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A privateer is a private ship (or its captain) authorized by a country's government to attack and seize cargo from another country's ships.Prior to the development of international law among European nations, there was no legal recourse for minor grievances. Privateering was a form of covert operation used to resolve these matters without open warfare. The government of a country provided a letter of marque and reprisal to a shipowner that allowed him to arm his ship and attack other ships sailing under a particular flag. In return he received a share of the seized cargo, while the rest went to the government as payment for the grievance.
To the target country, a privateer looked very much like a pirate, and indeed this was the intention. The only difference was that pirates were considered outlaws by all nations, while privateers had immunity from the country that commissioned them. Privateers were sometimes known as "gentleman pirates."
European powers renounced privateering in the 1856 Declaration of Paris. Other countries (including the United States) also renounced it under the Hague Conventions ( 1899/ 1907).
1 Privateers in American history
The United States ConstitutionLaw for the United States of America The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America and is the oldest written national constitution still in force. It was completed on September 17, 1787, with its adoption by the authorizes CongressThe United States Congress is the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The structure and responsibilities of Congress are defined in Article One of the United States Constitution. The United States Congress is bicameral, meaning tha to grant "letters of marque and reprisal," as did the Confederate ConstitutionThe Confederate States Constitution was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America, as adopted on March 11, 1861 and in effect through the conclusion of the American Civil War. The Confederacy also operated under a Provisional Constitution from. The
ConfederatesThe Confederate States of America CSA also known as the Confederacy was the confederacy formed by the southern states that seceded from the United States during the period of the American Civil War. The 11 states of the Confederacy were Alabama, Arkansas, used privateers during the American Civil WarThe American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the northern states, popularly referred to as "the U. the Union," " the North," or "the Yankees"; and the seceding southern states, commonly referred to as "the Confederat. BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom the UK Britain or less accurately as Great Britain . The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly also used them against the US after the American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War ( 1775 1783), also known as the American War of Independence was a war fought between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. The war, which eventually widened far beyond British Nor.
2 Famous privateers
- Victual Brothers
- William KiddWilliam "Captain" Kidd ( 1645 May 23, 1701), was born in Greenock, Scotland. He later emigrated to America settling in New York. There he married Sarah Bradley Cox Oort. They had two daughters: Elizabeth and Sarah Kidd. The marriage brought to Kidd a cons
- Alexander Godfrey
- Francis Drake
