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A lesser known episode about Benjamin Franklin is when the British failed to respect the "paroles", to exchange prisoners, I use it to put a date to when honour
by jaclaz 5y ago
A lesser known episode about Benjamin Franklin is when the British failed to respect the "paroles", to exchange prisoners, I use it to put a date to when honour ceased to exist, 5th November 1781:
http://books.google.com/books?id=LaFYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA87 http://books.google.com/books?id=LaFYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA87
Briefly privateers were engaged for capturing British vessels.
When they made prisoners they had them sign a paper in which they self-certified their status of prisoners, and were quickly released, by landing them on the nearest French or British land.
When Benjamin Franklin tried to use these "paroles" to exchange them against American prisoners (as if they were actual English prisoners), the English had what must have been some of the best laughter they ever had.
- dkonofalski 5y agoThis sounds interesting to me but, for some reason, I'm not understanding what the English would have been laughing about. Were they lying on the certificates? I assume that that's what you mean since they were self-certified but I feel like I might just be missing something here.
- canniballectern 5y agoSounds like the privateers promised on paper to hold British prisoners for a certain amount of time, but actually set them free at the first convenient opportunity. Franklin didn't know this, and tried to set up an exchange of on-paper British prisoners for real American ones. The British were laughing because Franklin didn't know that he'd been ripped off by the privateers.
- jaclaz 5y agoThe idea was that if you (British) had a (American) prisoner, you would release him in exchange for another (British) prisoner and - viceversa - if you (American) had a (British) prisoner you would release it in exchnage for a (American) prisoner. A simple exchange. The Americans had not the means (jails/prisons) to keep the prisoners in, so (evidently initially agreed with the British or anyway a comnmon at the time rule of honour in war times) they had the prisoner sign this "parole" document which amounted to an admission that the person had been captured in an action of war and that he was "virtually" a prisoner of the opposite army, even if actually set free, all in all not much different from a "I owe you ..." paper. So, in theory, one parole=one prisoner, and periodically the British and the American would settle the balance by releasing prisoners (in exchange for a same amount of prisoners or paroles). That until the British (to the utter Benjamin Franklin incredulity/astonishment) decided unilaterally that the "parole" was nothing but a piece of paper. In the letter Franklin says that he has 500 paroles (up to then "worth" 500 prisoners) that suddenly were worth nothing.
- User23 5y agoThat's amusing. It's analogous to the difference between paper money and specie at the time.