Forbes v Cochrane
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Forbes v Cochrane and Cockburn (1824) 2 B & C 448; 107 ER 450 is a landmark decision by the English Court of King's Bench which held that an enslaved person who escaped to a British Royal Navy ship outside the territorial waters of a slave-owning state became free. The case reinforced the legal principle that slavery was not recognized under English common law and established that British warships were treated as an extension of British soil ("floating territory") where English law applied.[1][2]
Background
The plaintiff, John Forbes, was a British merchant operating a plantation in East Florida, which was a Spanish colony at the time and legally permitted slavery. In 1815, during the aftermath of the War of 1812, a group of slaves belonging to Forbes escaped and sought refuge on board HMS Terror, a British naval vessel commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir George Cockburn. Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane was the commander-in-chief of the North American Station.[1][3][4]
Forbes approached the British officers and demanded the return of what he considered his property. Admiral Cockburn allowed Forbes to board the ship to try and persuade the escaped slaves to return with him peacefully. However, Cockburn outright refused to use naval personnel or force to compel the slaves back into servitude. The fugitives chose to remain on the British ship.[1][3]
Following this, Forbes sued Cochrane and Cockburn in the English courts in an action of trover—a common law tort claim used to recover the value of wrongfully taken or retained personal property.[1][2][3]
Judgement
The case was heard by the Court of King's Bench, with judgments delivered by Chief Justice Abbott, alongside Justices Bayley, Holroyd, and Best. The court ruled unanimously in favor of the defendants, Cochrane and Cockburn, dismissing Forbes's claim.[1]
The court recognized that a British warship on the high seas (or outside the territorial waters of a foreign state) was subject exclusively to English law, functioning essentially as a floating piece of British territory.[1][2][5]
Drawing upon the precedent set by Lord Mansfield in Somerset v Stewart (1772), the court affirmed that English common law did not recognize or support the institution of slavery. Once the escaped slaves set foot on the British ship, they were breathing "free air" and were no longer subject to Spanish colonial law.[1]
Because the slaves were free under English law the moment they boarded the ship, the British naval officers had no legal obligation—nor the authority—to forcefully return them to slavery. Consequently, the admirals could not be held liable for trover because they were not illegally retaining Forbes's "property."[1][6]
Justice Best's Opinion
Justice William Draper Best delivered a particularly famous and forceful opinion in the case, relying heavily on natural law. He asserted that slavery was inherently contrary to divine and natural justice. He stated that if human law contradicted divine law, the courts were bound to reject the human law.[1][2] [3] He proclaimed:
"Now if it can be shown that slavery is against the law of nature and the law of God, it cannot be recognised in our Courts."[1]
Legacy
The ruling firmly established the legal right of British naval commanders to grant asylum to escaped slaves who reached their ships on the high seas. This precedent would frequently be cited in subsequent international disputes regarding fugitive slaves.[5]
The case successfully buried older, pro-slavery precedents (such as Butts v Penny), cementing the interpretation of Somerset's Case that slavery was legally incompatible with English common law.[2][3][4][6]