 It was a lucrative centre of the pilchard fisheries, and in the early 1600s a pirate base, where not only all the justices including the vice-admiral of Munster, but the entire population, were involved; all the women of Baltimore were reputed to be either wives or mistresses of pirates.These activities were unaffected by official discouragement under King James, but English piracy generally declined shortly thereafter, partly due to competition from Barbary pirates.In 1607 Baltimore became a market town, with the right to hold a weekly market and two annual fairs.