prize money because they had few opportunities to capture enemy ships in wartime, both because, after the Great Northern War, they were rarely involved in naval wars and, when they were, their fleets were much weaker than their major opponents. Booty of war Booty of war, also termed spoils of war is the movable property of an enemy state or its subjects which can be used for warlike purposes, in particular its soldiers' arms and equipment, captured on land, as opposed to prize which is hostile property captured at sea. It is legally the property of the victorious state, but all or part of it (or its value) may be granted to the troops that capture it. In British practice, although the Crown may grant booty and to specify its distribution, this was done by a special proclamation relating to a specific capture which did not set a precedent, not a general measure dealing with all captures made during a war, as were naval prize acts. Instances of it being granted include the Siege of Seringapatam, 1799, the capture of Bordeaux, 1814 and the Siege of Delhi, 1857. Although the United States and France had allowed their soldiers to profit from booty on a basis similar to Britain, they abolished the practice in 1899 and 1901 respectively. The Third Geneva Convention now only allows the arms, military equipment and military documents of prisoners of war to be seized and prohibits the award of booty. England to 1707 The Crown of England had, from medieval times, legal rights over certain property found or captured at sea or found on the shore. These included the rights to shipwrecks, ships found abandoned at the sea, flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict, enemy ships and goods found in English ports or captured at sea in wartime and goods taken from pirates. At first, these were collectively known as Droits of the Crown, but after the creation the office of the High Admiral, later the Lord High Admiral, of England in the early 15th century, they were known as Droits of Admiralty, as the Crown granted these rights, and legal jurisdiction the property specified in them, to the Lord Admiral. This jurisdiction ceased in 1702, but the name Droits of Admiralty remained in use. Early prize law made little distinction between financial rewards made to officers and men of the Royal Navy and to privateers (civilians