1795-Feb.: A French privateer was captured near the Venezuelan coast after it had been gathering “up-to-date news” of events in the capital through contact w…

1795-Feb.: A French privateer was captured near the Venezuelan coast after it had been gathering “up-to-date news” of events in the capital through contact with neutral vessels. This maritime encounter proved that outlying revolutionary ships maintained a constant, secondhand correspondence with the mainland even when unable to dock. Information flowed bi-directionally between these ships and the shore, circumventing the news blackouts imposed by Spanish officials. Such vessels functioned as mobile nodes of intelligence that kept the “common wind” of the revolution alive in coastal provinces. The capture of the privateer revealed the sophistication of the informal communication networks that linked Saint-Domingue to the South American coast.