letter of marque
Government-sanctioned raiding permit
A letter of marque is a government license authorizing a private ship to attack and capture enemy vessels during wartime.
The holder, called a privateer, could legally seize enemy merchant ships and keep a share of the spoils.
Without such authorization, the same acts constituted piracy.
Letters of marque were abolished by most nations in the nineteenth century.
Authorized civilian warship
- corsairPirate or pirate ship
- buccaneerCaribbean colonial-era pirate
- freebooterMaritime plunderer seeking booty
- sea roverMaritime plunderer
raider · prize court · prize money · reprisal
Reward for winning
- bootyStolen valuables, especially treasure
- contrabandProhibited trade goods
- spoilsSeized war gains
- ransomPayment for captive's release
Payment for services rendered
- warrantFormal authorization document
- licenceOfficial permission document
- charterFounding organizational document
- permitOfficial written authorization
certificate · mandate · sanction · endorsement · ratification · writ · decree · royal warrant
Of late 1500s England
- AdmiraltyGovernment body governing fleets
- CaribbeanTropical Atlantic region
- trade routesPaths for exchanging goods
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
maritime law · sovereignty · diplomacy · Sir Francis Drake · War of 1812 · Napoleonic Wars · Age of Sail · Treaty of Paris
Medium-sized naval warship
- sloopOne-masted fore-and-aft rigger
- brigantineTwo-masted mixed-rig vessel
- schoonerMulti-masted sailing craft
- man-of-warArmed sailing vessel
galleon · gunboat · cutter · merchantman · cannon · broadside · boarding action · naval engagement
privateer
Authorized civilian warship
- corsairPirate or pirate ship
- buccaneerCaribbean colonial-era pirate
- freebooterMaritime plunderer seeking booty
sea rover · raider · prize court · prize money · reprisal
prize
Reward for winning
- bootyStolen valuables, especially treasure
- contrabandProhibited trade goods
- spoilsSeized war gains
ransom · confiscation · war spoils · treasure
commission
Payment for services rendered
- warrantFormal authorization document
- licenceOfficial permission document
- charterFounding organizational document
permit · certificate · mandate · sanction · endorsement · ratification · writ · decree · royal warrant · legal authority
Elizabethan
Of late 1500s England
- AdmiraltyGovernment body governing fleets
- CaribbeanTropical Atlantic region
- trade routesPaths for exchanging goods
colonialism · maritime law · sovereignty · diplomacy · Sir Francis Drake · War of 1812 · Napoleonic Wars · Age of Sail · Treaty of Paris
frigate
Medium-sized naval warship
- sloopOne-masted fore-and-aft rigger
- brigantineTwo-masted mixed-rig vessel
- schoonerMulti-masted sailing craft
man-of-war · galleon · gunboat · cutter · merchantman · cannon · broadside · boarding action · naval engagement · sea battle
- Caribbean Piracypirate, buccaneer, privateer, corsair, Port Royal
- naval warfarenaval battles, naval battle, battleship, destroyer, sea battles
- Congress powersspending power, declare war, impeachment, lawmaking, appropriations
- Privateeringprize money, prize court, war prize
- commerce raidingprivateer, corsair, raider
- prize lawprize court, prize money, prize fund, war prize, condemnation
letter of marquepiracy
Seaborne theft or bootlegging
unlawful seizure · pirate · buccaneering · buccaneer · freebooter
letter of marquepeace treaty
Formal end to hostilities