court-martial of Admiral John Byng
E943583
The court-martial of Admiral John Byng was a highly controversial 1757 British naval trial that resulted in his execution for alleged failure to do his utmost in battle, becoming a famous example of harsh military justice and political scapegoating.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
court-martial
ⓘ
historical event ⓘ military trial ⓘ |
| aftermath |
debate over fairness of the trial
ⓘ
eventual reform of the Articles of War ⓘ |
| appliesToJurisdiction | Royal Navy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| archivesAt | The National Archives, Kew NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| charge |
cowardice in the face of the enemy
ⓘ
failure to do his utmost ⓘ |
| conflict | Seven Years' War ⓘ |
| country | Kingdom of Great Britain ⓘ |
| criticizedBy | Voltaire NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| dateOfExecution | 1757-03-14 ⓘ |
| dateOfSentence | 1757-01-27 ⓘ |
| defendant | John Byng NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| describedIn | Voltaire's Candide NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| endTime | 1757 ⓘ |
| followedBy | execution of Admiral John Byng ⓘ |
| genre | naval court-martial ⓘ |
| hasCause |
Battle of Minorca
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
loss of Minorca to France ⓘ |
| hasEffect |
deterrent example to Royal Navy officers
ⓘ
lasting debate on command responsibility ⓘ |
| hasQuotations | "pour encourager les autres" ⓘ |
| historicalPeriod | 18th century ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
political pressure on the government
ⓘ
public outcry over loss of Minorca ⓘ |
| languageOfRecord | English ⓘ |
| legalBasis | Articles of War NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legalOutcome | guilty verdict ⓘ |
| location |
HMS St George
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Portsmouth NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| methodOfExecution | firing squad ⓘ |
| notableFor |
controversial military justice
ⓘ
influence on later naval law reform ⓘ political scapegoating ⓘ strict application of Articles of War ⓘ |
| participant | Royal Navy officers as judges ⓘ |
| penalty | capital punishment ⓘ |
| placeOfExecution | Spithead NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| pointInTime | 1757 ⓘ |
| presidingOfficer | Admiral Thomas Smith NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| prosecutor | Judge Advocate of the Fleet NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| publicReaction |
petitions for clemency
ⓘ
widespread controversy ⓘ |
| result | death sentence ⓘ |
| significantEvent | execution of Admiral John Byng by firing squad ⓘ |
| startTime | 1756 ⓘ |
| subject | Admiral John Byng NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.