Legal Limits to Impressment in the 18th century British Royal Navy

• 발행기관: 해양사학회
• 저자명: Jeremy Young
• 간행물 정보: 『해양담론』제5호, 1~30쪽, 전체 30쪽
• 주제분류: 인문학 > 역사학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2025.11.30

국문 초록

This article re-examines impressment in the British Royal Navy, focusing on its limits rather than its abuses. While long portrayed as an arbitrary exercise of state power, impressment was not the Admiralty’s preferred method of recruitment. Voluntary enlistment, supported by bounties, prize money, and legislative measures, was the first and principal means of manning the fleet. This emphasis on voluntarism reflects an early legal and institutional limit on impressment, underscoring the Navy’s attempts to attract rather than coerce sailors whenever possible. By highlighting the significance of voluntary recruitment and the incentives that supported it, this article challenges the view that impressment was the dominant or unregulated mode of recruitment. Instead, it demonstrates that coercion was embedded within a broader framework of inducements, negotiation, and state policy. This study forms the first part of a two-article examination of impressment and its legal limits. A second article will consider the statutory exemptions, judicial oversight, and diplomatic dimensions that further constrained the practice, offering a fuller picture of the relationship between state power and civil liberties in eighteenth-century Britain.

목차

Ⅰ. Introduction

Ⅱ. Understanding the bad reputation of impressment

Ⅲ. Volunteers as the First Legal Limit to Impressment

Ⅳ. Legal Framework and the Regulation of Impressment - Warrants and Regulating Officers

Ⅴ. Conclusion

References

키워드

Impressment Royal Navy Voluntary Recruitment Habeas Corpus Legal Framework State Power Civil Liberties Diplomatic Relations Maritime History 18th Century Britain Judicial Oversight Military Recruitment International Law Conscription Press Gangs