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A letter of marque and reprisal (French: lettre de marque; lettre de course) was a government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with the issuer, licensing international military operations against a specified enemy as reprisal for a previous attack or injury.
Although not French Navy personnel, corsairs were considered legitimate combatants in France (and allied nations), provided the commanding officer of the vessel was in possession of a valid letter of marque (lettre de marque or lettre de course, the latter giving corsairs their name), and the officers and crew conducted themselves according to ...
Sir Andrew Barton, Lord High Admiral of Scotland, followed the example of his father, who had been issued with letters of marque by James III of Scotland to prey upon English and Portuguese shipping in 1485; the letters in due course were reissued to the son. Barton was killed following an encounter with the English in 1511.
An example of reprisal is the Naulila dispute between Portugal and Germany in October 1914, when they were on opposite sides of the World War I chasm. After three Germans were mistakenly killed in Naulila on the border of the then-Portuguese colony of Angola (in a manner that did not violate international law), [6] Germany carried out a military raid on Naulila, destroying property in retaliation.
"Sea Dogs" was an informal name bestowed upon English privateers who were authorised by Queen Elizabeth I to raid England's enemies, even during times of peace. Carrying letters of marque issued by the English Crown, the Sea Dogs frequently attacked both enemy shipping at sea and enemy outposts on land.
Pages for logged out editors learn more. Contributions; Talk; Letter of marque and reprisal
A 1901 illustration of the landing of the first Africans in Virginia.The White Lion is seen anchored in the background.. The White Lion was an English privateer operating under a Dutch letter of marque which brought the first Africans to the English colony of Virginia in August 1619, a calendar year before the arrival of the Mayflower in New England (November 1620). [1]
Privateer captain Woodes Rogers who is said to have employed pirates on a "no purchase, no pay" basis. "No purchase, no pay" (or "no prey, no pay") was a phrase used by pirates and privateers, of the 17th century in particular, to describe the conditions under which participants were expected to join expeditions or raids.