The Roots of
Privateering
The roots of Privateering can be
traced back to the early 1200's, but Privateering really began to
flourish during the 16th and 17th centuries, a fascinating period in
maritime history. During this unique period, sailors began to
develop a distinctive international culture. Sailors in earlier
periods had a nationalistic style of dress, language, and equipment;
but in this period instead of sailing in a particular nation's navy
or fleet, private owner/captains operated their own independant
warships. Sailors of different countries began dressing alike by
wearing clothes designed for their work that were not subject to
landsmen fashions. Furthermore, seagoing craft of different parts of
Europe began to resemble one-another more than they had
before.
From it's humble beginning's in
the 13th century, Privateering grew with the discovery of the New
World in the 15th century. The power of the empires in this
era was based on control of the seas rather than control of
the land. Mercantile companies and private ship-owner captains
became the backbone of many economies during this era. The
trader-merchant owner/operator ships formed the "Wall Street" of the
Europe. A man's or nation's fortune was based on what happened at
sea. As new technologies allowed long and accurate sea voyages, the
New World colonies were seized by the Spanish. In Europe, while
Spain was trying to spread their power in the New World and exploit
its treasures, the English, French and Dutch struggled to catch up
with Spain. While the Spanish plundered the immeasurable wealth from
the Native Indians, England and France sponsored Privateers to
attack the Spanish ships that were transporting treasures from the
New World back home. By the late 17th century Spain was no longer
the unrivaled sea power. Other nations like France and especially
England overtook Spain and expanded their fleets; and international
sea-born trade became very popular.
In order to protect the assets of a
nation, and capture the assets of an enemy nation (like a modern day
embargo) a large marine force was needed. It was determined that a
fleet of private ship owner/captains would prove to be the most
effective and cost effeciant method of accomplishing this feat.
These private warships consisted of individual Privateers who would
indeed prove themselves worthy of defending a
nation.
Thus, by going to
sea a young man could amass a small fortune and obtain wealth in a
relatively short time period. In contrast to a peasant toiling
for long periods working the land, or a lengthy apprenticeship in
the mercantile trades, a member of a successful privateering crew
could suddenly find himself wealthy enough to call himself a
"gentleman". It was not unheard of for an unknown commoner to rise
through the ranks and eventually be granted a peerage, although this
was very rare.
Beyond the money, there was also the
excitement and admiration. A sailor back from a long voyage was
looked upon with awe. He had been to strange lands and had met
strange people. He had the courage to face enemy ships, and had
tales of battle and victory. He had eaten foods that had never been
seen before and looked upon beasts thought to exist only in the
imagination. A farmer never had anything exciting to tell, but the
sailor could keep the simple country-folk entranced for hours, never
mind his penchant for stretching the truth.
The Privateer
Privateers were ships that were
privately owned and were commisioned by a government to make
reprisals, to gain reparation for specified offenses in time of
peace, or to prey upon the enemy in time of peace, or to prey upon
the enemy in time of war. In short, a privateer was a private
warship.The officers and crew of such a privateer could keep a large
part or all of the money from the captured vessels.
The privateers acted only on a
commission recognised under the Law of Nations known as a letter of
marque. One of the principle clauses of a letter of marque is that
of specifically naming the country whose vessels can be legally
captured. There were heavy penalties if the property of other
nations was violated.
The Letter of Reprisal
Henry III of England granted the first
Letter of Reprisal in 1243. The Letter of Reprisal is a letter that
gives a privateer crew a commision to take action against a
particular crew or nation for a specific event. The Letter of
Reprisal was the catalyst which gave rise to Privateers. In England,
Privateers were originally referred to as a "Private Men-O-War" .
Over time, the term privateer came to represent the ship, the
captain, and the crew. The letter of reprisal was the precursor to
the letter of marque.
