The success of the first raids convinced the pirates of Gramvousa that a more organized approach to their endeavour would result in better returns. They established a four-member commission, known as the Epitrope, representing the four provinces of western Crete. There was a president and a general-in-chief of the so-called Cretan army. Antoniades, who was the most prominent pirate remained in the background, even though he directed the whole enterprise. And busy he was: the small pirate fleet attacked with gusto and fierce determination every vessel of every second-rate power (such as Sweden, Spain, Rome, Naples) they could find on the high seas.