Coastal law

Coastal law - (Latin lat.Jus litoris, seu litorale, seu naufragii , French French droit de naufrage , German German Strandrecht ) - this is the right by which the inhabitants of the sea coast, coast of lakes, rivers or its owners could appropriate everything growing on its own shore, as well as the remains of the wrecked ships, their cargo and, in general, everything that the waves threw ashore, for example, agate and amber on the Baltic Sea, pearls in Persia, gold on the African coast.

“Coastal law” appeared in ancient times and, with the development of navigation, spread to many coastal areas. Since then, during the shipwreck, the lives of sailors, passengers and cargo integrity were endangered not only in the waves of the raging elements, but also on a seemingly saving shore. Avoiding death in the water, sailors could die on land at the hands of coastal residents. The reasons for this cruelty were different. Sometimes there was a fear that seafarers might not use their craft for trade, but for robbery. And then superstitious prejudices forced to sacrifice to the imaginary gods the aliens found on the shore. But most often they were killed because of fear that the survivors would interfere with the robbery or take revenge. The robbers did not care who they robbed - compatriots or foreigners, living or dead. The dead were stripped to the skin, and the living became slaves or demanded a ransom for them. For example, among the ancient Romans, the right to appropriate property and slaves first belonged to the first one who found them. With the formation of the Roman Empire, this right passed to the state treasury, and after the fall of the empire - to the feudal lords - the owners of the coasts. In the Middle Ages, feudal lords and even powerful monarchs were not ashamed to consider the fruits of “coastal law” as a source of their income. According to the charter of the sea, published in 1681 by Louis XIV , all property saved during a shipwreck passed to the royal treasury.

The coastal feudal lord refused “legal rights”, only on the condition that the sailors would pay him a certain bribe for this. The thirst for easy money pushed for any atrocities and tricks. Robbers destroyed lighthouses and navigational signs, exposed false ones in dangerous places for navigation, bribed pilots to take ships straight aground or those places where it would be difficult for the team to defend themselves from attack. It happened when the sea element turned out to be helpless in front of the sailors, the looters at night hung a lit lantern from the horse’s bridle, tangled her legs and led the limping animal along the shore. A passing ship, taking the oscillating light of a lantern for a signal light on a sailing ship, came too close to the shore and crashed on stones. Sea waves reliably hid traces of the tragedy, and criminals went unpunished. The best time for such "operations" was dark nights, so the robbers considered the moon their worst enemy. So they called the people involved in this craft, moon-haters, lamers, beach cleaners and other scornful nicknames.

The heyday of “coastal law” falls on the Middle Ages. With the further development of trade, many states passed laws that prevent such crimes and are obliged to save people and the cargo of ships in distress. However, cases of coastal piracy continued until the middle of the 19th century. Thus, after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, shipwrecks became more frequent in connection with the expansion of shipping off the eastern coast of Africa in the coastal waters of Somalia . Often these disasters were accompanied by the complete looting of ships, the extermination of teams and passengers. Britain's merchant fleet suffered the most. To stop the barbarism, the British had to conclude an agreement with the rulers of the region and annually pay them 15 thousand pounds of "compensation".

The history of navigation has brought to our days examples of the opposite nature. At a time when “coastal law” was common on many populated coasts of seas and rivers, the Russians, and, in general, the Slavs, never engaged in such a “craft”. This is evidenced by the first international agreements: the Russo-Byzantine Treaty of 911 , 944, 971, as well as the agreements of Novgorod with Riga and the Gothic coast of the 12th-13th centuries. According to these agreements, local residents had to "guard the ship with the cargo, send it to Christian land, escort it through every terrible place until it reached a safe place." Any insult to foreign sailors was considered a great crime. At the time of Peter I , laws were passed according to which all cargo and ship property of both Russian and foreign ships rescued within the Russian Empire were “under the direct protection of the Imperial Majesty” and should be inviolable.