These immortal words of Thomas Jefferson were employed as a credo for the establishment of the United States of America and were employed again by Ho Chi Minh as a credo for the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam. Despite this credo and the words of the United States Constitution, the credo, insofar as slaves were concerned, was a myth until 1855 and was a myth as far as women were concerned until 1920. Here we see a social process in which reality adapts to validate a myth - a far, and perhaps superior, cry from modifying myth to comport with perceptions of reality.
Another metaphor of the drive for independence was "No Taxation without Representation". Independence did indeed free the colonies from financial support of the British government, its Armies and its Navies. But governments must have income to survive and the Articles of Confederation provided no mechanisms for taxation and the taxing powers granted to the Congress in the United States Constitution were not implemented by legislation except for the tariffs of customs. It is true that the Congress could acquire income from its power to dispose of property of the government but there was and is no Constitutional authorization for the acquisition of territory or property. The Congress did raise money by the issuance of bonds but there seemed to be no mechanism for repayment of the principal or interest. Historians who write for school children, the public (and even University undergraduates) are virtually silent with respect to the founding fathers source of income. One could only conclude from these authors that the income of the nation derived from honest importers paying legally imposed customs, patriotic citizens willing to purchase worthless bonds and, perhaps, from reparations and acquisitions deriving from just wars imposed on the nation by malevolent external forces.
Serious students of history will pierce these myths with the recognition that a major source of income for the colonies and for the nation was through capture and confiscation of ships and goods on the high seas. Two mechanisms were employed; letters of mark issued to privateers and capture at sea by commissioned government ships or confiscation of cargoes deemed to be eluding customs by cutters of the Federal Revenue Service (now known as the Coast Guard). It may be an overstatement to say that our nation was founded on wealth secured by capture at sea, but it is an egregious understatement to ignore this source of income. Popular American historians such as the Beards (Charles and Mary) do not include privateering in the index and even Naval oriented American historians such as Morrison include only those references which relate to foreign privateers preying on U. S. Commerce and Trade. Some estimate of the truth can be found in Stark's excellent book The Abolition of Privateering published in 1897. He documents the history of privateering in America. It was initiated against the British without authorization before and at the outset of hostilities. Congress was not long in authorizing the colonies to outfit vessels to cruise on the enemies of the United Colonies and blank letters of Marque and reprisal were sent to every State. In 1778 it was reported in the House of Lords that 733 vessels had been captured with a value of nearly two million pounds. It was also reported in the Journals of Congress that but for the supplies confiscated, "the revolution must have been checked at the outset".
In the War of 1812. the United States lost some 500 ships but captured more than 1,300 British ships on the high seas and a total from all nations in excess of 2000. A virtually continuous record of capture at sea should be an essential part of the history of the United States from its foundation to and through the Civil War.
It was given to Abraham Lincoln to convert the freedom myth to reality on the Gettysburg Battlefield.. A nation dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal had to test the concept on the battlefield to determine whether any nation so conceived and so dedicated could long endure.
Slavery itself was oceanic. An identifiable race of humans was kidnapped and transported by sea to a destination which separated them from home and family by an impenetrable oceanic barrier.
Thus the United States history with respect to slavery parallels its history with respect to privateering. The first slaves were introduced into the colonies in . At the outbreak of the Civil War slaves in the Confederacy accounted for one third of the population.
Thus to understand the events which might have occurred that provide a rationalization for the nature of the New World of Mexico (circa 1850) and the post Civil War world of the United States, we must dispense with the myth that 'all men were treated as equals' and that warrantless arrest and capture at sea by agents and deputized agents of the United States was not a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The primary motive that fostered British and European investment of cash and capital in America was its bounteous resource. In the 15th and 16th century Spain had built itself an empire of affluence fueled by the gold and silver of Central and South America. The 'gold of the eastern seaboard of North America was timber, tobacco, and cotton.
The primary motive that fostered the emigration of educated and culturally sophisticated citizens of Britain and Europe to the New World was freedom of thought, independence and economic opportunity.
