Abstract :
In 1643, Robert Rich, the second earl of Warwick, the parliamentary lord high admiral,
issued directions for naval officers in the Irish squadron to execute any soldiers seized whilst crossing from
Ireland to join royalist armies in England and Wales. An ordinance was duly promulgated by parliament in
October 1644 which authorized the killing of Irishmen captured at sea or in England. Thereafter, although a
number of captains implemented this policy and put to death mariners, soldiers, and passengers detained on
vessels going to and from confederate and royalist ports in Ireland, the killing of maritime captives never
became the norm in the war at sea. This article provides a detailed analysis of the atrocities that occurred and
the treatment of prisoners taken in the seas around Ireland during the war of the three kingdoms. In
particular, this article examines the effect exerted by the threat of retaliatory executions of English seamen
held in towns such as Wexford and Waterford on forcing parliament and its naval commanders to moderate
their actions.
