Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 11:55:02 -0700 (MST)
From: snail 
Subject: [azpeace] letters of marque - helped win the american revolution
To: azpeace@yahoogroups.com
Reply-To: azpeace@yahoogroups.com




some voices have been saying that the 
american government should deal with 
the terrorist mess by issuing 
"letters of marque" allowing private
citizens to capture and bring to justice
the criminals who blew up the WTC
instead of the american government bombing
and killing people in afghanistan

here are some snips from an article 
on how "letters of marque" helped win
the american revolution.

while i have to agree it it worked rather 
well. but it sounds like nothing but 
government sanctioned theft which i dont
agree with.



During the Revolutionary War, privately
financed American ships - sanctioned by
Congress to act like pirates - attacked and
caputred as many as one thousand British
cargo ships, loaded with spices, rum and
ther goods, severely distupting trade.
And the investors and sailors split the
booty.

Naval historian Edgar Maclay argues
that this form of economic terrorism
against British merchants had more to do
with Great Britain  yealding the colonies
than the victories of Washington over
forces of mercenaries fighting on faraway 
soil. Maclay points out that page after
page of British newspapers during the
so-called "American war" complained about
the phenomenal success of American privateers
in rupturing British tade, even
along the coasst of England, while there
was comparatively little mention of the
land war.

"What produces peace?" asked Thomas 
Jefferson.  "The distress of individuals."
And Jefferson added" "... every possible
encouragement should be given to privateering
in time of war with a commercial nation."

What exactly is a privateer? Bascially,
he's our pirate. The countries of Europe,
especially England with its national hero,
Sir Francis Drake, have a long tradition of
encouraging privateers to attack the enemy
in times of war. In 1776, Contress
passed an act, which begin "Instructions
to the commanders of private ships or vessels
of war, which shall have commissions
or letters of marque ... You may, by force
of arms, attack, subdue and take  all ships
and other vessels belonging to the Inhabitants
of Great-Britain," Signed by order of
Congress, John Hancock, president, April
3, 1776.

Elaborate rules explain about towing
the vessel to port, not ransoming prisoners,
not selling goods until a local court
can rule wether it's a "legitimate prize."

Within four month after the Declaration of
Independence, businessmen in New York had
outfitted twenty-six speedy privateers,
manned by over two thousand seamen. Besides 
being a patriotic  move, this was a great 
business opportunity: to prey at will on 
the prosperous merchant ships of England 
and keep the booty. The shares of these 
expeditions were actually publicy traded 
like stock, based on the daring of the 
captain, the number of guns, etc. "Shares 
in privateers were widely sold, traded, 
discounted and used as collateral not only 
by merchants but by military officers and 
government officials as well," states Richard 
Kaufman in "The War Profiteers", He also 
points out that as many as 90,000 sailors 
manned these privateer vessels, almost as 
many as served in the Continental Army.

What's also little realized is that when
the handfull of government battle ships,
directly commisssioned by the fledgling
Congress (i.e., the Continental Navy),
captured British ships, the sailors aboard
also shared in the wealth. (Who wouldn't
fight harder for their country if he stood
to make a handsome profit?)

source

UNSUNG AMERICAN "PIRATES" HELPED WIN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
page 360

from "an underground education"
bu richard zacks

--
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; 
when the government fears the people, there is liberty "
                             Thomas Jefferson

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