Documents found
-
2.More information
This text paints a portrait of privateering and privateers on Île Royale (Cape Breton) during two colonial conflicts between France and England in the second half of the 18th century. The aim is not only to examine the functioning of this maritime activity, but also to test the hypothesis that it was orchestrated by a micro-society composed of colonial administrators, military officers, commercial ship-owners, ship captains, and crews. We will show that, just as in fishing and maritime trade, these players joined forces, but sometimes clashed over how to share the profits from privateering. More specifically, we will dissect the fundamental issues of the threat posed by English privateers cruising off Louisbourg, French losses, French management and assessment of catches, the methods of sales, and the fate of prisoners. Archival research also enables us to learn more about secondary issues, such as the routes of captured English ships, their crews, cargoes, shipowners, and, finally, the fate of the wounded and loss of life.
Keywords: Canada atlantique, course, corsaires, île Royale, Louisbourg, guerres coloniales