President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison Sign a Passport For a Ship Whose Seizure As a Prize Made Important Admiralty Law
The famous case permitted seizure of a vessel if found to be a “transport in the service of the enemy”.
The American ship Orozembo, William Brewster captain, was engaged in international trade between the U.S. and Europe, often sailing to and from the Netherlands. In 1807 it sailed from Rotterdam to Lisbon, and there was chartered to take on a cargo destined for Macao, an island off China. In addition, the merchant...
The American ship Orozembo, William Brewster captain, was engaged in international trade between the U.S. and Europe, often sailing to and from the Netherlands. In 1807 it sailed from Rotterdam to Lisbon, and there was chartered to take on a cargo destined for Macao, an island off China. In addition, the merchant hiring the ship took on three Dutch military officers and two Dutch citizens, all under appointment from their government to serve in their then-colony of Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia). At that time, during the Napoleonic Wars, the French had reduced the Netherlands to a satellite; France finally annexed the Netherlands in 1810. This meant that Britain and the Netherlands were officially at war.
The Orozembo was boarded at sea by the British, who finding the five Dutch passengers claimed it was a “transport in the service of the enemy.” Brewster protested that he had no idea the men were Dutch civil or military officers; the British took the position that such a claim was not credible, and in any event was irrelevant. The vessel was seized, and when the American owners of the ship appealed to the High Court of Admiralty in London to get the ship and cargo returned, they lost. The ship was adjudicated a prize, and the judge further held that the owners must look to the chartering merchant for compensation, as he was the one who misled them. The case became a noted precedent for similar situations in the future and has been often cited.
In the early years of the Republic, when American vessels engaged in foreign trade left the United States, they carried passports with them. These were large, impressive documents and contained their text written in four languages – English, Spanish, French and Dutch. The president and secretary of state both signed them.
Document signed by Jefferson as President, Washington, July 18, 1806, being the ship’s passport for the Orozembo, William Brewster, Master, “of the burthen of 264 36/95 tons or thereabouts”, lying in the port of Philadelphia, bound for Rotterdam, and laden with “sundries”. The document is countersigned by James Madison as Secretary of State, and is also signed by John Graff, Deputy Collector of the port of Philadelphia.
One wonders just what those sundries were, and whether the incident occurred after this very trip.
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