After the defeat (1692) of the French fleet by the Dutch and English, France commissioned privateers, who preyed upon English commerce. In the American War of Independence and in the War of 1812 American privateersmen captured hundreds of prizes.  The Confederate States issued letters of marque to the last privateers in history, but the Union blockade limited their effectiveness.

In attempting to curb the abuses of privateering, nations required that captures be condemned in prize courts and that commissions (in restricted number) be granted only in the name of the sovereign.

Privateers were free of naval discipline, and their desire for prize often led them to make no distinction between friendly and enemy shipping, to violate the rules of war, and to indulge in lawlessness after the conclusion of peace. These abuses led to the abolition of privateering by the Declaration of Paris (1856). This declaration does not prohibit the creation of voluntary navies consisting of private vessels under the control of a state, such as those used in World War II in the evacuation from Dunkirk.

Privateers helped the colonies against Britain in the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783). On March 18, 1776, the Second Continental Congress authorized privateers. This action was taken after the British Parliament had prohibited all trade with the colonies and authorized seizure of their ships. George Washington was part owner of at least one privateer. Colonial privateers captured about 600 British ships.

From 1798 to 1801, the United States authorized privateers to seize French vessels, because many American ships were being taken by warships of republican France. In the War of 1812, American privateers seized 1,345 British ships. Some became pirates after the war. In 1856, the United States refused to sign the Treaty of Paris outlawing privateering because it feared it might need privateers to support its weak navy.