Impressment of American Seamen
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Impressment of American Seamen was one of the stated causes of the War of 1812, but does not seem to be widely understood. Impressment was carried out by the British Navy, boarding ships at sea or using "Press Gangs" in harbors.
[edit] American side
Whenever they found a British native, a seaman who had been born in Britain regardless of what he claimed to be (e.g. American), he was forced (impressed) into the British Navy. The American government protested this practice and issued Protection Certificates, but these were largely ignored. Some documentation of this practice may be found in the American State Papers.
[edit] British side
The Jay Treaty of 1794 had attempted to clear up some of the lingering problems of American separation from Great Britain. However it made no mention of the impressment of American sailors. During the Napoleonic Wars the Royal Navy aggressively reclaimed British deserters on board ships of other nations, both by halting and searching merchant ships, and in many cases, by searching American port cities. The Royal Navy did not recognize naturalized American citizenship, treating anyone born a British subject as "British" — as a result, the Royal Navy impressed over 6,000 sailors during the early 1800s who were claimed as American citizens as well as British subjects. This was one of several factors leading to the War of 1812 in North America. Ironically, the Royal Navy largely ceased to use impressment after the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, though it remained legal to conduct.
