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Military Organization primarily tasked with preparing for and conducting war

A military is a heavily-armed, highly-organised force primarily intended for warfare, also known collectively as armed forces. It is typically officially authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct military uniform. It may consist of one or more military branches such as an Army, Navy, Air Force and in certain countries, Marines and Coast Guard. The main task of the military is usually defined as defence of the state and its interests against external armed threats. Beyond warfare, the military may be employed in additional sanctioned and non-sanctioned functions within the state, including internal security threats, population control, the promotion of a political agenda, emergency services and reconstruction, protecting corporate economic interests, social ceremonies and national honor guards.



Rebellion act of rebelling; aim: resistance, generally seeks to evade an oppressive power; refusal of obedience or order; open resistance against the orders of an established authority; defiance of authority or control




Age of Discovery Period of European global exploration


Ferdinand Magellan Portuguese explorer in the service of Spain


Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government-sanctioned practice whereby a person is killed by the state as a punishment for a crime. The sentence that someone be punished in such a manner is referred to as a death sentence, whereas the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution. Crimes that are punishable by death are known as capital crimes or capital offences, and they commonly include extreme offenses such as murder, mass murder, terrorism, treason, espionage, offenses against the State, such as attempting to overthrow government, piracy, drug trafficking, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, but may include a wide range of offences depending on a country. Etymologically, the term capital in this context alluded to execution by beheading.


Mutiny often carried capital punishment.

United Kingdom




The Articles of War are a set of regulations drawn up to govern the conduct of a country's military and naval forces. The phrase was first used in 1637 in Robert Monro's His expedition with the worthy Scots regiment called Mac-keyes regiment etc. and can be used to refer to military law in general. In Swedish, the equivalent term Krigsartiklar, is first mentioned in 1556. However, the term is usually used more specifically and with the modern spelling and capitalisation to refer to the British regulations drawn up in the wake of the Glorious Revolution and the U.S. regulations later based on them.

The Mutiny Acts were an almost 200-year series of annual Acts passed by the Parliament of England, the Parliament of Great Britain, and the Parliament of the United Kingdom for governing, regulating, provisioning, and funding the English and later British Army.


Armed Forces Act 2006

The Armed Forces Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.




Royal Navy Maritime warfare branch of the United Kingdoms military


Royal Air Force Aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces



The term felony, in some common law countries, is defined as a serious crime. The word originates from English common law, where felonies were originally crimes involving confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods. Other crimes were called misdemeanors. Many common law countries have now abolished the felony/misdemeanor distinction and replaced it with other distinctions, such as between indictable offences and summary offences. A felony is generally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is not.



Charles I of England 17th-century monarch of kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland













United States




Famous mutinies

16th century

17th century

18th century


19th century

20th century

After World War II

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Treason Crime against ones sovereign or nation

In law, treason is criminal disloyalty to the state. It is a crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's nation or sovereign. This usually includes things such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state. A person who commits treason is known in law as a traitor.


Military justice is the body of laws and procedures governing members of the armed forces. Many nation-states have separate and distinct bodies of law that govern the conduct of members of their armed forces. Some states use special judicial and other arrangements to enforce those laws, while others use civilian judicial systems. Legal issues unique to military justice include the preservation of good order and discipline, the legality of orders, and appropriate conduct for members of the military. Some states enable their military justice systems to deal with civil offenses committed by their armed forces in some circumstances.



Commanding officer officer in command of a military unit


Cat o nine tails type of whip


Insubordination is the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior. Refusing to perform an action that is unethical or illegal is not insubordination; neither is refusing to perform an action that is not within the scope of authority of the person issuing the order.

Defence of the Realm Act 1914

The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) was passed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, four days after it entered World War I and was added to as the war progressed. It gave the government wide-ranging powers during the war period, such as the power to requisition buildings or land needed for the war effort, or to make regulations creating criminal offences.

Royal Navy Police service police branch of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines

The Royal Navy Police (RNP) is the service police branch of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Members of the RNP enforce law, discipline, and maintain order as outlined in the Armed Forces Act 2006.

Confiscation Act of 1862 act of US Congrees that allowed for seizure of land and property from supporters of the Confederacy

The Confiscation Act of 1862, or Second Confiscation Act, was a law passed by the United States Congress during the American Civil War. Section 13 of the act formed the legal basis for President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.

HMAS <i>Moresby</i> (1918) ship

HMAS Moresby was a 24-class "Fleet Sweeping" sloop that served in the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) as a minesweeper, anti-submarine vessel, and survey ship. The ship was involved in both World Wars, and was the venue of the Japanese surrender of Timor on 11 September 1945.

The military courts of the United Kingdom are governed by the Armed Forces Act 2006. The system set up under the Act applies to all three armed services: the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force (RAF), and replaces the three parallel systems that were previously in existence.

Conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline is an offence against military law in many countries. It has existed in military law since before the 17th century and is an important offence which functions as a catch-all to criminalise offences against military order which are not specified elsewhere.

The main Offences against military law in the United Kingdom are set out in the Armed Forces Act 2006.

Revolt of the Lash 1910 naval incident that occurred in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Revolt of the Lash was a naval mutiny in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in late November 1910. It was the direct result of the use of whips ("lashes") by white naval officers when punishing Afro-Brazilian and mulatto enlisted sailors.

The Penal Code, 1860 is the main criminal code of Bangladesh. It is based on the penal code of the British Indian Empire enacted in 1860 by the Governor General-in-Council in the Bengal Presidency. It is similar to the penal codes of countries formerly part of the British Empire in South and Southeast Asia, including Singapore, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.


  8. Irish Times March 10th, 1924 10 Mar 2012

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