Privateering and the Crown Flashcards
what year did ‘harassment’ and ‘disruption’ of Spanish shipping become officially sanctioned?
1585
‘harassment and disruption of Spanish shipping had become an activity officially sanctioned by the crown in 1585. Privateering offered the Crown a measure of control as well as a sizeable piece of the profits’- Isil
what year did Drake return from his circumnavigation?
1580
how much profit did Drake make? where did he plunder?
a return of 4700% on the sum the Queen laid out
plundered Spanish ships and land bases in Panama, Peru and New Spain
what did economist John Maynard Keynes say about the Queen’s share of booty?
the origins of British foreign investment
‘from the proceeds Elizabeth made a notable investment in the Levant Company and from that company’s profits in its trade with the Aleppo and Venice there financed the East India Company’
what did McDermott say about privateering activity?
‘rose admirably to meet the demands of a government that had neither the economic nor military means’
how did Andrews link privateering to patriotism?
‘piracy was not just an instrument of war in elizabethan England, it was also an important source of revenue’
the letter of marque turned ‘an odious business into an act of patriotism’
what did the cash influx allow Elizabeth to do?
invest in England’s future by providing financing for global exploration
