Common law did not make mutiny a crime because it governed civilians but not military forces. Therefore no legal action could be taken to stop mutineers. The English Parliament reacted to this problem by passing the Mutiny Act of 1689. The Mutiny act made desertion, mutiny, and sedition of officers and soldiers crimes. Such crimes would be subject to a trial by court-martial and punishable by death.
The 1689 Mutiny Act also had clauses relating to the billeting of British troops in barracks and public houses in the American colonies - these clauses were extended in the Quartering Acts of 1765 and 1774 impacting the path of the American Revolution
The Mutiny Act, the Bill of Rights & the American Colonies
The Glorious Revolution led to the 1689 English Bill of Rights and the 1689 Mutiny Act. The Glorious Revolution abolished absolutism and established a constitutional monarchy in England in which parliament had basic sovereignty over the king. There were two clauses in the 1689 Bill of Rights that were very important to the American colonies. The first was that taxation raised through anything else other than Parliament was banned - this stopped any monarchs imposing taxes without the consent of Parliament. The second clause banned any standing army being raised during peacetime without Parliament’s consent. The Bill of Rights was followed by the 1689 Mutiny Act which limited the maintenance of a standing army during peacetime to one year.
