Lt.
Gov. Beverly Perdue awards a "Privateers Commission"
to Beaufort's Horatio Sinbad, Commander of the Brigantine
the Meka II.
Lt.
Gov. Beverly Perdue, Rep. Jean Preston, Captain Horatio
Sinbad, and Senator Scott Thomas.
Captain
Sinbad's Privateers Commission
History of the Privateers Commission
A
privateer was a private ship (or its captain) authorized by
a country's government to attack and seize cargo from another
country's ships.
Prior
to the development of international law among European nations,
there was no legal recourse for minor grievances. Privateering
was a form of covert operation used to resolve these matters
without open warfare. The government of a country provided a
letter of marque to a shipowner that allowed him to arm his
ship and attack other ships sailing under a particular flag.
In return he received a share of the seized cargo, while the
rest went to the government as payment for the grievance.
To
the target country, a privateer looked very much like a pirate,
and indeed this was the intention. The only difference was that
pirates were considered outlaws by all nations, while privateers
had immunity from the country that commissioned them. Privateers
were sometimes known as "gentleman pirates."
