Ottoman Algeria in Western Diplomatic History with ... - Bibliothèque

But Owing to hostilities triggered by the War of Independence, 1776-1783,
American trade in the Mediterranean ceased entirely for the whole period—or
almost—as merchantmen were armed and converted to privateers with the aim
of attacking British shipping. 58
2. 2. American Privateers
During the war, American privately-owned commercial vessels were
transformed to war vessels or privateers. Those were commissioned—or in
other words were granted letters of marque—by the Continental Congress, the
acting government of the newly-declared independent United States, to prey on
British shipping in the waters of the New World. 59 Privateering in the home
waters proved to be more lucrative than trade and brought a level of prosperity
to several American seaports and huge revenues to the Continental Congress as
the latter fixed a 10% tax on prize money obtained from the sale of captured
ships and their cargoes. 60 The importance of wartime profit thus obtained is
indicated by the fact that the value of prizes and cargoes taken by American
privateers during the War of Independence were three times that of the prizes
and cargoes taken by the Continental naval vessels ($18 million against $6
58 Frothingham, “The Armed Merchantman,” p. 466.
59 Secret Journals of the Acts and Proceedings of Congress, from the First Meeting thereof to the
Dissolution of the Confederation, by the Adoption of the Constitution of the United States, 1:297,
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, July 12, 1776. (Hereafter cited as SJ).
60 This point is developed in James R. Holcomb, “Attitudes towards Privateering during the Era of the
early American Republic,” Research Follows Paper, Department of History, Texas A&M University,
Texas, USA, 2007, pp. 6-14.
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