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Letters of marque   /lˈɛtərz əv mɑrk/   Listen
noun
Marque  n.  (Law) A license to pass the limits of a jurisdiction, or boundary of a country, for the purpose of making reprisals.
Letters of marque, Letters of marque and reprisal, a license or extraordinary commission granted by a government to a private person to fit out a privateer or armed ship to cruise at sea and make prize of the enemy's ships and merchandise. The ship so commissioned is sometimes called a letter of marque.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Letters of marque" Quotes from Famous Books



... the state of mind of a man to whom a dark, overcrowded tenement had ever been as a personal affront, now suddenly finding himself commissioned with letters of marque and reprisal, as it were, to seize and destroy the enemy wherever found, not one at a time, but by blocks and battalions in the laying out of parks. I fed fat my ancient grudge and grew good humor enough to last me for a dozen years in those two. They were the years when, in spite of ...
— The Making of an American • Jacob A. Riis

... declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures ...
— History of the United States, Volume 6 (of 6) • E. Benjamin Andrews

... authorize piracy upon Northern commerce; and from the moment that threat is carried into execution, the fetters will fall from the manacled limbs of their slaves, and they will be encouraged and aided in the establishment of their freedom. Suppose Cuba were to issue letters of marque against our commerce, and, according to the Charleston Mercury, seize 'upon the rich prizes which may be coming from foreign lands,' does any sane man doubt that we should at once invade that island, and liberate her slaves? Or does any ...
— The Abolition Of Slavery The Right Of The Government Under The War Power • Various

... business. The owners of a London ship, called The Welcome, Henry Martin master, have Informed his Highness that, on her way to Genoa and Leghorn, she was seized by a French vessel of forty-six guns having letters of marque from the Duke, and carried into his port of Villafranca. The cargo is estimated at L25,000. Will the Duke see that ship and cargo are restored to the owners, with damages? He may expect like justice in any similar case in which he may have ...
— The Life of John Milton, Volume 5 (of 7), 1654-1660 • David Masson

... race of corsairs whom we dignify with the title of bankers, the gentry who take out a license for which they pay a thousand crowns, as the privateer takes out his letters of marque, hold these rare products of the incubations of virtue in such esteem that they confine them in cages in their counting-houses, much as governments procure and maintain specimens of strange ...
— Library of the World's Best Mystery and Detective Stories • Edited by Julian Hawthorne


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