Custom of the sea

A custom of the sea is a custom said to be practiced by the officers and crew of ships and boats in the open sea, as distinguished from maritime law, which is a distinct and coherent body of law governing maritime questions and offenses.

Among these customs was the practice of cannibalism among shipwrecked survivors, by the drawing of lots to decide who would be killed and eaten so that the others might survive.[1][2]

  1. ^ Walker, Andrew (2011). Is Eating People Wrong? Great Legal Cases and How they Shaped the World. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-107-00037-7.
  2. ^ Philbrick, Nathaniel (2001). In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex. New York: Penguin. chapter 11.