Prize money

Generally, prize money, purse money, or just purse is a monetary prize awarded for winning or coming a place in a competition such as horseracing, boxing, auto racing, golf, tennis, etc. Prize money also has a distinct meaning in naval warfare; it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel,.

Royal Navy prize money,

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Prize money History,

In the 16th and 17th centuries, captured ships were legally Crown property. In order to reward and encourage sailors' zeal at no cost to the Crown, it became customary to pass on all or part of a captured ship's value to the capturing captain for distribution to his crew. (Similarly, all belligerents of the period issued Letters of Marque and Reprisal to civilian privateers, authorizing them to make war on enemy shipping; as payment, the privateer sold off the captured booty.)

This practice was formalized via the Cruizers and Convoys Act of 1708. An Admiralty Prize Court was established to evaluate claims and condemn prizes, and the scheme of division of the money was specified. This system, with minor changes, lasted throughout the colonial, Revolutionary, and Napoleonic wars.

If the prize were an enemy merchantman, the prize money came from the sale of both ship and cargo. If it were a warship, and repairable, usually the Crown bought it at a fair price; additionally, the Crown added "head money" of 5 pounds per enemy sailor aboard the captured warship. Prizes were keenly sought, for the value of a captured ship was often such that a crew could make a year's pay for a few hours' fighting. Hence boarding and hand-to-hand fighting remained common long after naval cannons developed the ability to sink the enemy from afar.

All ships in sight of a capture shared in the prize money, as their presence was thought to encourage the enemy to surrender without fighting until sunk.

The distribution of prize money to the crews of the ships involved persisted until 1918. Then the Naval Prize Act changed the system to one where the prize money was paid into a common fund from which a payment was made to all naval personnel whether or not they were involved in the action. In 1945, this was further modified to allow for the distribution to be made to RAF personnel who had been involved in the capture of enemy ships,.

Prize money Distribution,

The following scheme for distribution of prize money was used for much of the Napoleonic wars, the heyday of prize warfare. Allocation was by eighths. Two eighths of the prize money went to the captain, generally propelling him upwards in political and financial circles. One eighth of the money went to the admiral or commander and chief who signed the ship's written orders (unless the orders came directly from the Admiralty in London, in which case this eighth also went to the captain). One eighth was divided among the lieutenants, sailing master, and captain of marines if any. One eighth was divided among the wardroom warrant officers (surgeon, purser, and chaplain), standing warrant officers (carpenter, boatswain, and gunner), lieutenant of marines, and the master's mates. One eighth was divided among the junior warrant and petty officers, their mates, sergeants of marines, captain's clerk, surgeon's mates, and midshipmen. The final two eighths were divided among the crew, with able and specialist seamen receiving larger shares than ordinary seamen, landsmen, and boys.[

As complex as this scheme was, it was replaced by one of even greater complexity in the reforms of 1808. In this process, the admiral received one twelve of the prize money, the captain received one sixth, the wardroom officers one eighth, the standing warrant officers received one eighth and the remaining half was distributed among the rest of the crew, based on their ranks, not evenly. This new division benefited the petty officers and able seaman who dominated the one half divided amongst the sailors and brought complaint from the Captains who received less,.

Prize money Examples,

Perhaps the greatest amount of prize money awarded was for the capture of the Spanish frigate Hermione on May 31, 1762 by the British frigate Active and sloop Favourite. The two captains, Herbert Sawyer and Philemon Pownall, received about £65,000 apiece, while each seaman and Marine got £482-485.

In January 1807, the frigate Caroline took the Spanish San Rafael as a prize, netting Captain Peter Rainier £52,000.

The prize money from the capture of the Spanish frigates Thetis and Santa Brigada, £652,000, was split up among the crews of four British frigates, with each captain being awarded £40,730 each and the Seaman each receiving £182 4s 93/4d or the equivalent of 10 years pay.

The crewmen of USS Omaha hold the distinction of being the last American sailors to receive prize money, for taking a German blockade runner on November 6, 1941, just before America's entry into World War II, though the money would not be awarded until 1947.

(source:wikipedia)