ARMED VIRGINIA SLOOP

Privateers were privately owned vessels whose owners were commissioned by the government to carry on naval warfare. Privateering is not considered piracy, which is performed without government authorization. During the 18th century, many small single masted ships were armed and used for privateering. These Chesapeake-built vessels were fast and easily maneuverable with a graceful sheer and a low freeboard. They evolved from the Bermuda sloops of c. 1740 and the trim, sharp Virginia schooners found in Steel s Naval Architecture of 1805.