Nelson & His World

I know that privateers were often contracted to engage with enemy shipping in wartime; can anyone add a little more? What sort of people/groups/companies would have available ships with sufficient armoury to engage an enemy? How were they paid for these services? Did they take a chance on the prospect of prize money or was there a contractor's fee for services rendered? What sort of training did the merchant seamen get? Did the privateers work in conjunction with RN ships or did they just cruise the seas on the off-chance of encountering enemy ships?

The details of privateering are well covered in David Starkey's "British Privateering Enterprise in the Eighteenth Century" - published a little while ago now, but still the best book on the subject.

He shows that most it was usually existing shipowners who fitted out privateers - "...shipowners could seek profits in trades peculiar to periods of hostilities". This could be either to lease vessels to the government to serve as transports - sending them as a 'runner' (out of convoy - faster but riskier) - or procure letters of marque for their ships which would mean they were "...acquiring for themselves, together with the ships crew, the sole interest in any enemy property that might be seized".

He states that many owners did so, either by setting out a ship specifically for the purpose of capturing enemy traders or simply continuing with commercial voyages, but possessing a LoM, which gave them the potential for captures.
Nevertheless, it was a distinctly risky business. They were not paid for this - the only money in it was by making a good capture - and there was no guarantee of making any captures, and if they did, it was then liable for a legal process of condemnation that could sometimes take years in some cases.

There were different types of privateer/LoM - there were a few 'deep-water' privateers, organised by a company or group of merchants to seek out enemy trading vesssels by cruising in likely waters, but many more 'armed trading vessels' - ships which continued to carry on with commerical business, but could take the opportunity to engage in commerce raiding. Many of the privateers fitted out in the Channel Islands were small craft, evidently aimed for use against French coastal traders.

There were a small number of organised expeditions by a group of privateers - Woodes Rogers is an example - but they seem to have preferred keeping to themselves - no sharing of potential profits.

Training? there was no organised training for RN seamen, let alone privateers - I would think it would be described these days as 'on the job training' - i.e. you learned by experience.

Incidentally, the Letters of Marque are being transcribed by the National Archives, with details of owners and officers - this is an example :
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cata ... ssmethod=5

A few small points to add to to Philonauticus' reply.

All nations supplemented the commerce raiding activities of warships by licensing privately owned vessels to act as privateers. There must have been hundreds if not thousands of them. The French were particularly keen as it maintained the threat to British commerce when their fleets were shut up in blockades. Indeed, the majority of French heroes after whom ships are named were privateersmen like Jean Bart.

Privateering should not be compared to piracy. The latter were thieves who attacked all and sundry; the former were auxiliaries licenced by the crown (or republic) to attack only the merchant ships, fishing vessels - especially whalers - and sea borne property of the enemy in accordance with international rules.

Privateers were strictly regulated by a written legal code which established how they should act - ie fly the national flag; seal all cargoes until legal process; retain all papers and two members of the crew as witnesses etc. The principal owners, mostly local merchants, were required to pay very hefty cash deposits in return for a Letter of Marque which was, naturally, forfeit if they broke the rules. The initial costs of equiping and arming a privateer were also inevitably high and many vessels were therefore owned on a 'share' basis: ie, the value of the ship was divided into (say) 80 parts which were divided/sold among/to the offficers, crew and local merchants. As in any other commercial undertaking, the profits of a voyage were divided up accordingly.

Hindsight suggests that privateering was not generally profitable - although some fortunes were undoubtedly made. There were clear risks and many prizes were lost getting to the privateer's home port. Capturing neutral vessels suspected of carrying enemy cargo could also mire the owners in legal processes for years; though the condemnation of enemy-flagged ships was quick and straight forward by the Prize Courts. It appears however that, at the time, it was believed that these risks were worth taking and that with a bit of luck a fortune could be won (like with the Lottery) so there was never any shortage of privateers. Indeed, slavers regularly converted to privateers in time of war, the owners clearly thinking that this form of activity was more profitable.

Brian

Once again I am grateful for the amazing breadth and depth of knowledge that is revealed whenever I, or anyone else on the forum, makes an enquiry.

Many thanks indeed for your expertise, and for sharing.