Non-European Litigants, Prize Law, and the Admiralty Court in Eighteenth-Century France

This paper uses the archives of French maritime prize courts to trace the movement and activities of non-European litigants in Paris and key French port cities (Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes) during the eighteenth century. In high value cases involving the wartime seizure of ships, non-European litigants or their agents travelled to Europe directly, seeking to save their property and gain diplomatic recognition for their countries. Through the mediation of prize courts, these litigants manoeuvred to secure a place in the international order.