The ''Essex'' Decision was a ruling made by the English

High Court of Admiralty Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences. Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest ...

on 22 May 1805 regarding the capture of the American merchant vessel, ''Essex''.Walton, Gary and Hugh Rockoff. ''History of the American Economy''. Mason: South-Western, Cengage Learning, 2005. Print. The decision called upon the

Rule of 1756 The Rule of 1756 or Rule of the War of 1756 was a policy of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and later the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that was promulgated during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). It ruled that Britain would not trade ...

, which stated that neutral nations in wartime were only permitted to carry goods that they were permitted to carry in peacetime. ''Essex'' was ruled to have violated the Rule of 1756. This led to a sharp increase in British seizure of American ships by the same reasoning and was one of the leading

causes of the War of 1812 The origins of the War of 1812 (1812-1815), between the United States and the British Empire and its First Nation allies, have been long debated. The War of 1812 was caused by multiple factors and ultimately led to the US declaration of war o ...

.Davis, Lance and Stanley Engerman. ''Naval Blockades in Peace and War – An Economic History Since 1750''. Cambridge University Press, 2006. Print.

Background

The

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

from 1793-1815 created a shipping void in both Britain and France due to cargo vessels being drafted into military service and relaxed mercantilist policies.Walton, Gary, and Hugh Rockoff. ''History of the American Economy''. N.p.: South-Western, 2012. Print. With Britain and France blockading each other, Americans helped fill the shipping void and per capita credits in the balance of payments more than tripled due to stimulated overseas commerce.

The ''Essex'' case

The

makes an important distinction. Trading with the enemy was permissible so that trade carried out in peacetime was not interrupted while trading for the enemy was not permissible. The British reserved the right to interfere with trade that would not have occurred in peacetime.DeConde, Alexander, Richard Burns, and Fredrick Logevall. "International Maritime Law in the 18th Century". ''Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy''. 2001. Print Since American vessels were not allowed to carry cargo to a country directly from its colonies, they would often stop at an American port to evade the British prohibition. The Lords Commissioners of Appeal in Prize Causes ruled that a brief stop at an American port did not neutralize an enemy cargo when the intended final destination was another enemy port. ''Essex'' was captured while carrying cargo from the French West Indies to France and therefore its seizure was legal under British law.

Consequences

Trade restriction

The ''Essex Decision'' introduced a series of trade restriction to impede American trade with France. The United States contested these restrictions as illegal under international law. This fueled growing tensions between the British and the United States. The British seized almost 1,500 ships in total and many American sailors were forcefully drafted into the

British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

(a process known as

impressment Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion, with or without notice. European navies of several nations used forced recruitment by various means. The large size of ...

American response

Congress and President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

were fearful of becoming entangled in war and declared the

Embargo Act of 1807 The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general trade embargo on all foreign nations that was enacted by the United States Congress. As a successor or replacement law for the 1806 Non-importation Act and passed as the Napoleonic Wars continued, it repr ...

. This prohibited the United States from trading with all foreign ports. This attempt to gain respect of American neutrality backfired as drastic declines in export values and trade earning ensued. With building pressures in port cities, the Non-Importation Act of 1809 was passed to partially open trade. This specifically prohibited trade with Great Britain, France and all of their colonies.

War of 1812

Continuing seizures of American ships by the British and numerous other complications including disputes between the United States and Britain along the Canadian borders finally led to the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. During the war the British seized more than 1,000 additional ships and blockaded almost the entire United States coast.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essex decision, The 1805 in case law English admiralty law Causes of war War of 1812 1805 in British law May 1805 events 1805 in England