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PROSECUTING PIRATES: PROCEDURAL INCONSISTENCIES IN ENGLISH PIRACY TRIALS, 1701-1726

Hewitt, Brett Alan
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1496931879080006

Abstract Details

2017, Master of Arts, Case Western Reserve University, History.
For nearly fifty years, beginning in the 1680s, the English government waged a costly war to rid the seas of pirates. While the eventual success of Britain’s imperial campaign to combat piracy lay in a multi-pronged approach, the heart of the offensive was Parliamentary legislation, which created a series of Vice-Admiralty Courts in the colonies facilitating an aggressive prosecutorial policy. My research examines why colonial English piracy trials from 1701-1726 were so inconsistent and why they frequently deviated from English law and established precedent. I contend these variations in courtroom procedures were caused by four interrelated factors: various conceptualizations of the crime of piracy, different piracy statutes requiring the use of largely incompatible legal procedures, the evolving nature of piracy itself, and the constant pressure from imperial officials to secure a high rate of convictions for those accused.
Daniel Cohen (Advisor)
Kenneth Ledford (Committee Member)
Gillian Weiss (Committee Member)
82 p.
American History; History; Law; Legal Studies
pirate; piracy; provincial courts; vice-admiralty courts; colonial law; William Kidd; John Quelch; John Meinzies; Joseph Dudley; Charles Hedges; Offenses at Sea Act; Piracy Act of 1700

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hewitt, B. A. (2017). PROSECUTING PIRATES: PROCEDURAL INCONSISTENCIES IN ENGLISH PIRACY TRIALS, 1701-1726 [Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1496931879080006

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hewitt, Brett. PROSECUTING PIRATES: PROCEDURAL INCONSISTENCIES IN ENGLISH PIRACY TRIALS, 1701-1726. 2017. Case Western Reserve University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1496931879080006.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hewitt, Brett. "PROSECUTING PIRATES: PROCEDURAL INCONSISTENCIES IN ENGLISH PIRACY TRIALS, 1701-1726." Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1496931879080006

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1496931879080006
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This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.