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Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer,
theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in
Delft Delft () is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, and The Hague, to the northwest. Together with them, it is part of both the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolita ...
and studied at
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city o ...
. He was imprisoned in Loevestein Castle for his involvement in the intra-
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
disputes of the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...
, but escaped hidden in a chest of books that was transported to Gorinchem. Grotius wrote most of his major works in exile in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Hugo Grotius was a major figure in the fields of philosophy, political theory and law during the 16th and 17th centuries. Along with the earlier works of Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili, he laid the foundations for
international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
, based on
natural law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...
in its
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
side. Two of his books have had a lasting impact in the field of international law: '' De jure belli ac pacis'' 'On the Law of War and Peace''dedicated to
Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...
and the '' Mare Liberum'' 'The Free Seas'' Grotius has also contributed significantly to the evolution of the notion of ''
rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...
''. Before him, rights were above all perceived as attached to objects; after him, they are seen as belonging to persons, as the expression of an ability to act or as a means of realizing something. Peter Borschberg suggests that Grotius was significantly influenced by Francisco de Vitoria and the School of Salamanca in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
, who supported the idea that the sovereignty of a nation does not lie simply in a ruler through God's will, but originates in its people, who agree to confer such authority upon a ruler. It is also thought that Hugo Grotius was not the first to formulate the international society doctrine, but he was one of the first to define expressly the idea of one society of states, governed not by
force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a ...
or
warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...
but by actual laws and mutual agreement to enforce those laws. As Hedley Bull declared in 1990: "The idea of international society which Grotius propounded was given concrete expression in the
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pe ...
, and Grotius may be considered the intellectual father of this first general peace settlement of modern times." Additionally, his contributions to
Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the '' ...
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
helped provide the seeds for later Arminian-based movements, such as
Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
and
Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
; Grotius is acknowledged as a significant figure in the Arminian-Calvinist debate. Because of his theological underpinning of free trade, he is also considered an "economic theologist". After fading over time, the influence of Grotius's ideas revived in the 20th century following the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
.


Early life

Born in
Delft Delft () is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, and The Hague, to the northwest. Together with them, it is part of both the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolita ...
during the Dutch Revolt, Hugo Grotius was the first child of Jan Cornets de Groot and Alida van Overschie. His father was a man of learning, once having studied with the eminent Justus Lipsius at
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city o ...
, as well as of political distinction. His family was considered Delft patrician as his ancestors played an important role in local government since the 13th century. Jan de Groot was also translator of
Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientis ...
and friend of
Ludolph van Ceulen Ludolph van Ceulen (, ; 28 January 1540 – 31 December 1610) was a German-Dutch mathematician from Hildesheim. He emigrated to the Netherlands. Biography Van Ceulen moved to Delft most likely in 1576 to teach fencing and mathematics and in 159 ...
. He groomed his son from an early age in a traditional humanist and Aristotelian education. A prodigious learner, Hugo entered the
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city o ...
when he was just eleven years old. There he studied with some of the most acclaimed intellectuals in northern Europe, including Franciscus Junius, Joseph Justus Scaliger, and Rudolph Snellius. At age 16 (1599) he published his first book: a scholarly edition of the late antique author Martianus Capella's work on the seven liberal arts, ''Martiani Minei Felicis Capellæ Carthaginiensis viri proconsularis Satyricon.'' It remained a reference for several centuries. In 1598, at the age of 15 years, he accompanied Johan van Oldenbarnevelt to a diplomatic mission in Paris. On this occasion, the King Henri IV of France would have presented Grotius to his court as "the miracle of
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
". During his stay in France, he passed or bought a law degree from the University of Orleans. In Holland, Grotius earned an appointment as advocate to
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
in 1599 and then as official historiographer for the States of Holland in 1601. It was on this date that the Dutch tasked him to write their story to better stand out from Spain; Grotius is indeed contemporary with the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...
between
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
and the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. His first occasion to write systematically on issues of international justice came in 1604, when he became involved in the legal proceedings following the seizure by Dutch merchants of a Portuguese
carrack A carrack (; ; ; ) is a three- or four- masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal. Evolved from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for European trade ...
and its cargo in the Singapore Strait. In 1608 he married Maria van Reigersberch; they had three daughters and four sons.


