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Behind the Scenes: Prize-of-War in Historical ContextDavid W. Trenholm04 December 2008HIST 3663 X1Dr. Stephen Henderson
 
There was a great deal of power within the Vice-Admiralty courts of the New World, power that extended to the maritime affairs of the people who called the Americas home. As theonly route to the Americas lay across the Atlantic, Vice-Admiralty courts had an enormousresponsibility when seeing to the legal issues that accompanied any serious volume of maritimetraffic. The screenplay
 Prize-of-War 
focuses on the Vice-Admiralty court at Halifax, which wasunique in its disposition over the colonies of British North America. The court at Halifax, on itscreation, enjoyed unique powers that no other court in the New World could match; Halifax hadan effective jurisdiction from Canada to Florida, and any enterprising mariner could petition thecourt for assistance, and would receive it in some manner or another.
 Prize-of-War 
revolvesaround the case of a seized British vessel, a prize, that was captured by a Royal Navy captain.While the characters within
 Prize-of-War 
are fictitious, they are based off of a real event inhistory with a relatively accurate legal approximation. The screenplay also touches on theinherent problem with Admiralty courts of any stature throughout history—the distribution of  profits from a seized and auctioned vessel. This manner of incentive engendered a great deal of  bitterness from respondents within the system, as any judge would undoubtedly find himself considerably richer if he ruled in the “correct” manner. Vice-Admiralty courts represent an erathat is still remembered vividly in literature to this day—the age of fighting-sail—and vestiges of its authority still remain in the maritime law of many Western nations.Most of the history behind
 Prize-of-War 
comes from the court of Vice-Admiralty atVirginia and Halifax, where there exists a good source of detailed knowledge, not only on the procedural traditions and conventions of an Admiralty court, but also on specific cases and trialsthat took place in both courts. The difference between a court of Vice-Admiralty, and a court of Admiralty lay in the distance between the two. Vice-Admiralty courts were located in colonies
 
and possessions abroad, away from the imperial home of Great Britain.
1
The High Court of Admiralty was located in London, and was often the final stop for any litigator concerningappeals and petitions. Notwithstanding the High Court of Admiralty, Vice-Admiralty courtswielded a considerable degree of power before civil bodies began to grow in prominence, whichslowly deprived Admiralty courts of any practical application.
2
Courts of Admiralty followedcertain procedure, laid out quite plainly by George Reese, a scholar who has had a particular strong grasp on the niceties and traditions that were found within these courts. Just like moderncourts have a certain procedure, such as the laying of a charge, the calling of witnesses, and thefinal statement by an attorney, so did Admiralty courts, and many traditions that are followedtoday can be recognized within the conventions of these courts. The plaintiff was instead alibellant, who rather issued a libel than a complaint. This was usually answered by the defendant,usually represented in the form of a proctor or attorney (as it is done today). The judge, generallya civilly appointed member of the community or jurist sent from Great Britain, issued a proclamation and decree in favour of one of the parties.
3
These cases ordinarily lasted a fewdays, and a judge would often convene a court on his own whim, up until such time courts of Vice-Admiralty became a regularly scheduled affair .
4
While certainly these procedures seemsimple in such a modest presentation, in all actuality they may have appeared quite inaccessibleand complicated if observed by anyone in modern times.
 Prize-of-War 
illustrates the procedureof a court of Vice-Admiralty quite simply, but it is important that its potential for complexity isnot underestimated.
1
Donald Fyson,
The Court Structure of Quebec and Lower Canada, 1764 to 1860
[record on-line] (Montreal:Université Laval 2004, accessed 17th November 2008); available fromhttp://www.hst.ulaval.ca/profs/dfyson/courtstr/V_adm.htm;Internet.
2
Albert Gray, “Admiralty Jurisdiction in Inland Waters,”
 Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation
12, no. 1(1911): 33
3
George Reese, "The Court of Vice-Admiralty in Virginia and Some Case of 1770-1775,"
The Virginia Magazine of  History and Biography
88, no. 12 (July 1980): 303.
4
Fyson,
The Court Structure of Quebec and Lower Canada, 1764 to 1860.
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