the king, from which he could reward flag officers. The final one-third was to benefit those sick and wounded, as before, and for the first time was also used to pay dependents of crew members killed and to fund Greenwich Hospital. The 1692 act also abolished the ancient right of pillage, standardised gun money at 10 pounds a gun and provided for salvage to be paid by the owners of English ships recaptured from the enemy. Until 1692, the allocation of the one-third of the value of prize money due to the officers and men had been a matter of custom, but it was then fixed as one-third (or one-ninth of the total prize money) to the captain, one-third to other officers and one-third to the crew. During this war, in 1701, the Admiralty had established a board of prize commissioners, who appointed local prize agents at British and some colonial ports, and were responsible for the custody of ships captured both by privateers and royal ships until these captures were either condemned or released. Although privateers were free to dispose of prize ships and goods after they were condemned and any duties were paid, the prize commissioners were responsible for the sale of ships and cargoes captured by royal ships, the valuation of ships or goods acquired for Royal Navy use, and the calculation and payment of prize money. As many naval actions in this war took place in the Mediterranean or Caribbean, some captains disposed of captured ships without bringing them before an Admiralty prize agent, often defrauding their own crews of all or part of their prize money entitlement. A Royal Proclamation of 1702 made captains that failed to act through prize agents liable to court martial and dismissal. If the Admiralty Court found that a seizure was unlawful, the ships and cargo was restored to its owner, and the captor would be responsible for any loss or costs arising. Great Britain, 1707 to 1801 After the Act of Union 1707 between England and Scotland, the former English prize money rules applied to Great Britain. The War of the Spanish Succession continued until 1714. An act of 1708, generally known as the Cruisers and Convoys Act was designed to protect British maritime trade by allocating Royal Navy ships to protect convoys, by encouraging privateers to assist in protecting convoys and amending the prize rules to encourage naval