Piracy in the Spanish American War

Deleted member 9338

What would be the world view if Spain and/or the United States started arming privateers to operate against the other nations shipping and coastal traffic? Would Letter of Marque be issued to merchant vessels that would become AMCs?
 

Maoistic

Banned
US piracy would have been called privateerism or be hailed as an intelligent strategy, while the Spaniards would have been seen as the 19th century equivalent of terrorists. The world, mostly controlled by Britain at that moment, really wasn't on Spain's side.
 
What would be the world view if Spain and/or the United States started arming privateers to operate against the other nations shipping and coastal traffic? Would Letter of Marque be issued to merchant vessels that would become AMCs?
Privateers had been permabanned internationally in the 1856 Paris declaration. (There had been incidents of state sanctioned ,piracy' in the World Wars though/Graf Luckner/ WW2 private submarine hunting ).
 

Deleted member 9338

Well tHe CSA sort of headed in another direction than the Treaty. I can see both sides using it in the short term. A couple of Spanish privateers operating off of New England could force navy cruisers to operate in costal defense.
 

Deleted member 9338

Wouldn't Spain's trade be more at risk than the U.S.'s? (Unlike today, frex.)
Trade between Spain and Cuba could be cut, but a couple of privateers off of the US coast would cause an uproar with mayors and governors.
 
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