Paris, Declaration of

(1856)

   Along with the Treaty of Paris of 1856, the Declaration of Paris was part of the diplomatic settlement of the Crimean War. The Declaration, however, dealt specifically with the rules of naval warfare. It abolished privateering and established the principle that neutral flags protected enemy goods, except for the contraband of war. It also stipulated that neutral goods other than war contraband would not be liable to capture under the enemy’s flag and that naval blockades had to be maintained by sufficient and present force in order to be binding. All maritime states of any importance accepted the declaration, with the exceptions of Spain and the United States; Spain finally acceded in 1907; the United States agreed to the Hague Convention principles in the same year.

   See also <>.

   FURTHER READING:

    Piggott, Francis Taylor. The Declaration of Paris, 1856: A Study. London: University of London Press, 1919.

   CARL CAVANAGH HODGE