Das Prisenrecht und seine Umsetzung in der Seekriegsführung Frankreichs, Englands und der Generalstaaten der Niederlande in den Kriegen 1672–1713: 2. revised edition

This dissertation reveals the complex dynamics of prize law and its application by the maritime powers of France, England and the Netherlands between 1672 and 1713. Shaped by three major conflicts - the Dutch War, the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession - the work illustrates the intertwining of naval warfare and maritime legal practice.

A detailed quantitative and qualitative analysis of 361 thematically relevant documents reveals fundamental external and internal effects on the practice of prize law, in particular contraband law. This legal institution played a formative role over the next 150 years until it was harmonised in the Paris Declaration of the Law of the Sea of 1856. The study also sheds light on the tension between the respective national aspirations for legal certainty in the application of prize law and the primary interest of private privateers in making a profit.

This book will appeal to historians, lawyers and anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of maritime warfare and its legal framework.

Bernd Lehmann received his Ph.D. in Early Modern History from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München after a career in the German Navy, including studies at the United States Naval Postgraduate School Monterey/CA with an M.Sc. in 'Operations Research' and at the NATO Study Facility in The Hague/NL. His research focuses on the incorporation of prize law into national security and defence policy from the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 to the present day.