All too soon there is a geographic disparity between the societal activities in the South and of those in the North. Southern pine is poor timber and cotton and tobacco are labor intensive. A viable southern economy which affords the freedom independence and affluence of a Monticello or a Mount Vernon must identify an identifiable race of humans who can be imported as slaves and rationalized as creatures not quite equal with 'all men'. There must also be a trading partner who will produce the manufactured products of new age affluence.
A viable northern economy has the timber which is ideal for the manufacture of ships which are required for transport of cotton and tobacco and slaves and, of course timber itself.All too soon shipyards and shipwrights and forges and foundries and Revere ware of every kind and description are produced by skilled craftsmen working with high technology automated machines. There is no need for slaves, indeed they would be a drain on the economy, but there is need for a trading partner. The nearest and most obvious trading partner is just a stagecoach ride away in the land of Dixie, the land of cotton, anywhere below the Mason Dixon line.
Here is the genesis of piracy and privateering. The products of commerce and trade must, inevitably be transported by ship. The flag of the ship makes it a piece of Sovereign territory of the flyer of the flag. As such there is the legal and physical control mechanism to exact a tax or a tariff for products imported by the 'colonies' or exported by the colonies. If this is deemed to be an unfair and illegal burden, redress can be obtained through capture at sea. Thus the generation of letters of mark and reprisal and when that fails the declaration of war at sea.
Now there develops a series of privateer and pirate ports located on isolated peninsulas or islands between commercial ports of legitimate commerce and trade. The commerce of Halifax and Boston is legitimate prey for the "merchant princes" of Salem. The commerce Boston and New York is legitimate prey for the 'honest pirates' (i. e. smugglers of Nantucket.). Atlantic City New Jersey was then, as it is now, a pirate port. Philadelphia and Charleston had to contend with Hetaeras and below Charleston from Mobile to New Orleans illegitimate commerce and trade was the province of pirates and privateers of the Caribbean.
Land oriented historians have a great deal of difficulty in the identification of who were the pirates, who were the privateers, who were the Naval officers and who were merchant captains. John Paul Jones, for example, was, according to historians, in and under his christened name John Paul a captain of the merchant marine under the flag of Scotland. He was sentenced to death for murder (or was it piracy or some other crime at sea) and emerged from anonymity as skipper of a ship the Betsy. Once again some maritime crime is added to the indictment hanging over his head when he reemerges as a commissioned Lieutenant in the Continental Navy. (What Navy? What commission? What mission? Is he not now a privateer? He is certainly a pirate in the eyes of British Admiralty).He is deemed to have coordinated the strategy for the French fleet under Admiral deGrasse as he prepared for the Naval engagement which blockaded British reinforcements to Cornwallis at Yorktown persuaded the superbly equipped and well trained British Army to surrender to a force inferior in manning, equipment, training and support (but not in spirit).(Is he a mercenary aide-de corps of the French Navy? And what if any is the role of that Machiavelli of international intrigue Benjamin Franklin?) In 1778 operating out of the ports of France and Scotland he conducted raids on British commerce and captured the British sloop Drake. (Didn't John Paul Jones have a superb well trained crew? To whom did they own allegiance? Scotland? England? France? America? Calvin? Predestination? The Pilot? Which Pilot? God, Jones, or the Savior? Establishment historians will provide little insight. The capture of the sloop Drake is followed by the famous battle between John Paul Jones newest warship Le Bon Homme Richard in honor of Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richards Almanac. The encounter with the British warship Serapis is reported in The World Book Encyclopedia as follows:
Children of the ocean seas, if you will believe that story, you will believe any sea story. A more accurate and revealing account is given in the relatively obscure French book " 25 SiŠcles de Guerre sur Mer""Twenty Five Centuries of Sea Warfare" by Jacques Mordal (1959). The same battle is reported as follows:
