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French Privateers: an Introduction

© Cindy Vallar

The kings of France also supported their privateers, known as corsairs. After Réné Duguay-Trouin captured three East Indiamen, he was presented to Louis XIV. Duguay-Trouin (1673-1736) was one of France's best-known corsairs. His family operated a shipping business in Saint Malo, a port favored by the corsairs. At sixteen he joined the navy, commanded his first privateer at eighteen, and succeeded to the command of a forty-gun ship at twenty-one. In 1711, he captured Rio de Janeiro and held the governor for ransom. Investors in this venture doubled their money, and Duguay-Trouin earned a promotion to admiral. His maritime career spanned twenty-three years and during that time he captured over three hundred ships, including sixteen warships.

While Americans and French considered Saint Malo "La Cité Corsaire," the English had another name for the port - "nest of wasps." During the seventeenth century, Saint Malo grew rich off the profits of the privateers. In 1693, the English converted a merchant ship into a floating bomb with which they hoped to destroy the city, but it exploded in the harbor and the only casualty was a cat.

Saint Malo began its love affair with privateers in the 9th century when they armed merchant ships to protect themselves against the Vikings. Another port that gained notoriety as a haven was Dunkirk. Sailing from this port under letters of marque from France or America, over sixty privateers captured hundreds of prizes in the Irish Sea and English Channel.

One privateer based in Dunkirk was Jean Bart (1651-1702)*. At the age of twelve he joined the Dutch navy. As a privateer, he captured five ships on his first voyage. Louis XIV honored him in 1694, and two years later he captured twenty-five ships. An equally outstanding feat involved his escape from the English who captured him at Plymouth. He crossed the English Channel to safety in a rowboat.

Robert Surcouf (1773-1827)* wished to be a privateer, but was unable to secure the proper papers. Since the British blockaded French ports during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, he based his operations on Mauritius, a French-owned island, and raided British shipping in the Indian Ocean. When French authorities confiscated his first prize because he lacked a letter of marque, he sailed to France, obtained the license, and returned to privateering. His fame grew, not only because of his successes, but also because of his bravery. He once fought twelve Prussian soldiers at one time, and won. Such notable deeds were common among French privateers and made them national patriots. Ships and streets were named for them, and privateering proved such a profitable venture that even the Bishop of Saint Malo invested in several ventures.