The Letter of Marque
In order to have permission to attack
another vessel, a Privateer carried a letter of marque (a commision)
from the government stating that they had the blessing of the
monarchy to attack a particular vessel. Here are some examples
of a letter of marque from different countries:
However, Letters of Marque did not
completely safeguard a privateer from prosecution even when ships of
certain countries were excluded from attacks. When a privateer was
captured by a hostile nation he was often charged with being a
pirate and swiftly executed. Also when countries made peace between
them and a privateer fails to get the news about this in time he
could be prosecuted if he continued to attack ships of the now
friendly nation. Sometimes a privateer was such a long time away
from home or the colonies that he only heard the news of a peace
treaty when he returned home from his privateering
enterprise.
The Letter of Ransom
Ransoming captured persons and
cargo was also a common practice among Privateers. The family or
owners have to pay a ransom to get their relatives or posessions
back. Cargoes, or parts of cargoes are generally less popular as
objects for ransoming than persons. The Letters of Ransom are issued
by privateers to ships that have been attacked by them. Typically a
privateer would issue the letters with instructions for all other
privateers to allow this ship to pass safely to its intended
destiination because people were being held ransom and the ransom
could not be paid by dead men. A captain usually gets several of
these letters with him when he goes privateering. The Rules instruct
a privateer on how and when to use the letters. Failure to comply
with these rules can result in stiff sentences for Captains as well
as crews. The unauthorized copying of Letters of Ransom or forging
by merchants is also heavily penalized when
discovered.
PRIVATEERS VS. PIRATES
Privateers were not pirates.
Pirates were lawless criminals who operated stateless
vessels who attacked anyone's ships in peace or war, and
followed their own unique customs and rules which bore no
resemblance to the elaborately regulated world of privateering. In
contrast, Privateers primarily operated only in wartime or against a
common enemy and only against enemy shipping, they did not pillage
their own nation's vessels and operated under strict rules and
regulations. They were, in many ways, in the same business as the
navy which likewise paid its sailors and officers from the proceeds
of captured ships.
One of the best examples of Privateer
action was the British fleet which defeated the Spanish Armada in
1588. Queen Elizabeth I's privateers were known as Sea Dogs. The
best known of these was Francis Drake, whom she called "her pirate."
His ventures brought her great wealth, and in 1581 she knighted him.
Other Sea Dogs included John Hawkins and Thomas Cavendish.
Elizabeth, deemed privateering of greater import ance than
colonization, which is why Raleigh's ships didn't return to Roanoke
as planned and what became of the Lost Colony of Roanoke remains a
mystery to this day. The kings of France also supported their
Privateers, known as "corsairs".
Privateers were both male and
female. Although, most Privateers were male, some famous Privateer
woman include: Jeanne de Montfort ("The Flame"), Jane de Belleville,
and Jeanne de Clisson ("The Lioness of Brittany") who operated in
1343 against the French. Grace O'Malley ( Granuaile) was an Irish
pirate/privateer who operated off the coast of Ireland and defended
the Gaelic way of life against the British from 1550-1603. Although
deemed by the British to be a pirate, she was pardoned by Queen
Elizabeth I, once she had the chance to explain her position and the
plight of the Irish to the court . In exchange for the pardon, she
vowed to fight the Queen's enemies.
Privateers demonstrably considered
their realm worth defending. In that, they were volunteers. But they
were more than volunteers. They provided the means to protect their
nation out of their own pockets. The United States of America
used Privateers to gain independance from Britain in 1776.
Even today, Article 1, Section 8 of the
United States Constitution states, "Congress shall have power...to
grant letters of Marque and Reprisal." A Letter of Marque and
Reprisal was then the legal distinction between a privateer and a
pirate. They authorized owners of privately owned warships to make
war on the enemies of America.
It is true that some privateers turned
to piracy during times of peace. They would prey upon neutral or
enemy ships but rarely ships of their own country. This was highly
frowned upon by the monarchy and there were severe penalties for any
privateer that crossed the line to piracy.
A good example of privateer turned
pirate is Captain William Kidd who was hanged in 1701 for
piracy because he could not produce a letter of marque. Most
honourable privateers took up fishing and merchant trading
during the slow times, often exploring new trade
routes.
More On Privateers:
 BACK HOME 
| 
