Kaprzy Augusta II Wettina w latach 1700–1701 w świetle nieznanych szwedzkich poloników wojennomorskich
Privateers of Augustus II in 1700–1701 in the Light of the Previously Unknown Polish Maritime Warfare Sources from Sweden

Summary/Abstract: During the war with Sweden in Livonia in 1700, Augustus II decided to call up his own privateer flotilla. The most information about its activities can be found in the legacy of the Swedish commissioner in Gdańsk, Per Cuypercrona, kept at the Riksarki- vet in Stockholm. In the late 1700s and early 1701s, he reported to Charles XII on the activities of the Polish privateers from the base in Puck. The first researcher to study this issue was Przemysław Smolarek in the 1950s. He concluded that the establishment of the flotilla in the autumn of 1700 was not part of a broader policy, but an ad hoc decision prompted by the withdrawal of the Danes from the Northern War as a result of the Peace of Travendal. However, Smolarek did not manage to access all records re- lated to privateers, including copies of privateer patents issued by Augustus II and the Saxon resident in Copenhagen, Johann de Schade. Another analysis of Cuypercron’s legacy led to their discovery. The purpose of the article is to discuss and analyse the aforementioned materials. According to these sources, the establishment of the priva- teer flotilla by August II took place earlier, on 15 August 1700, i.e. before the Danish surrender, and the main area of their activity was the coasts of Courland and Livonia.

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