War reparations

A three-masted ship with all sails
The USCGC Eagle, built in 1936 as Horst Wessel for the German Navy, was taken by the United States as reparations in 1946.

War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. War reparations can take the form of hard currency, precious metals, natural resources, industrial assets, or intellectual properties.[1] Loss of territory in a peace settlement is usually considered distinct from war reparations. Compare booty and plunder.

War reparations are often governed by treaties which belligerent parties negotiate as part of a peace settlement.[1] Payment of reparations often occur as part of a condition to remove occupying troops or under the threat of re-occupation.[1] The legal basis for war reparations in modern international law is Article 3 of the Hague Convention of 1907.[1]

Prominent examples of war reparations include Carthage's indemnity paid to Rome following the First Punic War, French reparations following the Napoleonic Wars, Haiti's reparations to France following the Haitian War of Independence of 1791-1804, French reparations to Germany following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, and German reparations following World War I.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e Hinrichsen, Simon (2024). When nations can't default: a history of war reparations and sovereign debt. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-34397-8.