…was a specialist court established around 1450 to deal with piracy but which later considered civil cases to do with captured ships, known as ‘prize jurisdiction’, commercial matters and disputes over wages on ships at sea, known as ‘instance jurisdiction’. …
…piracy, treason, murder, mutiny, desertion, sodomy, insurance fraud, rape, robbery and (after 1807) slaving
A glossary at the end of the guide will help you understand some of the specialist language of the court as well as some of the broader legal language you will need to be familiar with to make sense of these records. …