Legal Definitions - marque

Marque is an archaic legal term that refers to an act of reprisal or retaliation, historically authorized by a sovereign power. It typically involved a state granting permission to its subjects to seize the property or vessels of another nation's subjects as compensation for damages or injuries suffered, particularly in a maritime context.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of marque:

• Imagine a scenario in the 18th century where a nation's merchant fleet suffered significant losses due to unprovoked attacks by privateers operating under the flag of a rival kingdom. After diplomatic efforts to secure compensation failed, the aggrieved nation's monarch might issue official documents known as "letters of marque" to its own private ship owners.

  These letters would legally authorize these privateers to engage in marque – meaning they could lawfully capture ships and goods belonging to the rival kingdom's subjects. This act of marque served as a state-sanctioned reprisal, intended to recover losses and exact retribution for the initial attacks.

• Consider a historical situation in medieval Europe where a powerful lord's lands were repeatedly plundered by raiders originating from a neighboring territory, whose ruler refused to offer restitution or control their subjects. If the aggrieved lord obtained explicit permission or implicit sanction from their own king to respond forcefully.

  The lord might then organize a retaliatory expedition to seize livestock, crops, or other valuables from the offending territory. This authorized act of taking property as a direct response to unaddressed grievances would constitute a form of marque, representing a legitimate reprisal for the damages sustained.