On November Ist, 1 777, Jones sailed from America in command of an I8-gun sloop, the Ranger, and reached Nantes a month later with two prizes taken on the way. A few weeks later, on February I4th, I 778, he received from a French ship,the Robuste, the first salute given to the thirteen-starred flag of the Union by a foreign ship. He put to sea again in April, sailing up the Irish Sea and making several raids on the west coast of England. He set fire to Whitehaven, and captured the Drake, the first British warship to be taken by an American. For his I779 campaign the French gave him an old East Indiaman, the Duc de Duras. Jones renamed the ship Poor Richard, in honor of Benjamin Franklin's celebrated book Poor Richard's Almanack. She was fitted out at Lorient, and had a somewhat mixed armament-- six 18-pounders on the lower gun-deck, twenty-eight I2-pounders on the upper gun-deck, and eight 9-pounders mounted fore and aft. The crew, too, was a mixed lot, with sailors of many nationalities. The Poor Richard sailed on June 19th, at the head of a small division This consisted of the Alliance, a 32-gun frigate commanded by Landais, a Frenchman who seems to have been something of a madbrain, more of a danger to his friends than to his enemies; and two armed merchantmen, the 30-gun Pallas and the I2-gun Vengeance, and an 18-gun cutter, the Cerf. The cruise began badly; hardly had the ships cleared the coast than the Poor Richard and the Alliance came into collision and had to return to port for repairs. The little division sailed again on August 14th, picked up a few prizes in the Irish Sea, continued round the north of Scotland and attempted a raid into the Firth of Forth; but this was impeded by adverse winds and the lack of co-operation from Landais, who had ideas of his own. However, three more prizes were taken on September 2 Ist, off Flamborough Head; and two days later the small force came upon a rich convoy from the Baltic, consisting of forty-one sail escorted by a powerful frigate, the 44-gun Serapis, Captain Richard Pearson, and an auxiliary vessel, the 20-gun "Countess of Scarborough." The encounter took place so close inshore that it was witnessed by a crowd of people on the cliffs between Flamborough and Scarborough; and they saw one of the fiercest combats in the history of sea warfare. Captain Pearson's two ships had come between the convoy and its attackers, and the day was already well advanced when the fight began. The Serapis and the Poor Richard were running on a parallel course towards the shore, both on the port tack and within musket-range of each other; challenging cries and calls to surrender were passing from one ship to the other. The American opened fire first, at twenty-past seven. The Serapis at once replied, and an explosion occurred in the Poor Richard. It was not, however, the British guns that had caused the damage; two of the 18-pounders had burst, and the lower gun-deck was already out of action.
The Pallas and the Countess of Scarborough, meanwhile,
were fighting it out; and the Alliance was circling the combatants
and firing indiscriminately--and with little effect--on British and
American. In short, the Poor Richard could not count on any help
against an opponent who was a better sailor and had the heavier
armament, and whose crew was decidedly better trained and
disciplined than the motley crowd under Jones's orders. Before very
long, the difference was making itself felt. The American ship was
badly battered; her l2-pounders were put out of action, and Jones
found himself with only three of his 9-pounders still serviceable
and a crew completely demoralized, many of whom called on him to
strike. "For the love of God, cap'n, strike!"--"No, I'll sink
first!" he replied. "Strike, never!" And, seizing his speaking
trumpet, he shouted across at Pearson, "I haven't begun to fight
yet!"
And, in fact, there was plenty to come. The Poor Richard
was taking water in numerous places, and her captain realized that
his only chance was to board and enter. The first attempt failed,
but at the second Jones himself lashed the Serapis's bowsprit to
his own rigging, and the two ships swung together, bows to
stern.
It was then half past eight. Pearson anchored, hoping that the current would drag away the other ship; about forty of her crew were fighting their way along his deck, cutting down the English amid the tangle of fallen rigging. His gunners were firing into the hull of the Poor Richard, smashing it to pieces but killing no one, for all the crew were up above, at work with musket and cutlass. One of them tossed a grenade down a hatchway and it exploded in the powder-store, causing frightful damage to men and guns.
