MLchartDataset catalogue

Letter of marque

Term · Law · MLC-T-LAW-003007

A government commission issued to a private citizen or ship owner, authorizing them to attack and seize enemy vessels during wartime. This practice was historically used to supplement naval forces. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to issue letters of marque and reprisal, though it has not done so since 1815.

Table 1. Record
IdentifierMLC-T-LAW-003007
FieldLaw
Record as JSON 
{
  "id": "MLC-T-LAW-003007",
  "term": "Letter of marque",
  "field": "Law",
  "definition": "A government commission issued to a private citizen or ship owner, authorizing them to attack and seize enemy vessels during wartime. This practice was historically used to supplement naval forces. The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to issue letters of marque and reprisal, though it has not done so since 1815.",
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/law/letter-of-marque/"
}

Record 2,958 of 5,445 in Law terminology (MLC-0107). Request the full dataset.