Legal Definitions - privateer

A privateer refers to either:

• A privately owned ship that has been officially authorized by a government during wartime to attack and capture enemy merchant vessels.
• A sailor or captain serving on such a ship.

The key distinction of a privateer is that their actions, while similar to piracy (attacking enemy shipping for profit), are considered legal under the international law of the authorizing nation because they operate with a formal government commission, often called a "letter of marque." This commission grants them permission to seize enemy property and disrupt their trade, with a portion of the captured goods (prizes) typically going to the privateer and the rest to the authorizing government.

Examples:

• During the War of 1812, the American merchant ship Chasseur was outfitted with cannons and granted a letter of marque by the U.S. government. It then sailed into British waters, intercepting and capturing several British merchant ships laden with goods, which were subsequently brought back to American ports to be sold.

  This illustrates a privateer as a vessel, privately owned but officially sanctioned by the U.S. government, engaging in actions against enemy (British) commerce during wartime.

• Captain Jean Lafitte, operating in the Gulf of Mexico during the early 19th century, sometimes held commissions from various governments, allowing him and his crew to legally target ships of nations at war with his commissioning authority. When he held such a commission, he and his crew were acting as privateers, authorized to seize enemy vessels and cargo, rather than being mere pirates.

  This example focuses on the individual (Captain Lafitte and his crew) and highlights how a government commission transformed their actions from illegal piracy into legitimate wartime privateering against specific enemy targets.

• Imagine a scenario where a French ship, the Revenant, is given a letter of marque by the French government during a conflict with Spain. The Revenant then successfully captures a Spanish treasure ship. Because the Revenant was operating under official French authorization against a declared enemy, its crew would be considered privateers, and their actions would be legal under French and international law, rather than being prosecuted as piracy.

  This example clarifies the context and the crucial legal distinction: the act of capturing an enemy ship, which would otherwise be piracy, becomes legal privateering due to the official government authorization during wartime.