Jurist career

The Dutch were at war with Spain; although Portugal was closely allied with Spain, it was not yet at war with the Dutch. Near the start of the war, Grotius's cousin captain Jacob van Heemskerk captured a loaded Portuguese
carrack A carrack (; ; ; ) is a three- or four- masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal. Evolved from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for European trade ...
merchant ship, '' Santa Catarina'', off present-day Singapore in 1603. Heemskerk was employed with the United Amsterdam Company (part of the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
), and though he did not have authorization from the company or the government to initiate the use of force, many shareholders were eager to accept the riches that he brought back to them. Not only was the legality of keeping the prize questionable under Dutch statute, but a faction of shareholders (mostly
Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the R ...
) in the Company also objected to the forceful seizure on moral grounds, and of course, the Portuguese demanded the return of their cargo. The scandal led to a public judicial hearing and a wider campaign to sway public (and international) opinion. It was in this wider context that representatives of the Company called upon Grotius to draft a
polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topic ...
al defence of the seizure. The result of Grotius' efforts in 1604/05 was a long, theory-laden treatise that he provisionally entitled ''De Indis'' (''On the Indies''). Grotius sought to ground his defense of the seizure in terms of the natural principles of justice. In this, he had cast a net much wider than the case at hand; his interest was in the source and ground of war's lawfulness in general. The treatise was never published in full during Grotius' lifetime, perhaps because the court ruling in favor of the Company preempted the need to garner public support. In ''The Free Sea'' ('' Mare Liberum'', published 1609) Grotius formulated the new principle that the sea was international territory and all
nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by th ...
s were free to use it for seafaring
trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exc ...
. Grotius, by claiming 'free seas' ( Freedom of the seas), provided suitable ideological justification for the Dutch breaking up of various trade monopolies through its formidable naval power (and then establishing its own monopoly).
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, competing fiercely with the Dutch for domination of world trade, opposed this idea and claimed in John Selden's ''
Mare clausum ''Mare clausum'' (legal Latin meaning "closed sea") is a term used in international law to mention a sea, ocean or other navigable body of water under the jurisdiction of a state that is closed or not accessible to other states. ''Mare clausum'' ...
'' ''(The Closed Sea)'', "That the Dominion of the British Sea, or That Which Incompasseth the Isle of Great Britain, is, and Ever Hath Been, a Part or Appendant of the Empire of that Island.''"'' It is generally assumed that Grotius first propounded the principle of freedom of the seas, although all countries in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
and other Asian seas accepted the right of unobstructed navigation long before Grotius wrote his ''De Jure Praedae'' (''On the Law of Spoils'') in the year of 1604. Additionally, 16th century Spanish theologian Francisco de Vitoria had postulated the idea of freedom of the seas in a more rudimentary fashion under the principles of '' jus gentium''. Grotius's notion of the freedom of the seas would persist until the mid-20th century, and it continues to be applied even to this day for much of the high seas, though the application of the concept and the scope of its reach is changing.


Arminian controversy, arrest and exile

Aided by his continued association with Van Oldenbarnevelt, Grotius made considerable advances in his political career, being retained as Oldenbarnevelt's resident advisor in 1605, Advocate General of the Fisc of
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
, Zeeland and
Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
in 1607, and then as Pensionary of
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...
(the equivalent of a mayoral office) in 1613. Also in 1613, following the capture of two Dutch ships by the British, he was sent on a mission to London, a mission tailored to a man who wrote ''Mare liberum'' 'The Free Seas''in 1609. However, it was opposed by the English by reason of force and he didn't obtain the return of the boats. In these years a great
theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
controversy broke out between the chair of theology at Leiden Jacobus Arminius and his followers (who are called Arminians or Remonstrants) and the strongly
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
theologian,
Franciscus Gomarus Franciscus Gomarus (François Gomaer; 30 January 1563 – 11 January 1641) was a Dutch theologian, a strict Calvinist and an opponent of the teaching of Jacobus Arminius (and his followers), whose theological disputes were addressed at the Syno ...
, whose supporters are termed Gomarists or Counter-Remonstrants. Leiden University "was under the authority of the States of Holland – they were responsible, among other things, for the policy concerning appointments at this institution, which was governed in their name by a board of Curators – and, in the final instance, the States were responsible for dealing with any cases of heterodoxy among the professors." The domestic dissension resulting over Arminius' professorship was overshadowed by the continuing war with Spain, and the professor died in 1609 on the eve of the
Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a sovereign ...
. The new peace would move the people's focus to the controversy and Arminius' followers. Grotius played a decisive part in this politico-religious conflict between the Remonstrants, supporters of religious tolerance, and the orthodox Calvinists or Counter-Remonstrants.


