Editing Privateer (section)

=== France ===
[[File:Privateer prize auction.jpg|thumb|upright|Advertising for the auction of the prize ''Chelmers of London'', brig captured by the French privateer ''Junon'' in 1810.]]
{{Main|French corsairs}}
''Corsairs'' (French: corsaire) 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 (fr. ''Lettre de Marque'' or ''Lettre de Course''), and the officers and crew conducted themselves according to contemporary [[admiralty law]]. By acting on behalf of the French Crown, if captured by the enemy, they could claim treatment as [[prisoners of war]], instead of being considered pirates. Because corsairs gained a [[swashbuckling]] reputation, the word "corsair" is also used generically as a more romantic or flamboyant way of referring to privateers, or even to pirates. The [[Barbary pirate]]s of North Africa as well as [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] were sometimes called "Turkish corsairs".