The Piracy Act 1698 (11 Will 3 c 7) was an Act of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advise ...

passed in the eleventh year of

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

. The main purpose behind the

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...

was to make some corrections to the Offences at Sea Act 1536.

The Act

The Act states that “it hath been found by experience” that the courts met with “great trouble and charges in sending them into

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

” to be tried for their crimes or cannot easily “be questioned for such their piracies and robberies” because this was the necessary measure for enforcing the law under the Offences at Sea Act 1536 of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. The Act changed this law to allow for acts of

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

to be “examined, inquired of, tried, heard and determined, and adjudged in any place at sea, or upon the land, in any of his Majesty’s islands, plantations, colonies, dominions, forts, or factories”. This enabled admirals to hold a court session to hear the trials of pirates in any place they deemed necessary, rather than requiring that the trial be held in England. The Act then proceeds to explain what is required for these admiralty court sessions to function, how they will run, and what powers it grants to the commissioners. The commissioners can “call and assemble a court of admiralty when and as often as occasion shall require”. In addition, these courts shall consist of at least seven people who “are known merchants, factors, or planters, or such as are captains, lieutenants, or warrant officers” and who are “fitting and voting in the said court”. The Act also grants the commissioners of these vice-admiralty courts with “full power and authority” to issue warrants, summon the necessary witnesses, and “to do all thing necessary for the hearing and final determination of any case of piracy, robbery, or felony”. The Act then moves to instruct the commissioners on the proceedings of the courts in a significant amount of detail ranging from the oath that the president of the court must take, what actions were to be taken upon pleas of guilty or not guilty, and how to examine witnesses and give sentence. In addition, the Act adds additional instances, not listed in the original Act of 1536, which expanded the legal definition of piracy as a capital crime. The first of these includes any subject of the crown who commits any act of piracy “under colour of any commission from any foreign prince or state.” Additionally, any commander who “piratically and feloniously run away with his or their ships", anyone who may “consult, combine, or confederate” with any pirates, or “shall lay violent hands upon his commander whereby to hinder him from fighting” pirates who may be attempting to capture their vessel. This Act also added the offence of being an accessory to piracy. Under the Act, any individual who may “knowingly or willingly … aid and assist, or maintain, procure, command, counsel, or advise” and persons to commit any act of piracy “shall be deemed and adjudged to be accessory to such piracy”. This title of accessory was also extended to any persons who “receive, entertain, or conceal any such pirate or robber”. These accessories “shall be enquired of, tried, heard, determined, and adjudged” following the original 1536 Act and “shall suffer such pains of death” just as the pirates themselves would.

Legacy

The majority of the cases tried under these admiralty courts followed the exact proceedings laid out in the Act. In addition, most pirates appeared to have been given a fair trial because, if the accused could not be confirmed to have taken part in the said piracy by witness testimony, they were often acquitted. However, in the

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 ...

, murder was almost always considered the more serious charge. In fact, during a 1737 case in which Edward Johnson and Nicholas Williams were being tried, the Counsel proceeded with the murder charge after stating: “I will not touch upon the Piracy, that will come under your consideration hereafter.” This shows that the Counsel prosecuted the accused for piracy only after the trial for murder was finished.

Repeal

The death penalty under this Act was abolished by the

Piracy Act 1837 The Piracy Act 1837 (7 Will 4 & 1 Vict c 88) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It abolished the death penalty for most offences of piracy, but created a new offence often known as piracy with violence, which was punishable with ...

. In the United Kingdom, the whole Act was repealed b
section 1(1)
of, and Group 2 o
Part I
of Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1993. The Piracy Act 1698 was repealed for the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

by section 6(1) of, and Part 4.11 of Schedule 4 to, the ''

Statute Law Amendment Act 2002 (No 2) A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made b ...

''.

References

Citations

Notes

External links

The Piracy Act 1698
from the ACT legislation register.
The Piracy Act 1698
as amended, from Legislation.gov.uk. {{UK legislation 1698 in law 1698 in England Acts of the Parliament of England Piracy law Piracy in the United Kingdom