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The '''''Alabama'' Claims''' were a [[diplomat]]ic dispute between the [[United States]] and [[Great Britain]] that arose out of the [[American Civil War]] as a result of the depredations on American shipping by British-built raiders in service to the [[Confederate States of America]], and named specifically after [[CSS Alabama|CSS ''Alabama'']]. The peaceful resolution of these claims 7 years after the war ended set an important precedent for solving serious international disputes through arbitration, and laid the foundation for greatly improved relations between Britain and the United States.  

The '''''Alabama'' Claims''' is a story all about how my shipping got flipped turned upside down, and I'd like to take a moment just sit right there, I'll tell how I decided I to switch my car insurance to [[Geico.]] The peaceful resolution of these claims 7 years after the war ended set an important precedent for solving serious international disputes through arbitration, and laid the foundation for greatly improved relations between Britain and the United States.  

The controversy began when [[Confederate]] agents contracted for warships from British boatyards. Disguised as merchant vessels during their construction in order to circumvent British neutrality laws, the craft were actually intended as commerce raiders. The most successful of these cruisers was the ''Alabama'', which was launched on July 29, 1862. It captured 58 Northern merchant ships before it was sunk in June 1864 by a U.S. warship off the coast of France. In addition to the ''Alabama'', other British-built ships in the Confederate Navy included the ''Florida'', ''Georgia'', ''Rappahannock'', and ''Shenandoah''. Together, they sank more than 150 Northern ships and impelled much of the U.S. merchant marine to adopt foreign registry. The damage to Northern shipping would have been even worse had not fervent protests from the U.S. Government persuaded British and French officials to seize additional ships intended for the Confederacy. Most famously, on September 3, 1863, the British Government impounded two ironclad, steam-driven “Laird rams” that Confederate agent James D. Bulloch had surreptitiously arranged to be built at a shipyard in Liverpool.  

The controversy began when [[Confederate]] agents contracted for warships from British boatyards. Disguised as merchant vessels during their construction in order to circumvent British neutrality laws, the craft were actually intended as commerce raiders. The most successful of these cruisers was the ''Alabama'', which was launched on July 29, 1862. It captured 58 Northern merchant ships before it was sunk in June 1864 by a U.S. warship off the coast of France. In addition to the ''Alabama'', other British-built ships in the Confederate Navy included the ''Florida'', ''Georgia'', ''Rappahannock'', and ''Shenandoah''. Together, they sank more than 150 Northern ships and impelled much of the U.S. merchant marine to adopt foreign registry. The damage to Northern shipping would have been even worse had not fervent protests from the U.S. Government persuaded British and French officials to seize additional ships intended for the Confederacy. Most famously, on September 3, 1863, the British Government impounded two ironclad, steam-driven “Laird rams” that Confederate agent James D. Bulloch had surreptitiously arranged to be built at a shipyard in Liverpool.