The full title of this act:
An Act for making perpetual so much of an Act made in the Tenth Year of the Reign of Queen Anne, for the reviving and continuing several Acts therein mentioned, as relates to the building and repairing County Gaols; and also an Act of the Eleventh and Twelfth Years of the Reign of King William the Third, for the more effectual Suppression of Piracy; and for making more effectual the Act of the Thirteenth Year of the Reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, “An Act for establishing Articles and Orders for the regulating and better Government of His Majesty’s Ships of War, and Forces by Sea.”
This act commenced on 23rd November 1719. Section 3 amends the Piracy Act 1698, which was about to expire, making it perpetual, as well as extending existing Vagrancy acts. It was repealed on 15th July 1867 by the Statute Law Revision Act.…
The Piracy Act 1717 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. Its long title was “An Act for the further preventing Robbery, Burglary, and other Felonies, and for the more effectual Transportation of Felons, and unlawful Exporters of Wool; and for declaring the Law upon some Points relating to Pirates.”
This act was passed during the reign of William III. The main purpose behind the statute was to make some corrections to the Offences at Sea Act 1536. These changes included allowing for acts of piracy to be “examined, inquired of, tried, heard and determined, and adjudged in any place at sea, or upon the land, in any of his Majesty’s islands, plantations, colonies, dominions, forts, or factories”. This enabled admirals to hold a court session to hear the trials of pirates in any place they deemed necessary, rather than requiring that the trial be held in England, thus avoiding the costly and time-consuming transport of captured pirates across the Atlantic. It also meant those accused of piracy didn’t necessarily have to be tried by a jury.
This law was enacted during the reign of Charles II and its full name was An Act to prevent the delivery up of Merchants Shipps, and for the Increase of good and serviceable Shipping. It came into being because the captains and crews of merchant vessels commonly refused to fight when attacked by pirates. The act stipulated that ships of 200 tons or more possessing at least sixteen guns were required to fight, as long as the pirate vessel didn’t have twice as many guns. Failing to resist would result in the commander being excluded from any further commands of English ships and even imprisonment.
In the 14th century Edward III (1327-1377) attempted to set up how admiralty courts should deal with piracy in A Remedy where a Merchant’s Good be robbed or perished on the Sea, but these were rather vague laws and there was often the problem of overlapping jurisdictions when dealing with such a crime. It was wasn’t until the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547) that significant anti-piracy laws were enacted. Originally titled An Act for Pirates and Robbers on the Sea issued in 1535, it was renamed The Offences of Sea Act in 1536.