As I had mentioned before a privateer was a
private pirate for a specific country. Of course this may or may not be recognized by other countries, but it did allow the holder of letters of marque from the issuing country to attack shipping. The issuing country would treat these persons as friendly, but other countries would more than likely treat them as pirates. Neutral countries would also more than likely treat them as they would any other neutral country as well.

The ships were privately owned and did not fall under any naval command. Their whole purpose was to cause problems among the enemies commercial fleet and cause the military to divert assets to protect merchant ships. They would capture merchant ships and then sell them in their home country for profit. The cargo and ship would be sold at auction or possibly bought by the home countries Navy.

Privateer’s played a vital part in 16th -18th century naval warfare. They walked a thin line in doing their job. At times they could even be considered a pirate in their home country and be punished as such. William “Captain” Kidd was a well known privateer for Britain in the 1690’s. He was eventually executed as a pirate in England, the vary country he was a privateer for.

The Declaration of Paris in 1856 outlawed Privateers, however the US did not sign the treaty. During the Civil War the Confederacy sent out several Privateers in hopes of disrupting the Unions commercial shipping.

The last organized use of privateers was during the Franco-Prussian War when the Prussian Empire issued a call for a private Navy. The last know privateer comes from none other than the US. During World War II letters of margue were issued to the Airship Resolute. The Airship manned by a civilian crew armed with rifles patrolled for submarines out of Los Angeles.


So, this ends the pirate theme for the week. Next week what direction will I go? Tune in and find out!