French corsairs French corsairs Corsairs () were privateers, authorized to conduct raids 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 ( or , the latter giving "corsairs" their name), and the officers and crew conducted themselves according to contemporary admiralty law. By acting on behalf
East Indies theatre of the French Revolutionary Wars Sercey had already sent "Brûle-Gueule" back to France at the end of September with political prisoners from Île de France and more than a million in specie, the corvette eventually being wrecked with the loss of 132 lives on the Pointe du Raz on the Breton coast. Sercey, an admiral without a command, returned to France and retired from the Navy. He subsequently settled on Île de France. As the French naval presence in the Indian Ocean declined, the commerce raiding role was taken up by privateers. These fast vessels operated with considerable success against British merchant shipping, and protecting