The convoy affair of 1798

Abstract

Abstract During the summer of 1798, British men-of-war compelled two Swedish convoys destined for south European ports to put into a British harbour. The decision of the Admiralty Court was pronounced a year later: confiscation of both the vessels and their cargoes. The dominant sea power thus denied the right of a neutral to prevent search by the use of convoys. The decision aroused great attention at the time and has become a precedent in respect of the rights of neutrals in naval warfare.