Controversy within Dutch Protestantism

The controversy expanded when the Remonstrant theologian
Conrad Vorstius Conrad Vorstius (german: Konrad von der Vorst; la, Conradus Vorstius; 19 July 1569 – 29 September 1622) was a German-Dutch heterodox Remonstrant theologian, and successor to Jacobus Arminius in the theology chair at Leiden University.'Vorstius ...
was appointed to replace Jacobus Arminius as the theology chair at Leiden. Vorstius was soon seen by Counter-Remonstrants as moving beyond the teachings of Arminius into Socinianism and he was accused of teaching irreligion. Leading the call for Vorstius' removal was theology professor
Sibrandus Lubbertus Sibrandus Lubbertus (c.1555–1625) (also referred to as Sibrand Lubbert or Sybrandus Lubbertus) was a Dutch Calvinist theologian and was a professor of theology at the University of Franeker for forty years from the institute's foundation in 1585 ...
. On the other side
Johannes Wtenbogaert Johannes Wtenbogaert (Also Jan or Hans, Uytenbogaert or Uitenbogaert.) (11 February 1557 – 4 September 1644) was a Dutch Protestant minister, a leader of the Remonstrants. Life Born at Utrecht, he was brought up a Roman Catholic, and attended ...
(a Remonstrant leader) and Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Grand Pensionary of Holland, had strongly promoted the appointment of Vorstius and began to defend their actions. Gomarus resigned his professorship at Leyden, in protest that Vorstius was not removed. The Counter-Remonstrants were also supported in their opposition by King
James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
"who thundered loudly against the Leyden nomination and gaudily depicted Vorstius as a horrid heretic. He ordered his books to be publicly burnt in London, Cambridge, and Oxford, and he exerted continual pressure through his ambassador in the Hague, Ralph Winwood, to get the appointment cancelled." James began to shift his confidence from Oldenbarnevelt towards Maurice. Grotius joined the controversy by defending the civil authorities' power to appoint (independently of the wishes of religious authorities) whomever they wished to a university's faculty. He did this by writing '' Ordinum Pietas'', "a pamphlet...directed against an opponent, the Calvinist Franeker professor Lubbertus; it was ordered by Grotius' masters the States of Holland, and thus written for the occasion – though Grotius may already have had plans for such a book." The work is twenty-seven pages long, is "polemical and acrimonious" and only two-thirds of it speaks directly about ecclesiastical politics (mainly of synods and offices). The work met with a violent reaction from the Counter-Remonstrants, and "It might be said that all Grotius' next works until his arrest in 1618 form a vain attempt to repair the damage done by this book." Grotius would later write ''De Satisfactione'' aiming "at proving that the Arminians are far from being Socinians."


