The term no quarter may originate from an order by the commander of a victorious army that they will not quarter (house) captured enemy combatants. Therefore, none can be taken prisoner and all enemy combatants must be killed.[1] A second derivation, given equal prominence in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), is that quarter (n.17) can mean "Relations with, or conduct towards, another" as in Shakespeare's Othello, Act II, scene iii, line 180, "Friends all[...] In quarter, and in termes, like bride and groome". So "no quarter" may also mean refusal to enter into an agreement (relations) with an enemy attempting to surrender. The OED mentions a third possible derivation but says "The assertion of De Brieux (Origines[...] de plusieurs façons de parler (1672) 16) that it arose in an agreement between the Dutch and Spanish, by which the ransom of an officer or private was to be a quarter of his pay, is at variance with the sense of the phrases to give or receive quarter."
An Ordinance Commanding that no Officer or Soldier either by Sea or Land, shall give any Quarter to any Irishman, or to any papist born in Ireland, which shall be taken in Arms against the Parliament in England.[2]
By the 17th century, siege warfare was an exact art, the rules of which were so well understood that wagering on the outcome and duration of a siege became a popular craze; the then-enormous sum of £200,000 was alleged to have been bet on the outcome of the Second Siege of Limerick in 1691.[3]
Professional honour demanded a defence, but if a garrison surrendered when "a practicable breach" had been made, they were given "quarter". The garrison signaled their intent to surrender by "beating the chamade"; if accepted, they were generally allowed to retain their weapons, and received a safe conduct to the nearest friendly territory. If a garrison continued their defence beyond this point, the surrender was not accepted, hence "no quarter"; the besiegers were then "permitted" to sack the town, and the garrison was often killed.[4]
In some circumstances, the opposing forces would signal their intention to give no quarter by using a red flag (the so called bloody flag).[5][6] However, the use of a red flag to signal no quarter does not appear to have been universal among combatants.
Black flags have been used to signify that quarter would be given if surrender was prompt; the best-known example is the Jolly Roger used by pirates to intimidate a target crew into surrender. By promising quarter, pirates avoided costly and dangerous sea battles which might leave both ships crippled and dozens of critical crew dead or incapacitated.[7]
Under international humanitarian law, "it is especially forbidden[...] to declare that no quarter will be given". This was established under Article 23(d) of the 1907 Hague ConventionIV – The Laws and Customs of War on Land.[9] Since a judgment on the law relating to war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg trials in October 1946, the 1907 Hague Convention, including the explicit prohibition to declare that no quarter will be given, are considered to be part of the customary laws of war and are binding on all parties in an international armed conflict.[10]
↑ Cordingly, p. 117. Cordingly cites only one source for pages 116–119 of his text: Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, America and West Indies, volumes 1719–20, no. 34.
Afflerbach, Holger; Strachan, Hew, eds. (2012). How Fighting Ends: A History of Surrender. OUP. ISBN978-0199693627.
Manning, Roger (2006). An Apprenticeship in Arms: The Origins of the British Army 1585–1702. OUP. ISBN0199261490.
Nofi, Albert A. (1992). The Alamo and the Texas War of Independence, September 30, 1835 to April 21, 1836: Heroes, Myths, and History. Combined Books, Inc. ISBN0-938289-10-1.
Williams, RH (2001). Montrose: Cavalier in Mourning. House of Lochar. ISBN978-1899863594.
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