Prisoners of war and military honour, 1789-1918 / Jasper Heinzen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heinzen, Jasper, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prisoners of war--Europe--History--18th century.

Prisoners of war.

Prisoners of war--Europe--History--19th century.

Prisoners of war--Europe--History--20th century.

Honor--Europe--History.

Honor.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, [2025]

Summary:

In the long nineteenth century, officers were held as prisoners of war, but it meant pawning personal honour in exchange for freedom of movement and other privileges-in-captivity. Jasper Heinzen investigates how captives, statesmen, and humanitarians understood honour in this context, and the implications on our understanding of early modern war.

"Customs adapted from experience have always informed the conduct of armies towards each other and towards enemy populations. By the seventeenth century parole had become one such mainstay of the laws of war. The pawning of their personal honour enabled officers to purchase freedom of movement and other privileges when they were taken captive. Increasingly, other ranks and civilians claimed a right to parole, too. Based on material from close to thirty British, Dutch, French, German, and Swiss archives the book investigates how captives, statesmen, and humanitarians understood honour in the ‘long nineteenth century’, how they negotiated national differences, and why parole d’honneur continued to matter as a humanitarian resource into the First World War despite recurring infringements. It is argued that the dichotomy created by a substantial amount of scholarship between the ‘good’ codes of conduct prevalent in the eighteenth century and modern warfare calls for a re-assessment. In explaining the longevity of parole, this study sheds new light on a question which loomed large during the centenary of the First World War: why did international agreements like the Geneva and Hague Conventions that provided for the humane treatment of captives fail to stem the tide of total war?"-- Oxford Academic.

Contents:

The ties that bind: honour and the laws of war

Honour and the economy of credit in the age of revolutions

Honour Betwixt and between: parole in wars of the mid-nineteenth century

Honour in a world of camps

Epilogue.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on January 6, 2025).

Other Format:

Print version: Heinzen, Jasper. Prisoners of war and military honour, 1789-1918

ISBN:

9780191967498

0191967491

9780192698933

0192698931

OCLC:

1482974200

Publisher Number:

CIPO000180016

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license