What was the Letter of Marque? Privateering Commissions Explained

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You might've remembered this scene from the Second Pirates of the Caribbean movie, where Cutler Beckett offers a Letter of Marque to Jack Sparrow. This will function as a pardon for Jack's crimes as a pirate, and simutaneously turn him into a servant of the crown - a Privateer.

Could this have happened in history? In practice, yes, but the situation has been oversimplified, and the terminology fumbled around.

Secondary sources
Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period - John Franklin Jameson
Pirates of the Americas(Vol1&2) - David F. Marley
The Sea Rover's Practice - Benerson Little
The Buccaneer's Realm - Benerson Little

Primary sources
A Privateer's Voyage Round the World - George Shelvocke
A Cruising Voyage Round the World - Woodes Rogers
William Dick's South Sea Voyage - William Dick
A New Voyage Round the World - William Dampier
Buccaneers of America - Volume 2 - Basil Ringrose

#pirates #letterofmarque #history #privateers #goldandgunpowder