered through his telescope and watched as the marauders herded the terrified passengers and crew together and started to strip them of jewels and valuables. Only one man remained calm throughout the attack. He was well-dressed and obviously aristocratic. He sat apart, quietly reading despite the havoc that was wrought around him.

Refocusing his lens, the Doctor brought the young man into extreme close-up. “I’m sure I recognise that face,” he said, wracking his memory for a name. “That’s it! I thought he was familiar. If I’m not much mistaken, that is Julius Caesar, but he’s not much more than a boy. So I conclude we’ve come to earth some years before he became a great soldier and Emperor of Rome. Wait a minute, what’s happening now?”

The pirate chief strode up to Caesar and brandished his sword at him. Caesar looked disdainfully at him. He was greatly outnumbered and resistance would be useless, so he haughtily permitted himself to be taken captive. “Well, well,” the Doctor pondered. “I shouldn’t be at all surprised if young Julius isn’t being held for ransom. I expect the pirates will send a message to his family demanding a large sum of money in return for his safe release.”

The two ships had now drifted out of the Doctor’s view but he was intrigued to know how the story ended. He walked across to the computer bank and punched instructions out on the keyboard. He selected ROMAN HISTORY: CAESAR, JULIUS. The machine made a stuttering noise as it retrieved the information and presented a print-out. The Doctor ran his eye down the typed sheet until he came to the section he wanted. It read: “. . . Caesar held prisoner in Greece while family paid huge ransom . . . On return to Rome Caesar planned revenge . . . Assembled fleet of four war galleys and five hundred armed men . . . Sailed to pirate stronghold where surprised them at a feast . . . Many massacred, ransom recovered . . . Caesar ordered prisoners executed by being slowly strangled . . .”

“Charming!” exclaimed the Doctor drily. “I must say I’m surprised to learn that pirates flourished so early in history. Let’s dig a little deeper.” He typed some more instructions into the computer.

It quickly answered. “. . . Pirates . . . Sea-robbers who preyed on shipping to steal cargo and treasure and hold wealthy passengers to ransom . . . Word derived from Latin pirata and ancient Greek peirates . . . Pirates operated in all parts of world from earliest history . . . Found wherever there were merchant ships laden with valuable cargoes . . .”

“It seems I’ve stumbled on a fascinating subject. I’m not too busy at the moment — even Time Lords have their slack periods — so let’s investigate pirates a bit further. If the Tardis will behave itself for a change we’ll take a spin forward through history and find out some more about these sea-borne villains.”