When the smoke cleared, the British were seen to be still defending themselves aft--and unexpected help seemed at hand. John Paul Jones had released his prisoners, the crews of the prizes he had taken, as his ship was in danger of sinking; and their numbers could now sway the fight either way. He at once saw the peril, and with great resourcefulness and commanding presence ordered them to the pumps if they wanted to save their lives. They obeyed without a word. Landais at last began to take a real interest in events. He brought the Alliance round to port of the Serapis, his guns ready to rake that now defenseless ship. Pearson was obliged to strike his colors; just then-- it was half past ten--his mainmast came crashing down into the sea. Du Couedic (a French 'John Paul Jones') was able to save his victorious "Surveillante" only with the help of his prisoners; John Paul Jones went one better and saved his victorious men with the aid of the captured ship. The "Poor Richard" was sinking fast, and all aboard her were transferred to the "Serapis". A few days later, flying the flag of L'estats Unis, John Paul Jones proudly brought her to the Texel in Holland; eventually he reached Lorient with her, in spite of the British corsairs in the Channel.
Strange as it may seem, John Paul Jones received no recognition in America until long after his death; whereas Pearson was honored and given a title for his heroic resistance. Jones never received another command, though he served for a while in the Russian Navy with the rank of Rear-Admiral. Catherine the Great eventually tired of him, and he returned to Paris where he died, almost forgotten, July I8th, I792."
These two excerpts of reality in a sea of fanciful history provide insight into the behavior of ships at sea. The poet Goethe places true words in the mouth of the Devil in his epic poem Dr. Faust. He says The free sea frees the frees spirit - men catch fish, men catch men, but if there is a third party, one has to walk the plank. In summary, Goethe says: War, Commerce and Piracy are the Trinity at sea - one and inseparable. As we shall see this rubric is as valid today as it has been since antiquity.
The anthropological nature of 'capture at sea' puts in perspective the war between the Northern colonies and Britain for the capture of the trade with the agricultural South. It also places in perspective the desire to eliminate a third actor in this fight for control of the seas, the Spanish.
History shows Florida ceded to the United States by Spain for $5,000,000.00 dollars. In fact the United States had already seized Florida by force commencing in 1814 with General Jackson's incursion and concluding with his invasion in 1817. The vast Spanish Territory was however, that which extended indeterminately from Louisiana to the West Coast of the continent. Napoleon's French government obtained the Louisiana Territory in a secret Treaty with Spain and it was then sold to the United States in the famous Louisiana purchase. The fate of the remainder of Spanish possessions in the New World is best traced through the history of Mariannos G. Vallejo. He was a Spanish general assigned to protect Spanish sovereignty in what is now called Mexico and Southern California. He located on the mainland side of San Francisco Bay in a locale now known as Vallejo. He soon established vineyards in the valley for the production of wine, said vineyards existing today with a wine whose is quality is superior to Gallo but not quite as good as Mondavi or Sutter (Gold Rush) Home. Like many of his countrymen he was quick to read the signs of independence that derived from the American and French Revolutions. In the turmoil for control of the newly independent colonies by the colonialists, the colonials, the creoles and the natives, Vallejo cast his lot for independence with a junta from Spain. Under this vacillating, conflictual and uncertain leadership the nation of Mexico was born with Territorial rights or aspirations which included Texas, California up to the San Francisco Peninsula (Yerba Buena and the Presidio) and below to the present southern border. Across the Bay in Mare Island, the United States establishes a Naval Base under Admiral David Farragut. One of his commanders Tunis Augustus MacDonough Craven has command of the gunboat Dale. It's mission is to protect United States commerce from privateers of England and Spain or Mexico. Could it be that it is also involved in capture at sea. Heaven forfend, but where did we get the fourteen million for the Louisiana Territory?
On October 19th 1842 Commodore Jones of the United States Navy entered Monterey Bay and forced the surrender of the Mexican Authorities. He had prematurely thought that War had been declared. Texas had already become a Republic and was then annexed to the United States. Claims of the United States against Mexico had already been forced on Mexico by Treaty and when these claims were not paid a program to substitute annexation of Territory down to the Rio Grande was put forward. And so the War came. Mariannos Vallejo joined the United States in time to play a role in its victory. Thus it was in 1848 that the Continental United States was as complete as it is today with the Louisiana Territory adjacent to the territory captured from Mexico. Then in 1849 came a miner 49er and his daughter Clementine and the gold rush was on and San Franciso was born as the "Golden Gate" of the Western Border of the United States of America, a nation that extended from Sea to Shining Sea.