[Trex]

One could make the case for an even earlier commerce raider, that being Francis Drake. In the period of escalating tension before open conflict broke out between Spain and England, Drake left England in 1577 with six ships and close to 200 men on a covert mission against Spanish shipping. When he finally returned in 1580 (with one ship and less than 60 men), he had been one of the first to circumnavigate the globe. More importantly, he brought home an enormous store of spices (exceptionally valuable at the time) as well as huge amounts of gems and precious metals. The half-share due the Queen is reputed to have been equal to her entire income for a year.

Although Drake (and his peers) certainly infuriated the Spanish, it is hard to see that tensions would not have continued to rise anyway. Like the CSA, England was faced with a much more powerful enemy - raiding tactics and commercial targets served them well. One could make the case that Drake alone delayed the breakout of war by depriving the Spanish of much-needed wealth, forced them to spread their maritime resources further, deprived them of actual ships and at the same time providing a substantial boost to the income of what was at the time a fairly poor island kingdom.