2017 Reprint of 1926 Edition.  Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software.  A privateer was a private person or ship that engaged in maritime warfare under a commission of war.  The commission, also known as a letter of marque, empowered the person to carry on all forms of hostility permissible at sea by the usages of war, including attacking foreign vessels during wartime and taking them as prizes. Captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under prize law, with the proceeds divided between the privateer sponsors, ship...