Talk:HMS Princess (1740)

1741 purchase
Why was this captured ship purchased in 1741 and from whom? Wikiain (talk) 01:38, 8 April 2018 (UTC)

The Wikipedia entry "Prize Money" mentions that in the Royal Navy 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, the prize was sold by the Admiralty Prize Court, which passed on all or part of the value of the captured ship and its cargo to the capturing captain for distribution to his crew. Captured warships could be bought by the Navy and put in service. The Princess was presumably purchased in this way by the Navy from the Crown. RFB (talk) 02:04, 8 April 2019 (UTC)