"what colours would privateers fly?" Topic

hello everyone, I was wondering if anyone can help me. I'm trying to find out what colours privateers would fly. for example would it just be the national flag or a ensign and would there be a pendent?

Thanks guys, please forgive my ignorance if this seems a bit of a stupid question. And im mainly interested in what a french privateer would fly in the revolutionary period.

They would fly national colors. As they carried letters of marque rather than being a commissioned warship, they would not fly a pendant.

Of course, they would sometimes fly the colors of their enemies and victims, in order to get close to them, before raising their own, just before they open fire, assuming the latter step is necessary.

Thanks enfant perdus, very helpful, it was what I was thinking just wanted it confirming.

That could lead to a we bit of confusion on the gaming table Mako 11. But that might make for some interesting scenarios :) might wourk as a solo game?

Flying false colors was an acceptable ruse de guerre for commissioned warships as well as privateers. The colors of neutral nations and interests were also employed, and it's worth mentioning that the ruse would also be used against privateers. As privateering was a business concern, often funded by a syndicate, the legal and financial liability of attacking a neutral vessel was very serious.

The period from the Revolution through the Consulate is a ripe time for false flag shenanigans. For starters, there's an awful lot of naval activity, with ships being captured and reflagged with regularity. Absent the very latest updates to the lists, a captain might easily get caught out by not knowing that, e.g., Alexandre, 74 was now HMS Alexander.

Also, before Napoleon began reordering things on the Continent, there were many more flags to fly. Few of the small German states had navies, of course, but a number did have commercial flags. The Italian states were predominantly mercantile, but some also maintained regular naval forces which were augmented by privateers in times of conflict.