> A friend of mine on the excellent MARHST-L (Maritime History) list posted a > series of informative items about privateering during the War of 1812. Since > many of us descend from families who might have engaged in such activites, > but don't generally know where to find Maritime records , I thought it might be > helpful to share these posts with you. Frank has given his kind permission . > The later posts mention both ship names and people names. Hope you > recognize someone...or, just enjoy a well written historical tidbit.....malinda > > Frank Pierce Young wrote: > > > The statement prompting this discussion concerned the effect of American > > privateers upon the outcome of the War of 1812, it being averred that their > > oft-storied turning it in American favour was a "myth". > > > > But first, for the benefit of any MARHSTers or pass-along readers unfamiliar > > with that term -- and some apparently have been -- privateers are NOT > > pirates. (Anyone knowing the difference may delete all this.) Thus a short > > explanation of terms. A privateer is a privately financed, owned, > > outfitted, crewed, and operated armed vessel -- a private warship -- allowed > > forth under government licence to attack the vessels of a declared national > > enemy, for profit. Thus, unlike pirates, who are simply criminal, privateers > > are quite legitimate. Also, their activity must cease with peace; anything > > further indeed is piracy, and so recognised internationally. > > > > The profits, if any, derive not from sinking or other destruction, but from > > capture of vessels and goods which may then be sold off. Customarily, all > > concerned share in any monies. Likewise, all risks are entirely their own. > > They were active out of most maritime nations at one time or other, and for > > centuries. Typically, and certainly at the time of the War of 1812, > > privateers were relatively small vessels vice many actual naval warships, and > > compared to regular naval warships including any about their size, usually > > relatively lightly armed -- but this was more than enough to overpower even > > more lightly armed or unarmed merchantmen, which were their primary targets; > > enemy warships as such were to be avoided. Known as Letters of Marque & > > Reprisal, the right of the U.S. Congress to issue such private warship > > licences is written into the U.S. Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, para. > > 11) -- though subsequent mid-19th Century international treaty agreements > > made that moot long ago. > > > > Privateers always aimed at enemy merchant trade, because that's where risk > > was least and any profits would lie. In short, they were ad hoc quasi-naval > > raiders; and their licensing government's benefit, aside from no risk but a > > usual share in any proceeds, was that they tended to draw off enemy warships > > needed to protect enemy merchantmen while simultaneously slowly reducing > > available enemy trading vessels and supplies (and hence enemy strength) while > > raising their costs of same, even as captures enriched their captors, thus > > encouraging still more privateering. > > > > The question of just Who-Is-A-Legitimate-Privateer lies behind much of the > > modern labelling confusion, as does the matter of who is doing the talking. > > Back in the early 1200s, a cunning and conscienceless character known as > > Eustace the Monk became a virtual Capo di Capi of mafia-like sea raiders > > working the English Channel/Bay of Biscay areas -- taking, of course, > > primarily English merchantmen as well as anything else that looked good. He > > got away with this for a long while because he and his men resided, hid out, > > and spent liberally in French coastal ports and paid off all the right > > people, whose vessels he (again, of course) never bothered, all at a period > > when warfare between England and some French ruler or another was an > > intermittent risk of everyday life. In that sense, Eustace might be > > considered a sort of medieval privateer; but King John of England saw his > > direct and very nasty threat to English sea trade as just plain old piracy, > > and en fin cornered and captured him. A large tapestry at Cambridge > > University shows him having his head lopped off on the rail of his own > > vessel. The famous (or notorious; again, according to who tells the stories) > > Francis Drake, better known to his usual Spanish victims and their > > impoverished backers as El Draque (the dragon; a cute bilingual pun nobody > > laughed at), never had a truly formal "licence", but assuredly went about > > raiding Spanish trade with full if backdoor approval of Good Queen Bess, to > > the considerable enlargement of her Tudor treasury. Which is how come he got > > a "Sir" before his name at a great ceremony, which infuriated the Spanish > > ambassador. > > > > Privateering may be gone, but the net concept remains. The raiding of > > merchant traffic has characteristically come to be perceived as the style of > > a weaker maritime Power vice a much stronger one, and the anticipated effect > > of successful continued merchant traffic raiding on Britain, which depended > > almost totally upon it, lay directly behind the sly raiding efforts of > > Imperial Germany in WWI (especially the famous SEEADLER, an armed sailing > > barque skippered by the humorous Kapitan u. Graf Felix Von Luckner) -- and > > especially the long-planned one of Nazi Germany in WWII, in arming and > > sending out numerous disguised merchantmen as naval raiders worldwide to > > attack Allied merchantmen. Some were quite successful indeed, especially > > early on, in wreaking havoc, especially on British trade, and tying up > > numerous RN warships in often goosechase hunting expeditions. > > > > Other MARHSTers will likely have far more detail to offer on the nature of > > privateering. It and those involved in it, and how they came to do so and why > > and with what, is a fascinating maritime topic of itself and as said involved > > most maritime nations, especially Atlantic ones from the mid-1600s on. > > > > In my next posting I'll get into that business of American privateers in the > > War of 1812, and what they wrought. > > > > FRANK PIERCE YOUNG > > Annapolis, MD [log in to unmask] To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html