Edict of toleration

Led by Oldenbarnevelt, the States of Holland took an official position of
religious toleration Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...
towards Remonstrants and Counter-Remonstrants. Grotius, (who acted during the controversy first as Attorney General of Holland, and later as a member of the Committee of Counsellors) was eventually asked to draft an edict to express the policy of toleration. This edict, ''Decretum pro pace ecclesiarum'' was completed in late 1613 or early 1614. The edict put into practice a view that Grotius had been developing in his writings on
church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular stat ...
(see Erastianism): that only the basic tenets necessary for undergirding civil order (e.g., the existence of God and His
providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
) ought to be enforced while differences on obscure theological doctrines should be left to private conscience. The edict "imposing moderation and toleration on the ministry", was backed up by Grotius with "thirty-one pages of quotations, mainly dealing with the Five Remonstrant Articles." In response to Grotius' ''Ordinum Pietas'', Professor Lubbertus published ''Responsio Ad Pietatem Hugonis Grotii'' in 1614. Later that year Grotius anonymously published ''Bona Fides Sibrandi Lubberti'' in response to Lubbertus. Jacobus Trigland joined Lubberdus in expressing the view that tolerance in matters of doctrine was inadmissible, and in his 1615 works ''Den Recht-gematigden Christen: Ofte vande waere Moderatie'' and ''Advys Over een Concept van moderatie'' Trigland denounced Grotius' stance. In late 1615, when Middelburg professor Antonius Walaeus published ''Het Ampt der Kerckendienaren'' (a response to
Johannes Wtenbogaert Johannes Wtenbogaert (Also Jan or Hans, Uytenbogaert or Uitenbogaert.) (11 February 1557 – 4 September 1644) was a Dutch Protestant minister, a leader of the Remonstrants. Life Born at Utrecht, he was brought up a Roman Catholic, and attended ...
's 1610 ''Tractaet van 't Ampt ende authoriteit eener hoogher Christelijcke overheid in kerckelijkcke zaken'') he sent Grotius a copy out of friendship. This was a work "on the relationship between ecclesiastical and secular government" from the moderate counter-remonstrant viewpoint. In early 1616 Grotius also received the 36 page letter championing a remonstrant view ''Dissertatio epistolica de Iure magistratus in rebus ecclesiasticis'' from his friend Gerardus Vossius. The letter was "a general introduction on (in)tolerance, mainly on the subject of predestination and the sacrament... ndan extensive, detailed and generally unfavourable review of Walaeus' ''Ampt'', stuffed with references to ancient and modern authorities." When Grotius wrote asking for some notes "he received a treasure-house of ecclesiastical history. ...offering ammunition to Grotius, who gratefully accepted it". Around this time (April 1616) Grotius went to Amsterdam as part of his official duties, trying to persuade the civil authorities there to join Holland's majority view about church politics. In early 1617 Grotius debated the question of giving counter-remonstrants the chance to preach in the Kloosterkerk in The Hague which had been closed. During this time lawsuits were brought against the States of Holland by counter-remonstrant ministers and riots over the controversy broke out in Amsterdam.


Arrest and exile

As the conflict between civil and religious authorities escalated, in order to maintain civil order Oldenbarnevelt eventually proposed that local authorities be given the power to raise troops (the
Sharp Resolution The Sharp Resolution (Dutch: ''Scherpe Resolutie''The name of the resolution has different explanations. Wijne refers to an annotation by Grotius in his ''Apologeticus'' of 1622 (p. 212) who says that "severe diseases require sharp remedies"; Cf. W ...
of August 4, 1617). Such a measure undermined the unity of the Republic's military force, the very same reason Spain had managed to retake so much lost territory in the 1580s, something the Captain-General of the republic, Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange could not allow with the treaty nearing its end. Maurice seized the opportunity to solidify the preeminence of the
Gomarist Franciscus Gomarus (François Gomaer; 30 January 1563 – 11 January 1641) was a Dutch theologian, a strict Calvinist and an opponent of the teaching of Jacobus Arminius (and his followers), whose theological disputes were addressed at the Synod ...
s, whom he had supported, and to eliminate the nuisance he perceived in Oldenbarnevelt (the latter had previously brokered the
Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a sovereign ...
with Spain in 1609 against Maurice's wishes). During this time Grotius made another attempt to address ecclesiastical politics by completing ''De Imperio Summarum Potestatum circa Sacra'', on "the relations between the religious and secular authorities...Grotius had even cherished hopes that publication of this book would turn the tide and bring back peace to church and state". The conflict between Maurice and the States of Holland, led by Oldenbarnevelt and Grotius, about the Sharp Resolution and Holland's refusal to allow a National Synod, came to a head in July 1619 when a majority in the States General authorized Maurice to disband the auxiliary troops in Utrecht. Grotius went on a mission to the States of Utrecht to stiffen their resistance against this move, but Maurice prevailed. The States General then authorized him to arrest Oldenbarnevelt, Grotius and
Rombout Hogerbeets Rombout Hogerbeets (Hoorn, 24 June 1561 — Wassenaar, 7 September 1625) was a Dutch jurist and statesman. He was tried for treason, together with Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Hugo Grotius, and Gilles van Ledenberg during the political crisis of ...
on 29 August 1618. They were tried by a court of delegated judges from the States General. Van Oldenbarnevelt was sentenced to death and was beheaded in 1619. Grotius was sentenced to life imprisonment and transferred to Loevestein Castle. From his imprisonment in Loevestein, Grotius made a written justification of his position "as to my views on the power of the Christian ivilauthorities in ecclesiastical matters, I refer to my...booklet ''De Pietate Ordinum Hollandiae'' and especially to an unpublished book ''De Imperio summarum potestatum circa sacra'', where I have treated the matter in more detail...I may summarize my feelings thus: that the ivilauthorities should scrutinize God's Word so thoroughly as to be certain to impose nothing which is against it; if they act in this way, they shall in good conscience have control of the public churches and public worship – but without persecuting those who err from the right way." Because this stripped Church officials of any power some of their members (such as Johannes Althusius in a letter to Lubbertus) declared Grotius' ideas diabolical. In 1621, with the help of his wife and his maidservant, Elsje van Houwening, Grotius managed to escape the castle in a book chest and fled to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
. In the Netherlands today, he is mainly famous for this daring escape. Both the
Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the ...
in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
and the museum Het Prinsenhof in Delft claim to have the original book chest in their collection.


