The Butterfield Claims refers to a 19th-century maritime dispute between the United States and Denmark.
In 1854, six ships belonging to Carlos Butterfield & Co., loaded with war material, cleared at New York for St. Thomas. Suspicion arose that they were destined for the rebels of Venezuela. However, due to evidence, they were cleared in a libel suit.
After arriving in the Danish West Indies, trouble again arose because of their suspicious character. The owners presented a large claim for damages because the vessels were detained by the Danish government. Thirty-four years of negotiations ended in a Danish-American arbitration treaty in 1888, as a result of which the claim was disallowed on the ground that the Danish government had observed strictly the neutrality laws involved.[1]
See also
edit- Sir Edmund Monson, arbitrator between an American shipping company and the government of Denmark (1888)
References
edit- ^ Sir E. Monson Dead, New York Daily Tribune, 30 October 1909, page 7 (Library of Congress)
In the passage quoted, "Sir Edward" has been corrected to "Sir Edmund", as he is correctly called elsewhere in the obituary.
- Dictionary of American History by James Truslow Adams, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940
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