France issues a new contraband decree
- Category:
- Society
- Date:
- 25 August 1914
- Author:
- Łukasz Skowroń
- Tags:
- economy, France, naval blockade
On 25 August 1914 the French government issued a decree setting out how it would apply the 1909 Declaration of London on the law of naval warfare in wartime. The decree redefined the rules on contraband of war, that is, goods that the French navy could seize at sea, including on board ships of neutral states.
Following London’s example
Two weeks earlier France had announced its first contraband lists (see France announces its first contraband list). They did not, however, refer directly to the Declaration of London. Meanwhile the neutral states, above all the United States, were asking the belligerents whether they would observe it. On 20 August Britain replied that it would, but with its own modifications (see Britain modifies the Declaration of London). France, which pursued a common policy on maritime trade with the British, followed suit.
What the decree changed
The decree adopted the Declaration of London with additions similar to those introduced by the British. The most important concerned conditional contraband, that is, goods that could serve both the civilian population and the army, such as food or fuel. Under the Declaration these could be seized only if they were bound directly for enemy ports. After the changes the French navy could confiscate them even on their way to a neutral port, if it proved that the ultimate recipient was the enemy’s army or administration. In this way the French, like the British, resorted to the so-called doctrine of continuous voyage.
Significance
The decree of 25 August was a further step in building the Allied naval blockade of the Central Powers. It was soon considered insufficient. On 6 November 1914 France issued a further decree that shifted the burden of proof onto the owners of cargoes: it was they who had to show that the goods would not reach the enemy. In the following years France and Britain increasingly extended the contraband lists and moved away from the Declaration of London, which provoked protests from the neutral states.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 25 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of the Mortagne beginsOn 25 August 1914 the armies of Castelnau and Dubail halted the German drive on the Trouée de Charmes in Lorraine and went over to a counter-offensive.
- 25 August 1914 · Western FrontBattle of the Meuse beginsOn 25 August 1914 the French Fourth Army, pulled back from the Ardennes, took post behind the Meuse from Mézières to Stenay. The fight for the crossings began.
- 25 August 1914 · AfricaBritish cross the Kamerun border from NigeriaOn 25 August 1914 British columns from Nigeria crossed the border of German Kamerun. The land campaign against the German colony had begun.
- 25 August 1914 · Asia and the PacificJapan declares a state of war with Austria-HungaryOn 25 August 1914 Japan and Austria-Hungary found themselves at war. The reason was the Austro-Hungarian cruiser Kaiserin Elisabeth, stationed at Tsingtao.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 3 September 1914 · DiplomacyFrance accepts the Declaration of London with modificationsOn 3 September 1914 France told the United States that it would observe the Declaration of London, but with changes that tightened control of trade.
- 11 August 1914 · SocietyFrance publishes its first contraband listOn 11 August 1914 the French government published its lists of war contraband. Aircraft and balloons were classed as absolute contraband.
- 20 August 1914 · SocietyBritain modifies the Declaration of LondonOn 20 August 1914 Britain announced it would apply the Declaration of London on naval warfare, but with changes that tightened control of trade.
- 4 September 1914 · DiplomacyGermany accepts the Declaration of LondonOn 4 September 1914 Germany confirmed it would observe the Declaration of London if other states did the same, and set out its own list of contraband.