Prize Game, The: Lawful Looting on the High Seas in the Days of Fighting

by Petrie, Donald A.

• ISBN13: 9780425178294
• ISBN10: 0425178293
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-07-01
• Publisher: Berkley Trade

Summary

Provides a close-up look at the history of privateering and its impact on maritime history, discussing such topics as the rules of privateering and the taking of prizes, the differences between piracy and privateering, the use of blockades during wartime, and more. Reprint.

Author Biography

Donald A. Petrie has been a merchant seaman, soldier, lawyer, businessman, banker, politician, and publisher, and he is a lifelong small-boat sailor. He has published articles on prize taking in American Neptune and Log of the Mystic Seaport, which won best-essay awards. He lives in Wainscott, Long Island.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Preface	xi
Introduction	1	(12)
The Ransoming of Eliza Swan	13	(18)
On the Ransoming of Vessels and the Practice of Sea Cartels
Forbidden Prizes	31	(16)
On the Nature of Prizes and the Rights of Captors and Sovereigns
The Piracy Trial of Luke Ryan	47	(36)
On Letters of Marque and Reprisal and the Distinction Between Piracy and Privateering
Scourge, Rattle Snake, and True Blooded Yanker	83	(23)
On Access to the Prize Courts of Other Nations
The Seizure of Siren	106	(34)
On the Practice of Blockade and the Spoils of War in Combined Army and Navy Operations
Epilogue on the End of the Prize Game and on the Question of Why it Worked at All	140	(7)
Appendix The Rules of the Prize Game	147	(18)
Notes	165	(36)
A Bibliography of Accessible Sources	201	(8)
Index	209