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Letter of Marque Letter of marque

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In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government license authorizing a private vessel to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale. Cruising for prizes with a Letter of Marque was considered an honorable calling combining patriotism and profit, in contrast to unlicensed piracy which was universally reviled. The French used the term lettre de course for their letters of marque, giving rise to the term corsair. Letter of Marque can sometimes describe the vessel itself: a "Letter of Marque" generally refers to a lumbering square-rigged cargo carrier that might pick up a prize if the opportunity arose, whereas a "privateer" was a fast and weatherly fore-and-aft rigged vessel heavily armed and heavily crewed, A letter of marque was a document issued by a government, authorizing otherwise-private citizens to conduct warfare on behalf of that government. Letters of marque were usually issued to merchant vessels, such as heavily armed freighters or small corvettes and other relatively minor capital ships. They allowed such vessels to conduct attacks on shipping or even governmental vessels of an enemy power under the aegis of the issuing government, provided a portion of the bounty (specified in the document itself) was paid to the issuing government. Governments which acknowledged the legitimacy of their enemies had to treat captured enemies fighting under letters of marque as prisoners of war, rather than pirates.

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In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government license authorizing a private vessel to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale. Cruising for prizes with a Letter of Marque was considered an honorable calling combining patriotism and profit, in contrast to unlicensed piracy which was universally reviled. The French used the term lettre de course for their letters of marque, giving rise to the term corsair. Letter of Marque can sometimes describe the vessel itself: a "Letter of Marque" generally refers to a lumbering square-rigged cargo carrier that might pick up a prize if the opportunity arose, whereas a "privateer" was a fast and weatherly fore-and-aft rigged vessel heavily armed and heavily crewed, intended exclusively for fighting. As used in this context, marque is likely a derivation of a German word meaning "border" (Mark), and a "letter of marque and reprisal" would involve permission to cross an international border to effect a reprisal (take some action against an attack or injury) authorized by an issuing jurisdiction to conduct reprisal operations outside its borders. A letter of marque was a document issued by a government, authorizing otherwise-private citizens to conduct warfare on behalf of that government. Letters of marque were usually issued to merchant vessels, such as heavily armed freighters or small corvettes and other relatively minor capital ships. They allowed such vessels to conduct attacks on shipping or even governmental vessels of an enemy power under the aegis of the issuing government, provided a portion of the bounty (specified in the document itself) was paid to the issuing government. Governments which acknowledged the legitimacy of their enemies had to treat captured enemies fighting under letters of marque as prisoners of war, rather than pirates. A letter of marque and reprisal was a higher degree of the same document, which additionally authorized ships to retaliate for enemy attacks by carrying battle into enemy systems.