Life in Paris

Grotius then fled to
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, where the authorities granted him an annual royal pension. Grotius lived in France almost continuously from 1621 to 1644. His stay coincides with the period (1624-1642) during which the Cardinal Richelieu led France under the authority of
Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...
. In France in 1625 Grotius published his most famous book, '' De jure belli ac pacis'' 'On the Law of War and Peace''dedicated to
Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...
. While in Paris, Grotius set about rendering into Latin prose a work which he had originally written as Dutch verse in prison, providing rudimentary yet systematic arguments for the truth of Christianity. The Dutch poem, ''Bewijs van den waren Godsdienst'', was published in 1622, the Latin treatise in 1627, under the title ''De veritate religionis Christianae''. In 1631 he tried to return to Holland, but the authorities remained hostile to him. He moved to Hamburg in 1632. But as early as 1634, the Swedes - a European superpower - sent him to Paris as ambassador. He remained ten years in this position where he had the mission to negotiate for Sweden the end of the
Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...
. During this period, he had been interested in the unity of Christians and published many texts that will be grouped under the title of ''Opera Omnia Theologica''.


Governmental theory of atonement

Grotius also developed a particular view of the atonement of Christ known as the " Governmental theory of atonement". He theorized that Jesus' sacrificial death occurred in order for the Father to forgive while still maintaining his just rule over the universe. This idea, further developed by theologians such as
John Miley John Miley (25 December 1813–13 December 1895) was an American Methodist Episcopal minister and theologian, who was one of the major Methodist theological voices of the 19th century. Biography Early life Miley was born the 25 December 181 ...
, became one of the prominent views of the atonement in
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
Arminianism Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Rem ...
.


''De Jure Belli ac Pacis''

Living in the times of the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...
between
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
and the Netherlands and the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...
between Catholic and Protestant European nations (Catholic France being in the otherwise Protestant camp), it is not surprising that Grotius was deeply concerned with matters of conflicts between nations and religions. His most lasting work, begun in prison and published during his exile in Paris, was a monumental effort to restrain such conflicts on the basis of a broad moral consensus. Grotius wrote:
Fully convinced...that there is a common law among nations, which is valid alike for war and in war, I have had many and weighty reasons for undertaking to write upon the subject. Throughout the Christian world I observed a lack of restraint in relation to war, such as even barbarous races should be ashamed of; I observed that men rush to arms for slight causes, or no cause at all, and that when arms have once been taken up there is no longer any respect for law, divine or human; it is as if, in accordance with a general decree, frenzy had openly been let loose for the committing of all crimes.
'' De jure belli ac pacis libri tres'' (''On the Law of War and Peace: Three books'') was first published in 1625, dedicated to Grotius' current patron, Louis XIII. The treatise advances a system of principles of natural law, which are held to be binding on all people and nations regardless of local custom. The work is divided into three books: * Book I advances his conception of war and of natural
justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
, arguing that there are some circumstances in which war is justifiable. * Book II identifies three 'just causes' for war:
self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force ...
, reparation of injury, and
punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular ac ...
; Grotius considers a wide variety of circumstances under which these rights of war attach and when they do not. * Book III takes up the question of what rules govern the conduct of war once it has begun; influentially, Grotius argued that all parties to war are bound by such rules, whether their cause is just or not. * Further information: '' Temperamenta belli''


