A privateer is a private individual or vessel permitted by the government to attack foreign ships during times of war. This authorization was through a letter of marque. The government saw this as a way of increasing their wartime strength without having to commission warships into regular service. Throughout history, the distinction between privateers and pirates has been unclear. Due to the fact that their activities are largely similar, which include raiding and plundering ships, many disagree on what defines a privateer from a pirate. However, privateering was still used so often by various powers as it was able to help with the strengthening of military might, protection against pirates and bringing in revenue for the country and leader. …show more content…
It was an inlet for wealth as nations who were not dominant enough to establish their own Trans-Atlantic settlements could still plunder and loot the returning Spanish and Portuguese ships for their share of the pie. Privateering was also a way for powers to estimate how powerful their navies would be, even before a proper government run navy was commissioned. This was due to the fact that the majority of the firepower within the navies would come from privateers. This form of business also brought about great economic benefits as it not only acted as an instrument of war for weaker powers, it was also was a major source of income. The cash acquired from privateering would allow the weaker nations to improve their infrastructure, and in turn help their military to progress. However, the economic benefits were not only military based. It also provided nations with the spending power to fund global expeditions. One example is the discovery of South East Asian nations by the colonial powers. For Britain, well-known privateers like Sir Francis Drake brought in huge cash returns back to the queen, which enabled her to improve her navy, and fund future
The innovation of maritime technology has revolutionized travel throughout history. Prior to ships and sea travel, humans were separated by vast oceans and confined to their homeland for life. Because of these large boundaries, discoveries and inventions were only shared within land masses and trade as a whole was very limited. This uncharted, inaccessible territory caused a major separation of mankind. However, these oceans sparked curiosity and desire for explorers to venture beyond their native land. This curiosity was the driving force to the invention of naval travel, a highly important and massive step for all growing communities during the Age of Exploration. Maritime technology’s advancements through history greatly aided in the Age of Exploration, allowing provinces to break their land boundaries and make monumental steps towards the advanced world humans populate today.
This period provided motives for American commercial expansions. The great American Businessmen began, at this time, to look overseas to expand their businesses and for profit. New colonies also provided captive markets for manufactured good. All these reasons pushed for the rise of Imperialism.
many different ports for trading. This also helped the United States Navy, with all these
*Colonizing the New World would help the Age of Exploration became a more profitable time.
- The colonies would sell what they would find in the new world to Europe. It was beneficial because the colonies would make money by selling their goods to Europe. Europe then would manufacture the good and then sell it back to the colonies for more money. This would take a lot of the colonies money which would make it harder for the
The British empire held lands in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. (Doc. 1) These colonies the British held, benefit their trade in many ways. They are able to obtain diverse materials for goods, and have a large market to sell their finished goods. These colonies could also provide safe ports for the ships transporting goods. Great Britain has many advantages to trade, especially
The U.S. government also saw this as an advantage to use the canal to transport commercial ships from the east to the west of the nation. This canal connected the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean which gave the nation the authority to oversee two oceans. The canal would make the American commerce boost and the nation would be recognized by other nations as the most powerful one in the
Also another thing that made the colonist mad was a Stamp Act in 1756.Which meant that anything printed had to have a stamp on it which made a lot of money for the British government.Although it was a bad thing it ended in the year of 1766.
Did you know that forty to fifty thousand people died throughout the American Revolution? It all started with the big dept from The French and Indian War. The war led to the Proclamation of 1763 and Bacon’s Rebellion. Then the British wanted to tax the Colonists. The British taxed the Colonists with the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Declaration Act, Townsend Act, And the Intolerable Acts.
One of the main reasons why the French even helped America in the first place was because of the charm of Benjamin Franklin, who successfully convinced the French to help them in the Revolutionary War. This continues the common theme of public knowledge of the Revolutionary War not always being the complete truth. 3. Benjamin Franklin, who was in favor of the use of privateering, said that “We expect to make their merchants sick of a contest in which so much is risked and nothing gained.” (50) This next example is shown through the use of privateers for the American Navy. While the average American would assume that the American Navy during the Revolutionary War succeeded with the help of John Paul Jones and other richer, more well-known heroes, this was far more the entire truth. Privateers played a huge role in the success of the American Navy. A privateer is a legalized pirate who was allowed to plunder enemy commercial ships. They, in reality, did far more damage to British
Trading to make profit was the main reason British business men landed on African soil. This shows economic influences started the relationship between GB and her African empire, highlighting its importance during expansion. Trading in Africa brought high profits back to businessmen and the banks
In the 1700s, a privateer was someone who was mandated by the government to attack ships from abroad during war time. 1During the Revolutionary War, privateer ships would receive Letters of Marque, a decree that authorized ships to act on behalf of the nations from which they were issued for the purpose of retaliating against another nation for some wrong such as border incursion. The Continental Congress of the United
Spain was bathing in profits from what the New World had to offer. So in 1606the Virginia Company of London was organized and sponsored the Virginia Colony. Organizers of the company wanted to expand English trade and obtain a wider market for English manufactured goods. They naturally hoped for financial profit from their investment in shares of company stock. Queen Elizabeth played an enormous role in motivating the English peoples. She herself was secretly a financial backer to Sir Francis Drake. The defeat of the Spanish Armada was a significant event. Not only did England gain control of the Atlantic sea lanes but it also sparked a sense of patriotism. Spanish expansions in the New World were actions that needed to be limited. In a way, many also attempted to colonize out of spite; to establish England's greatness.
More work was available for British sailors as there were frequent voyages to Africa to gain slaves. This enabled the sailors to earn money from work as well as steal items from slaves. The British government really gained from the slave trade due to factors such as sugar tax because sugar was in high demand.
Moreover, French corsairs turned to contraband trading. They would go into small remote Spanish ports and sell to the settlers slaves, cloth and other goods that they had taken from Spanish ships. The French were not only taking goods from the Spanish ships, they were making a profit by selling it back to the Spanish. This would mark the end of the French pirates interfering with Spanish trade for the time being (Lane 29).