Letter of Marque

Grace O'Malley receives a Letter of Marque from King Henry VIII at the Maryland Renaissance Faire. Of course Grace O'Malley never met King Henry but did meet his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I from whom she did receive a Letter of Marque.

MD Renfaire's Henry VIII reading the letter of Marque

We will use the letters as visuals when we talk about privateers, buccaneers, and pirates. Also check out U.S. Constitution's granting of Letters of Marque: Article I, Sec. 8 cl. 11 

This weekend finds Recreating History at the Cambridge Schooner Rendezvous in Cambridge Maryland where we will be presenting the tools of our trade and maybe even dancing....but probably not dancing. But we will have nautical stuff (it is after all a schooner thing), knots, rope, sewing sail cloth, weaving and tatting, and weapons and tactics. It is a beautiful time of year and the setting on the mighty Choptank River.