French corsairs now a small museum. 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.
What Happened to the Corbetts On the initial day of publication, a thousand copies of the novel were distributed free of charge to members of the Air Raid Precautions team to inform them of what they might expect. The novel does not say which nation is bombing Southampton and many other towns in England. France and the United States are neutral, but the Dominions except possibly Ireland declare war on Britain's side. Early in chapter 1 there is a mention of a newspaper cartoon which "represented the Prime Minister, very jocular, dangling a carrot before two donkeys separated from him by a wire fence. One