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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.
A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. [1] Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or delegated authority issued commissions, also referred to as letters of marque, during wartime. The ...
Triton was launched at Calcutta in 1815 and sold shortly thereafter to Spanish owners. She was sailing from Bengal to Cadiz when an American-built and outfitted privateer with a letter of marque from the patriotic forces in Buenos Aires captured her in January 1817 in a sanguinary single-ship action during the Argentine War of Independence.
A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. [1] Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or delegated authority issued commissions, also referred to as letters of marque, during wartime. The ...
Each privateer received £120 – equivalent to five or six times the average annual earnings of a sailor of the time. [20] Morgan received a five per cent share for his work, [36] while Modyford received a ten per cent share, which was the price of Morgan's letter of marque. [37]
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 ...
1781, January 9 – The sloop USS Saratoga captures the letter-of-marque Tonyn; 1781, March 7 – Liverpool privateer Woolton captures French merchantman Sartine; 1781, March 23 – British privateer Tarleton, of 14 guns, captures American letter of marque Tom Lee, of 12 guns. 1781, May 1 – HMS Canada captures the Spanish frigate Santa Leocadia.
This was a letter of marque against France. He had earlier acquired letters of marque against the United States, Spain, and Holland. [a] Lloyd's List reported in June 1781 that the Dartmouth privateer Biscayneer, Crowte, master, had taken and sent into Dartmouth a French brig carrying a cargo of wine, brandy and bale goods. [3]