The Essex Decision was a ruling made by the English High Court of Admiralty on 22 May 1805 regarding the capture of the American merchant vessel, Essex. The decision called upon the Rule of 1756, which stated that neutral nations in wartime were only permitted to carry goods that they were permitted to carry in peacetime. Essex was ruled to have violated the Rule of 1756. This led to a sharp increase in British seizure of American ships by the same reasoning and was one of the leading causes of the War of 1812.