A
license granted by a
government to a
private ship allowing it to
attack enemy ships. By the 16th century, they were issued as a
cheap way of
expanding a nation's
navy and of bringing in extra
income.
Letters of marque were very
important to
pirates, because they gave them an
opportunity to
operate semi-
legitimately--instead of a
pirate, he was now a
privateer, raiding for
king and country, instead of just for his own
treasure chest. If he was
captured, he couldn't be
executed, since he was operating with the
approval of his home
nation. However,
letters of
marque didn't always save a
privateer from
execution--
Spain, for example, never
recognized any nation's
letters of marque, and the
evidence that
Captain Kidd carried letters of marque was
suppressed for
political reasons...
Research: GURPS Swashbucklers, Third Edition, by Steffan O'Sullivan, (C) 1999 by Steve Jackson Games, p. 59.