Editing Armed merchantman (section)

== Pre-20th century ==
{{Main|East Indiaman}}
East Indiamen of various European countries were heavily armed for their long journeys to the [[Far East]]. In particularly dangerous times, such as when the home countries were at war, a [[convoy]] system would be used whereby the ships were escorted by a [[warship]]. However, many East Indiamen also travelled on their own, and therefore were heavily armed in order to defend themselves against [[maritime piracy|pirates]] and [[privateer]]s. They also defended themselves against warships, scoring signal victories at the [[Battle of Pulo Aura]] and the [[action of 4 August 1800]]. The British [[Royal Navy]] purchased several that it converted to [[ship of the line|ships of the line]].

=== Development of auxiliary cruisers ===
In 1856, privateering (or seizure of a belligerent country's merchant ships as a private enterprise) lost international sanction under the [[Declaration of Paris]]. From 1861 to 1865 European countries built high-speed ships to run the [[Union Blockade]] during the [[American Civil War]]. Some of these were armed and served as [[Confederate States Navy]] raiders.

[[Russian Empire|Russia]] purchased three ships in 1878 of {{convert|6000|LT|t|lk=on|abbr=on}} armed with {{convert|6|in|mm|adj=on}} guns for use as auxiliary cruisers for a [[Dobroflot|Russian Volunteer Fleet]]. [[German Empire|Germany]] and the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] responded to the precedent by asking their shipping companies to design fast steamers with provision for mounting guns in time of war.

In 1890 German and British shipyards built new civilian ships designed for wartime conversion, and [[French Third Republic|France]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]], [[Empire of Japan|Japan]], [[Austria-Hungary]], and the [[United States]] made similar agreements with their shipyards. In 1892 Russia likewise built two more auxiliary cruisers.

In 1895 the [[Imperial German Navy]] mobilized the provisional auxiliary cruiser ''Normannia'' for a 15-day trial armed with eight 6-inch guns, two {{convert|3.5|in|mm|adj=on}} guns, six {{convert|37|mm|in|2|adj=on}} guns, and two torpedo boats.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schmalenbach |first=Paul |title=German Raiders: The Story of the German Navy's Auxiliary Cruisers, 1895–1945 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1977 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=0-85059-351-4}}</ref>