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 owners, captains and crew. A percentage share usually went to the issuer of the commission. Since robbery under arms was common to seaborne trade, all merchant ships were already armed. During war, naval resources were auxiliary to operations on land so privateering was a way of subsidizing state power by mobilizing armed ships and sailors. Chapin's work covers the first century of American colonial privateering, 1625-1725. This includes the not only the American colonies, but the Caribbean colonies as well. A title that is very difficult to find on the second hand market.