The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #5843 Message #1153625
Posted By: Uncle_DaveO
03-Apr-04 - 12:56 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Barrett's Privateers (Stan Rogers)
Subject: RE: Origins: Barrett's Privateers (Stan Rogers)
The Walrus said, in part:
(and privateering wasn't outlawed until sometime around the 1860s).
Outlawed by whom? A privateer is licensed by his sovereign government to prey on the enemy. "A letter of marque came from the King" Even as late as 1948, when Israel was formed, since it didn't have a powerful navy Israel issued letters of marque and reprisal to help with the naval function.
Who, in 1860 or so, would have international authority to "outlaw" this function? Or even today, who? My guess is, nobody.
Dave Oesterreich