impressment

im·press·ment

I0066300 (ĭm-prĕs′mənt)n.1. The act or policy of seizing persons and compelling them to serve in the military, especially in naval forces.2. The act or policy of seizing property for public use, especially for military purposes.3. The act of imposing a constructive trust or a lien upon property, as a matter of equity, to protect a person without legal title but with a legally recognized interest.

impressment

(ɪmˈprɛsmənt) n (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the commandeering or conscription of things or men into government service

im•press•ment

(ɪmˈprɛs mənt)

n. the act of impressing people or property into public service or use. [1780–90]

Thesaurus

Noun

impressment - the act of coercing someone into government serviceimpressseizure - the taking possession of something by legal process

impressment

impressment,

forcible enrollment of recruits for military duty. Before the establishment of conscriptionconscription,
compulsory enrollment of personnel for service in the armed forces. Obligatory service in the armed forces has existed since ancient times in many cultures, including the samurai in Japan, warriors in the Aztec Empire, citizen militiamen in ancient Greece and Rome,
..... Click the link for more information. , many countries supplemented their militia and mercenary troops by impressment. In England, impressment began as early as the Anglo-Saxon period and was used extensively under Elizabeth I, Charles I, and Oliver Cromwell. "Press gangs" forcibly seized and carried individuals into service; frequently subjects of foreign countries were taken. After 1800, England restricted impressment mostly to naval service. The Napoleonic Wars increased English need for sea power and led to the impressment of a large number of deserters, criminals, and British subjects who had become naturalized Americans. (Until 1850, England did not recognize the right of a man to renounce his nationality.) Frequent interception of American ships (see ChesapeakeChesapeake,
U.S. frigate, famous for her role in the Chesapeake affair (June 22, 1807) and for her battle with the H.M.S. Shannon (June 1, 1813). The Chesapeake left Norfolk, Va., for the Mediterranean under the command of James Barron in June, 1807.
..... Click the link for more information. ) to impress American citizens was a major cause of the War of 1812. England generally abandoned such forcible measures after 1835. In Prussia, impressment was introduced by Frederick William I after 1713, laying the groundwork for Prussian military power in the 18th cent. It reached its height under Frederick II (Frederick the Great) who made forced recruitment on foreign soil an integral part of the Prussian military system. Impressment was used in many countries as a method of ridding society of undesirables. Persons of property, apprenticed youths, and other respectable citizens were often exempted by law. The system fostered gross abuses and was often a means of private vengeance. It filled the army and navy with a group ready for mutiny, desertion, or other disloyalty, and it adversely affected voluntary recruitment. After 1800 impressment tended to become a means of enforcing conscription, and it fell into disuse after 1850.

Bibliography

See J. R. Hutchinson, The Press-Gang Afloat and Ashore (1914); J. F. Zimmerman, Impressment of American Seamen (1926, repr. 1966).

impressment

im·press·ment

impressment

im•press•ment

impressment

impressment,

Bibliography

impressment

Synonyms for impressment

noun the act of coercing someone into government service

Synonyms

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