Beschreibung:

HANCOCK, JOHN, Signer (Massachusetts) . Document signed ("John Hancock," with typical flourish) as President of the Continental Congress, [Philadelphia: printed by John Dunlap], 3 April 1776. 1 page, folio, 346 x 223 mm. (13 7/8 x 8 3/4 in.), minor browning along one fold, but otherwise in fine condition, matted and glazed in a gilt-wood frame. Boldly headed in type "In Congress," the broadside comprises "Instructions to the Commanders of Private Ships or Vessels of War, which shall have Commissions or Letters of Marque and Reprisal, authorizing them to make Captures of British Vessels and Cargoes," and sets out eleven conditions to be observed by privateers in the service of the United States. Evans 15137 (noting that the text was reprinted and continued in use as instructions given by Congress to privateers at least as late as 1780). RARE, especially in good condition. Printed instructions to privateers printed by the same Philadelphia printer who, three months later, was to issue the first broadside edition of the Declaration of Independence. The American colonists had a long tradition of privateering and as Boatner notes that these privateers "drained off resources of manpower and materials that prevented the regular American Navy from developing into a significant element of the patriot's armed forces. A privateer's mission was where the prize money lay....While the privateers were little more than licensed pirates who contributed little to the American cause -- since prizes were sold to the highest bidder, often in Europe, the privateersmen pocketed the money, and the cargoes often were bought back by the British -- still the privateers incurred great risks and figured in some heroic fights" ( Encyclopedia of the American Revolution , p.896-7).