Description
Book SynopsisAn important part of eighteenth-century maritime conflict involved the destruction of enemy commerce and the protection of home trade. Privateering therefore represented a business opportunity to the maritime community, a chance to acquire instant wealth at the enemy’s expense;
Trade Review... an excellently researched and written guide to eighteenth-century British privateering which sets new standards for academic achievement. * The American Neptune *
The excellence of this book lies in the research that has gone into it, its orderly structure and its readability. Most of all it opens the way for even more detailed work to be undertaken at national, regional and local levels. We are indeed deeply indebted to Dave Starkey. * The Northern Mariner *
A first class work of original scholarship and a readable account of a dramatic chapter in nautical history. * Lloyd's List *
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part 1: Character
- 1. Origins and Regulation
- 2. Private Men-of-War and 'Letters of Marque'
- 3. Risks and Rewards
- Part 2: Scale
- 4. 1702-1712: 'Their Privateers will be Lords and Ours will be Beggars'
- 5. 1718-1720: 'To Cruise on the Spaniards under His Majesty's Commission'
- 6. 1739-1748: 'Good Pickings for Privateers of Force'
- 7. 1756-1762: 'Small Ship, Vessels, or Boats, being, or Pretending to be, English Privateers'
- 8. 1777-1783: 'Additional Forces'
- Part 3: Signficance
- 9. Constraints and Determinants
- 10. 'Private Interests Inseparable from... the Public Interests of the British Nation'?
- 11. 'The Finest Opportunity'?
- Appendices
- 1. Primary Source Materials: Problems and Methods
- 2. Monthly Activity Rates of Private Men-of-War, 1702-1783
- 3. Outfitting Costs
- 4. Share Values
- 5. Five Prize Accounts
- 6. Crew Composition, Royal Family Private Ships-of-War, 1747
- 7. Commissioned Vessels by Region, 1793-1801
- 8. Commissioned Vessels by Region, 1803-1815
- Bibliography
- Index
