Letters of Marque and Reprisal

Letters of marque and reprisal are commissions or warrants issued to someone to commit what would otherwise be acts of piracy. They will normally contain the following first three elements, unless they imply or refer to a declaration of war to define the enemies, and may optionally contain the remainder:

1. Names person, authorizes him to pass beyond borders with forces under his command.
2. Specifies nationality of targets for action.
3. Authorizes seizure or destruction of assets or personnel of target nationality.
4. Describes offense for which commission is issued as reprisal.
5. Restriction on time, manner, place, or amount of reprisal.

Many of these documents were taken, with permission, from the Isle of Tortuga site, which is about piracy and letters of marque. Here is a link to our local copy of their Letters of Marque page.

The U.S. Constitution provides, Article I, Sec. 8 cl. 11:

The Congress shall have Power ... To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

The following are some examples of letters of marque and reprisal, with the attributes above indicated for each:

Links	Year	Issuing Authority	Target Nation	1	2	3	4	5	Comment
	1205	England	Any enemies	X		X			Implied against nations in a declared state of war.
	1325	Holland	England, Scotland	X	X	X
	1400	England	Scotland	X	X	X
	1404	England	Any enemies	X		X			Implied against nations in a declared state of war.
	1405	England	Any enemies	X		X			Implied against nations in a declared state of war.
	1411	England	France	X	X	X	X	X	Value not to exceed 5250 marks.
	1413	England	Genoa	X	X	X	X	X	Value not to exceed 10,000 £.
	1543	England	Any enemies (Scotland, France)		X	X			Implied against nations in a declared state of war. Granted to all citizens.
	1606	Belgium	?	X		X
	1625	England	Spain		X	X			Issued to all merchants and some others granted letters of reprisal.
	1626	Scotland	Spain	X	X	X
	1626	Dutch West India Company	?	X		X			The Dutch West India Company acted as an instrument of the sovereign.
	1629	Holland	?	X		X
	1652	Holland	England	X	X	X
	1653	Dutch West India Company	?	X		X
	1669	France	Spain	X	X	X
	1670	England	Spain	X	X	X	X
	1675	Dutch West India Company	?	X		X
	1688	Holland	?	X		X
	1693	France	England, Scotland	X	X	X
	1695	France	England, Holland	X	X	X
	1695	England	France	X	X	X			To William Kidd.
	1702	Holland	?	X		X
	1703	England	France, Spain	X	X	X		X	For 6 months.
	1709	Holland	?	X		X
	1729	Spain		X		X			Against pirates, smugglers.
	1738	Holland	?	X		X
	1799	British Colonial authority	Any enemies (France, Spain)	X		X			Implied against nations in a declared state of war.
	1812	United States	Britain	X	X	X			Issued by President under Act of Congress.
	1812	United States	Britain	X	X	X			Issued by President under Act of Congress.

In December 1941 and the first months of 1942, the Goodyear blimp Resolute was operated as an anti-submarine privateer based out of Los Angeles. As the only US craft to operate under a Letter of Marque since the War of 1812, the Resolute, armed with a rifle and flown by its civilian crew, patrolled the seas for submarines. See Shock, James R., Smith, David R., The Goodyear Airships, Bloomington, Illinois, Airship International Press, 2002, pg. 43, ISBN 0-9711637-0-7

See also:

• Letters of marque and reprisal — Blog article.