Talk:French corsairs

message: "Corsairs were French privateers from the north-western French port of St-Malo..." Come again ? And Dunkirk, never heard of Dunkirk ? 
This article really does need a total re-write to bring it anywhere near Wikipedia standard. As it stands, it is far too vague about the legal status of French privateers, gives no indication of the geographical or chronological development and includes some very marginal figures while ignoring major historical names such as Jean Bart, Forbin, Du Casse, Cassard, Pointis...
There is unfortunately very little published on the subject in English - but it would be advisable to consult Russell's "The French Corsairs" at least. For any serious study the work of J.S.Bromley is still absolutely indispensable. 
Boulet rouge 07:40, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Rewrite 

message: I have tried to make a bit more sense of some of the sentences translated from the French and edit out a few of the most glaring mistakes. The overall problem remains - the insistence on Saint-Malo is really a bit much - and I don't have time to re-write it all at the moment. So, gentle reader, a large pinch of salt with it... --Boulet rouge (talk) 21:25, 26 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Removed the "from St Malo" phrase, which was clearly plain wrong. Including in the article references to different ports the Corsairs worked out of would be good, but I also don't have time right now. --78.150.159.109 (talk) 09:09, 13 May 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tidy-up 

message: When this page is updated, a contemporary definition of "free port", perhaps its own page even, would help understanding of some of the French cities discussed.
If the definition is the same as the current, then a link to the "free port" page with some discussion of historical free ports would be sufficient.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.216.42.37 (talk) 03:18, 3 August 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Free port" 

message: Corsairs are /not/ always hired by the French as stated in the opening line. See for example, Nicolas Vatin, "The Hospitallers at Rhodes and the Ottoman Turks, 1480-1522": "A specialization of the Hospitallers at Rhodes was the systematic organization of one semi-military activity that would later be considerably developed, when the Order was installed at Malta. This was the corso. In effect, Rhodes became the principal port in the region for corsairs."(158)  The Hospitallers were not in the employ of the French government.
Furthermore, the first definition of "corsair" in the OED states, "The name in the languages of the Mediterranean for a privateer; chiefly applied to the cruisers of Barbary, to whose attacks the ships and coasts of the Christian countries were incessantly exposed. In English often treated as identical with pirate, though the Saracen and Turkish corsairs were authorized and recognized by their own government as part of its settled policy towards Christendom." 
This article needs to be rewritten to reflect that.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.36.207.10 (talk) 23:43, 18 November 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Incorrect definition 

message: : Jean de Châtillon, who was a bishop, in 1144 gave the town of Saint-Malo the status of rights of asylum ....
I don't understand this last phrase; "status of rights" has no obvious meaning.  Did the bishop empower the town to grant asylum at the discretion of its own authorities, or declare a blanket asylum that could not be denied, or do something else?  By what power did he do whatever he did?  Where was he bishop?  —Tamfang (talk) 05:17, 22 January 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  the status of rights of asylum 

message: The first sentence of the article is mangled beyond comprehension. I am a reader, not an expert on the subject, but it's obvious to me that something is wrong.
This is how it currently reads:
Corsairs (French: corsaire) were privateers, authorized to conduct raids on shipping of a nation at war with "of King" origin mid 16th cent, front France, English Kings, United States Navy, Brazil - Army' eds 1808-1893 Armed, France Napolion's time, Portugal, Corsuires from medieval Latin "corsuries" - "raids nation;s Kings" - to runs - privateer Strategic - tactic - logistic operating Air-Naval Operation's in the 7 (seven) Oceans of Word in the 16th - 18th centuries - and 1890 on behalf of the French crown.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:6000:1701:8007:69B0:D8D3:956C:C1E0 (talk) 10:15, 21 July 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Botched edit (recent?)