Commission and article requiring British captains to send American pirates to England for prosecution. [Commission: By the Commissioners for Executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland, &c. Article: Article XXI. of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, between His Britannick Majesty and The United States of America, signed at London, the 19th Of November 1794.]

PIRACY.

Published by [Commission signed:] 20 June 1796

About this Item

A printed commission enforcing the Jay Treaty, requiring captains to convey captured American privateers safely to England for trial as pirates. It is signed by three Lords of the Admiralty - Charles Small Pybus (1766-1810), William Young (1751-1821), and James Gambier (1756-1833) - alongside the Second Secretary to the Admiralty, William Marsden (1754-1836). The commissioners request the "Commanders of His Majesty's Ships of War. send to England all American Citizens, taken by them in Arms, who may have committed any Acts of Hostility or Violence", following the terms of the 21st article of the 1794 Jay Treaty. The commission includes a copy of that article - "we send you herewith a transcript of the XXIst Article of the said Treaty" - printed in the same format on the same watermarked paper. As far as can be determined, neither is recorded in any institutional collection. The Jay Treaty of 1794 preserved peace between Britain and the United States. A major point of contention was that Britain and France, then at war, had recruited American sailors for privateering against one another. Article 21 prohibited the use of American sailors and required that those captured by the Royal Navy be conveyed to Britain for trial as pirates, denying them the protected status of privateers. 2 items, each single bifolium, page size 326 x 204 mm. Each docketed in contemporary hand. Old fold lines, else in effectively fine condition.

Seller Inventory # 159341

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Commission and article requiring British captains to send American pirates to England for prosecution. [Commission: By the Commissioners for Executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland, &c. Article: Article XXI. of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, between His Britannick Majesty and The United States of America, signed at London, the 19th Of November 1794.]
• Publisher: [Commission signed:] 20 June 1796
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)