Copenhagenization (naval)

Last updated June 07, 2019

Copenhagenization refers to the practice of confiscating the warships of a defeated enemy. It first occurred when the British fleet under Admiral Gambier landed Army units equipped with phosphorus loaded Congreve rockets for the Second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807.

Confiscation is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, or of any seizure of property as punishment or in enforcement of the law.

A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more manoeuvrable than merchant ships. Unlike a merchant ship, which carries cargo, a warship typically carries only weapons, ammunition and supplies for its crew. Warships usually belong to a navy, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations.

Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, was a Royal Navy officer. After seeing action at the capture of Charleston during the American Revolutionary War, he saw action again, as captain of the third-rate HMS Defence, at the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794, during the French Revolutionary Wars, gaining the distinction of commanding the first ship to break through the enemy line.

After the British Navy stole a part of the Dano-Norwegian Navy (merchant ships as well as Men of wars, which at the time was located in Eastern Zealand), the practice of confiscating all (or most) of the ships of a defeated enemy became more common and would be expressed by the term Copenhagenize. In 1830, the American author Richard Emmons published an Epic poem on the late war of 1812 , The Fredoniad, or Independence preserved^[1] in which he wrote of the merits and risks of independence:

The War of 1812 was a conflict fought between the United States, the United Kingdom, and their respective allies from June 1812 to February 1815. Historians in Britain often see it as a minor theater of the Napoleonic Wars; in the United States and Canada, it is seen as a war in its own right.

Aw'd by the naval sceptre of the king—
Our fleet would Copenhagenize each town,
And with the torch burn every hamlet down.

The term would later be used by Justin Winsor in his Narrative and critical history of America (1888) where he described the outfitting of independent vessels to warfare being done somewhat covertly, in order to avoid the vessels being "Copenhagenized at once by the invincible British Navy"^[2] at the outbreak of hostilities. Also, in the 1881 Political Science, Political Economy, and the Political History of the United States, John J. Lalor, editor, wrote:

Justin Winsor was a prominent American writer, librarian, and historian. His historical work had strong bibliographical and cartographical elements. He was an authority on the early history of North America. His self-confidence, energy and congeniality augmented his entrepreneurial skills and were well received by his peers, who elected him as the first president of the American Library Association.

A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. The commission, also known as a letter of marque, empowers the person to carry on all forms of hostility permissible at sea by the usages of war, including attacking foreign vessels during wartime and taking them as prizes. Historically, captured ships were subject to condemnation and sale under prize law, with the proceeds divided between the privateer sponsors, shipowners, captains and crew. A percentage share usually went to the issuer of the commission. Since robbery under arms was once common to seaborne trade, all merchant ships were already armed. During war, naval resources were auxiliary to operations on land so privateering was a way of subsidizing state power by mobilizing armed ships and sailors.

But, even when the [embargo] was repealed in 1809, the belief that Great Britain would "Copenhagenize" any American navy which might be formed was sufficient to deter the democratic leaders from anything bolder than non-intercourse laws, until the idea of invading Canada took root and blossomed into a declaration of war.^[3]
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States, stretching some 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, with 70% of citizens residing within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

In 1940, after the Fall of France, the British destroyed the warships of neutral Vichy stationed in the ports of Oran and Dakar with the attack on Mers-el-Kébir, fearing that the French ships would fall into German hands.^[4]

Vichy France is the common name of the French State headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Evacuated from Paris to Vichy in the unoccupied "Free Zone" in the southern part of metropolitan France which included French Algeria, it remained responsible for the civil administration of France as well as the French colonial empire.

Oran is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its commercial, industrial, and cultural importance. It is 432 km (268 mi) from Algiers. The total population of the city was 759,645 in 2008, while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000 making it the second largest city in Algeria.

Dakar Capital and largest city of Senegal

Dakar is the capital and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 2.45 million.

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References

↑ Emmons, Richard (1830). The fredoniad, or Independence preserved. Philadelphia. p. 35.
↑ Winsor, Justin (1884). Narrative and critical history of America. 7. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company. pp. 273–274.
↑ Cyclopædia of Political Science, Political Economy, and the Political History of the United States by the Best American and European Writers. Published: New York: Maynard, Merrill, and Co., 1899. II.18.13 and II.18.26.
↑ Gat, Azar (2006). War In Human Civilization. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 610. ISBN 978-0-1992-3663-3.

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[1] Emmons, Richard (1830). The fredoniad, or Independence preserved. Philadelphia. p. 35.

[2] Winsor, Justin (1884). Narrative and critical history of America. 7. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company. pp. 273–274.

[3] Cyclopædia of Political Science, Political Economy, and the Political History of the United States by the Best American and European Writers. Published: New York: Maynard, Merrill, and Co., 1899. II.18.13 and II.18.26.

[4] Gat, Azar (2006). War In Human Civilization. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 610. ISBN 978-0-1992-3663-3.