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Privateering

Name: Privateering
Brand: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS
SKU: 9781421417479
Price: 124.0 AUD
Availability: InStock

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESSISBN: 9781421417479

Patriots and Profits in the War of 1812

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$124.00

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By Faye M. Kert
Imprint: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS
Release Date: November 14, 2015
Format: HARDBACK
Pages: 224

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During the War of 1812, most clashes on the high seas involved privately owned merchant ships, not official naval vessels. Licensed by their home governments and considered key weapons of maritime warfare, these ships were authorized to attack and seize enemy traders. Once the prizes were legally condemned by a prize court, the privateers could sell off ships and cargo and pocket the proceeds. Because only a handful of ship-to-ship engagements occurred between the Royal Navy and the United States Navy, it was really the privateers who foughtand wonthe war at sea.In Privateering, Faye M. Kert introduces readers to U.S. and Atlantic Canadian privateers who sailed those skirmishing ships, describing both the rare captains who made money and the more common ones who lost it. Some privateers survived numerous engagements and returned to their pre-war lives; others perished under violent circumstances. Kert demonstrates how the romantic image of pirates and privateers came to obscure the dangerous and bloody reality of private armed warfare.Building on two decades of research, Privateering places the story of private armed warfare within the overall context of the War of 1812. Kert highlights the economic, strategic, social, and political impact of privateering on both sides and explains why its toll on normal shipping helped convince the British that the war had grown too costly. Fascinating, unfamiliar, and full of surprises, this book will appeal to historians and general readers alike.

Acknowledgments
Introduction. ""A Ruinous and Unnecessary War""
1. In Flagrante Bello
An Unwelcome War
Managing Private Armed Warfare
Annoying the Enemy
Underwriting the Cost of War
Stratagems of War
Keeping the Prize
Strict and Rigorous Blockade
Long-range Privateering
The ""Mud-Clipper"" Trade
Compulsory Convoy
Win, Lose, or Draw?
2. ""True, Publick and Notorious""
The Origins of Privateering
The Rise of Prize Law
International Law and Neutral Rights
Colonial Vice-Admiralty Courts
The Marquis de Somerueles
A Southern Prize Court
The Admiralty Court Process
3. No Prey, No Pay
The Cost of War
Commercial Warfare
Economic Options
Atlantic Canada's Privateers
American Privateers
Eyes on the Prize
Privateering out of New York
The Balance Sheet
4. The Misfortunes of War
Taking the Risk
The Perils of Privateering
Drink, Discipline, and Duty
Combat, Capture, and Recapture
Prisoners of War
Death and Destruction
Conclusion
5. The Prizewinners
Liverpool Packet
Yankee
Comet
America
Saucy Jack
True Blooded Yankee
Surprise
Fox
Retaliation
Sir John Sherbrooke
General Armstrong
Conclusion. The Final Tally
Appendix. Prize Makers and Prizes
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index

""Kert's work has opened an invaluable window into the lives of the entrepreneurial warriors who played a critical, yet poorly understood, role during the War of 1812. Solidifying the importance of her work, Kert added a valuable essay on the archival and secondary sources of privateering during the War of 1812 and has published her database of ships and individuals involved in privateering on the website of her publisher, allowing future scholars to build upon her scholarship.""

Privateering

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