The notion of mandate exceeds the scope, stricto sensu, of the contract defined under title XIII, book III of the civil Code. It first designates a delegation of power, either conferred by a private person to another, or by the State to a private person, as shown by the status of privateers. A privateer is an individual who is authorized, by commission, to attack at sea the enemies of the State. By royal warrant, the sovereign delegates thereto certain rights attached to his right to war. The practice of lending the King’s ships to privateers further illustrates this point. As agreed upon since the start of the Dutch war (1672-1678), these further illustrate the role of French privateers as auxiliaries of the naval forces, for the principal - the King - grants his representative - the privateer – with the means to fulfil his mandate: the ship. This particularity is linked to the purpose of these weapons: the protection of French commerce.