Ambroise Louis Garneray in the context of "Privateer"

⭐ In the context of privateering, what primary advantage did it offer participants compared to working as a merchant seafarer or fisher?

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Ambroise Louis Garneray

Ambroise Louis Garneray (19 February 1783 – 11 September 1857) was a French corsair, painter and writer. He served under Robert Surcouf and Jean-Marie Dutertre, and was held as prisoner-of-war aboard Royal Navy prison hulks for eight years before being captured and repatriated at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, continuing his career as a painter until his death in 1857.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Ambroise Louis Garneray in the context of Privateer

A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or delegated authority issued commissions, also referred to as letters of marque, during wartime. The commission empowered the holder to carry on all forms of hostility permissible at sea by the usages of war. This included attacking foreign vessels and taking them as prizes and taking crews prisoner for exchange. Captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under prize law, with the proceeds divided by percentage between the privateer's sponsors, shipowners, captains and crew. A percentage share usually went to the issuer of the commission (i.e. the sovereign). Most colonial powers, as well as other countries, engaged in privateering.

Privateering allowed sovereigns to augment their naval forces at relatively low cost by mobilizing privately owned armed ships and sailors to supplement state power. For participants, privateering provided the potential for a greater income and profit than obtainable as a merchant seafarer or fisher while avoiding the dangers associated with outright piracy. However, the line between privateers and pirates was not always clear.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Ambroise Louis Garneray in the context of Wars of national liberation

Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) to establish separate sovereign states for the rebelling nationality. From a different point of view, such wars are called insurgencies or rebellions. Guerrilla warfare or asymmetric warfare is often utilized by groups labeled as national liberation movements, often with support from other states. The term "wars of national liberation" is most commonly used for those fought during the decolonization movement. Since these were primarily in the third world, against Western powers and their economic influence, and a major aspect of the Cold War, the phrase has often been applied selectively to criticize the foreign power involved.

Some of these wars were either vocally or materially supported by the Soviet Union, which claimed to be an anti-imperialist power, supporting the replacement of Western-backed governments with local Communist or other non pro-Western parties. In January 1961 Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev pledged support for "wars of national liberation" throughout the world. On the other hand, the Soviet involvement was often viewed as a way to increase the size and influence of the Soviet Bloc, and thus a form of imperialism itself. The People's Republic of China criticized the Soviet Union as being social imperialist. In turn, China presented themselves as models of independent nationalist development outside of Western influence, particularly as such posturing and other long-term hostility meant they were regarded as a threat to Western power and regarded themselves as such, using their resources to politically, economically and militarily assist movements such as in Vietnam. When the nation is defined in ethnic terms, wars fought to liberate it have often entailed ethnic cleansing or genocide in order to rid the claimed territory of other population groups.

↑ Return to Menu