Privateer on shipping of a nation at war with France, on behalf of the French Crown. Seized vessels and cargo were sold at auction, with the corsair captain entitled to a portion of the proceeds. Although not French Navy personnel, corsairs were considered legitimate combatants in France (and allied nations), provided the commanding officer of the vessel was in possession of a valid Letter of Marque (fr. "Lettre de Marque" or "Lettre de Course"), and the officers and crew conducted themselves according to contemporary admiralty law. By acting on behalf of the French Crown, if captured by the enemy, they could
Battle of the Gulf of Cadiz (1604) small unit was to fight the Dutch, English and Moroccan privateers which threatened the shipping lanes along the western Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal. The squadron was made of the flagship "Delfín de Escocia" and the slightly smaller "Dobladilla". In July 1604, sea-traders and inhabitants from villages on the coast of Portugal and Andalusia reported a series of looting raids and attacks on shipping carried out by two privateers. The privateer flagship was a 500-ton vessel while the smaller warship was described as a fusta. Oquendo’s squadron departed from Lisbon on 15 July in search of the enemy. The