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Article: TAKING CAPTIVES FOR RANSOM HAS HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- January 5, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1987 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Through history, civilians have been taken hostage to discourage
hostile acts or to negotiate demands. High-ranking members of
society were also taken, to be returned as a sign of good faith.
The treatment of such hostages as honored guests according to rank
was governed by a code of honor unthinkable in the days of jet
hijackings.
During the Hundred Years War, for example, France sent to
England hundreds of hostages to gain the release of John II of
France. When the hostages bound for England escaped, the French
king felt bound to return to capitivity in England, and did.
In more modern times, a hostage has been defined as a person
captured and held to guarantee certain outcomes or ...