Privateer

similar actions were carried out by England’s Royal Navy. From 1655 to 1670, England’s navy and commissioned privateering vessels, continuously raided Spain’s Caribbean territories and merchant ships for goods. But because, both the navy and privateer ships were working under the law, the acts of violence they committed were not and are still not considered acts of piracy. Perhaps it is due to the fact that most pirates were of lower class, and that it was the authority figures who deemed…

potential charges. English courts clearly identified the legal demarcation between privateers and pirates as early as the fourteenth century. The sovereign issued commissions to privateer captains authorizing them to attack the vessels of specified enemy nations. Since piracy included an element of robbery, no property legally changed hands as a result of such undertakings. Therefore, English law required that privateer captains present their wartime cargo to Admiralty prize courts, which…

However, on numerous accounts a government has supported these rebels in destroying another countries property. People like “Francis Drake (later to be knighted) was England's most famous privateer. In the 16th century, he attacked Spanish treasure ships returning from the New World, sharing his profits with Queen Elizabeth I, who honoured him for his services.” ("Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum! ... A brief history of piracy”, Para. 5) Drake…

Sir Francis Drake: Pirate or Patriot? “It isn't that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.”-Sir Francis Drake. Sir Francis Drake was a well known exploring English Sea Captain in the late 1500’s. Drake had many expeditions around the world and was actually one of the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. He was one of the most greatest explorers but was doubted by many even after his many accomplishments. In fact, one of the questions that still remain is “Was Sir…

estate. At eighteen years old Drake served as an apprentice on a merchant ship that traded goods between France and England. Due to his high skill level on the seas, including navigation, his relatives enlisted him. These relatives, the Hawkins, were privateers that seized merchant ships trading off of the French coast. At twenty years old, Drake was given command of his own ship, the Judith. The Judith and a few other ships with Drake in command and his cousin John Hawkins sailed to Guinea to…

led them into an inclusive political system due to the fact that the Atlantic Ocean was now more open to England and that it was on more equal terms. England navy relied heavily on merchants and privateers which was involved in the Atlantic trade making profits. Spain became frustrated with the privateers creating tension with their monopoly and the English’s involvement. Spain was disadvantaged due to the bad weather and the loss of their commander leading them to disastrous loss. The Spanish…

The Quasi War was an undeclared naval war between United States and France fought during July, 1798 until September, 1800, however France had started seizing American merchant ships long before that. There were many reasons to why the war started, but it was mainly resulting from disagreements with the Jay Treaty, previous unpaid debt during the French Revolutionary War, and violations from the past 1783 Treaty of Paris. The naval battles were mostly fought in the Caribbean, the Atlantic Ocean,…

The two passage gives different views of Blackbeard. The first passage, "Lieutenant Rober Maynard and Blackbeard, the pirate", makes Blackbeard out to be a fierce and threatening man. Yet in the second passage, "A Fury from Hell - or Was He?", shows Blackbeard as a forthright kind of attitude and a leader. Although, in both passages, it inferes that he was a clever man. In the first passage, it states, "Colonial governments grew concerned about their shipping, and acts of piracy... were…

important factors, the privateers being one they. They were the ones that defeated the colonies. They had their own ranks, uniforms, and tactics and were huge. The Dutch East Corporation had the fourth largest navy on the earth. Another important factor were the trade…

fierce libertarian streak he, ran away from home and literally ran through a series of jobs in England. One being a privateer or pirate considering this meant that he was able to become an excise tax officer of an armed ship holding government commission (taxes.) The ship was okayed for use during the war to capture enemies (smugglers), becoming basically a legal pirate ship or “Privateer.” He then acquired his own shop and tried his luck at corset making,…