Hugo Grotius, the Portuguese and free trade in the East Indies

摘要

In this scholarly and tightly-argued book, Peter Borschberg re-examines Hugo Grotius's De lure Praedae (and that part of it that appeared as Mare Liberum in particular), considering why and how the jurist composed the work, what sources he used, and what long-term impact resulted. Grotius is usually assumed to have been a champion of freedom of navigation and access to markets, but Borschberg suggests this image needs considerable qualification. De lure Praedae was not a product of independent scholarship, having been commissioned by the VOC (Dutch East India Company). Its purpose was to demonstrate that the Dutch seizure in the Johor River estuary in February 1603 of the Portuguese carrack Santa Catarina off Singapore was just and lawful rather than an act of piracy.