After intense negotiation between Lisbon and London, 70 German and 2 Austrian ships were requisitioned in Portuguese ports in the name of British diplomacy and war effort, starting on February 23, 1916. This requisition legitimized, under the Anglo- Portuguese, the entrance of Portugal in the Great War. Exploring the semantics of the words "requisition" and "apprehending", we will explain the different perspectives on this historical process. Portugal, after this act of war, delivered a good part of these ships to its ally, but what is the currency of exchange? We will also make explicit, in the light of historical scholarship, how these ships were requisitioned and managed in the period of the world conflagration, and even soon after. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]