Crime and punishment in the Royal Navy of the Seven Years' War, 1755-1763

This is the authors reprint edition of his book Crime and Punishment in the Royal Navy of the Seven Years War, 1755-1763 origionally published by Ashgate, Aldershot in 2004. Although initially very much underestimated, by now this work has acquired such a reputation that it not only attracted a multitude of highly favorable reviews (see below), but has even been quoted as a work of utmost authority in two terrorism related law cases tried before the highest US-American law court, the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington. (Compare for this the two Supreme Court Cases Nos. 07-394 and 06-1666, Geren versus Omar and Munaf versus Geren) table of contents: List of Tables p. vii 1. Introduction p. 1 Problems and Arguments p. 1 Literature and Sources p. 14 Administrative and Living Conditions in the Royal Navy p. 18 2. The Interaction of the Royal Navy and Civil Law Courts p. 24 Interaction of the Navy and Civil Law Courts in the Seddon Correspondence p. 25 The Integration of Problem Groups and Criminals into the Royal Navy p. 38 3. The Development of Naval Law between 1650 and 1750 p. 41 Offences against Individual Persons p. 43 Offences against the State p. 46 Offences against God and Religion p. 49 4. Genesis, Composition and Proceedings of Courts-Martial p. 50 Assembly and Composition of Courts-Martial p. 50 The Conduct of Naval Trials p. 53 Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Criticism of Courts-Martial Procedures p. 58 5. The Patterns of Crime and Punishment in the Royal Navy p. 63 Summary Punishment p. 64 Courts-Martial p. 77 Regional Variability of Naval Crime in the Mirror of Logbooks and Courts-Martial p. 116 6. The Use of Mercy in the Royal Navy p. 128 The Pardoning Process of Mariners Capitally Convicted by Assizes p. 128 Capital Convictions and the Pardoning System in the Royal Navy p. 131 7. Conclusion p. 150 Six Aspects of Major Importance p. 150 Appendix I Full Text of the Articles of War, passed by Parliament in 1749 p. 158 Appendix II Statistical Addenda p. 174 Bibliography p. 187 Index p. 195 Some reviews on the book Crime And Punishment in the Royal Navy of the Seven Years War, 1755-1763 Reviews: The book is well researched, there is much of significance here and it makes an important addition to understanding an under-researched area of Crime and Punishment in Hanoverian England Professor Clive Emsley , The Open University, in: Crime, History & Societies, Volume 8, number 1, pp.118-120. (2004). gives an in depth look in the legal issues surrounding discipline in Britains Navy during this crucial period History Today (2004) This concisely written work is well worth acquiring for those with an interest in legal or naval history for this Period. In addition to the detailed and original research, the overview of existing historiography on British criminal and legal history and its interrelationship with the world of the Royal Navy is well worth the price of . publication. Martin Hubley, in: The Northern Mariner, volume XV, number 2, pp.53-54 (2005) .an interesting and important book that leads to consideration of the value of other studies on parallel and interacting systems of justice . Professor Jeremy Black, Exeter,in: British Journal for Eighteenth Century Studies volume 28, number 2,p. 293. Eders study of the period of the Seven Years War not only enriches our knowledge of naval life, particularly that of the lower deck, but also shows that because of the close relationship of the two systems, naval records can yield information useful to understanding the work of civilian courts by reducing the area of “dark” figures . it will reward close study by specialists . Ernest W. Toy, California State University, Fullerton, in: The Historian, Volume 68, number 2, pp.383-384 (2006).