During the American Civil War, Confederate States of America raiders (the most famous being the CSS Alabama) were built in Britain and did significant damage to Union naval forces. The United States claimed direct and collateral damage against Britain, the so-called Alabama Claims, and was awarded $15,500,000 by an international tribunal in 1871 as part of the Treaty of Washington.

The tribunal was comprised of representatives from Britain, the United States, Italy, Switzerland (Jakob Stämpfli), and Brazil. This established the principle of international arbitration, and launched a movement to codify international law with hopes for finding peaceful solutions to international disputes. The Alabama Claims was thus a precursor to the Hague Convention, the League of Nations, the World Court, and the United Nations.