Natural law

Grotius' concept of natural law had a strong impact on the philosophical and theological debates and political developments of the 17th and 18th centuries. Among those he influenced were Samuel Pufendorf and
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...
, and by way of these philosophers his thinking became part of the cultural background of the
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
in England and the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. In Grotius' understanding,
nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
was not an entity in itself, but God's
creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing *Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it *Creationism, the belief that ...
. Therefore, his concept of natural law had a theological foundation. The
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
contained moral precepts (e.g. the
Decalogue The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
), which
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...
confirmed and therefore were still valid. They were useful in interpreting the content of natural law. Both Biblical revelation and natural law originated in God and could therefore not contradict each other.


Later years

Many exiled Remonstrants began to return to the Netherlands after the death of Prince Maurice in 1625 when toleration was granted to them. In 1630 they were allowed complete freedom to build and run churches and schools and to live anywhere in Holland. The Remonstrants guided by
Johannes Wtenbogaert Johannes Wtenbogaert (Also Jan or Hans, Uytenbogaert or Uitenbogaert.) (11 February 1557 – 4 September 1644) was a Dutch Protestant minister, a leader of the Remonstrants. Life Born at Utrecht, he was brought up a Roman Catholic, and attended ...
set up a presbyterial organization. They established a theological seminary at Amsterdam where Grotius came to teach alongside Episcopius, van Limborch, de Courcelles, and Leclerc. In 1634 Grotius was given the opportunity to serve as
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
's ambassador to
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre (; 1583–1654), Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a c ...
, regent of the successor of the recently deceased Swedish king,
Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
, was keen to have Grotius in his employ. Grotius accepted the offer and took up
diplomatic Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents: especially, historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, p ...
residence in Paris, which remained his home until he was released from his post in 1645. In 1644, the queen
Christine of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December (New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden in Queen regnant, her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father ...
, who had become an adult, began to perform her duties and brought him back to Stockholm. During the winter of 1644–1645 he went to Sweden in difficult conditions, which he decided to leave in the summer of 1645. While departing from his last visit to Sweden, Grotius was
shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...
ed on the voyage. He washed up on the shore of
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...
, ill and weather-beaten, and on August 28, 1645, he died; his body at last returned to the country of his youth, being laid to rest in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.


Personal life

Grotius' personal motto was ''Ruit hora'' ("Time is running away"); his last words were purportedly, "By understanding many things, I have accomplished nothing" (''Door veel te begrijpen, heb ik niets bereikt''). Significant friends and acquaintances of his included the theologian Franciscus Junius, the poet Daniel Heinsius, the philologist Gerhard Johann Vossius, the historian
Johannes Meursius Johannes Meursius (van Meurs) (9 February 1579 – 20 September 1639) was a Dutch classical scholar and antiquary. Biography Meursius was born Johannes van Meurs at Loosduinen, near The Hague. He was extremely precocious, and at the age of si ...
, the engineer Simon Stevin, the historian Jacques Auguste de Thou, the Orientalist and Arabic scholar Erpinius, and the French ambassador in the Dutch Republic,
Benjamin Aubery du Maurier Benjamin Aubery du Maurier ( La Fontaine-Saint-Martin, August 1566 — La Fontaine-Saint-Martin 1636) was a French huguenot statesman and ambassador of his country to the States General of the Dutch Republic during the "Truce Quarrels". He trie ...
, who allowed him to use the French diplomatic mail in the first years of his exile. He was also friends with the Brabantian
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
Andreas Schottus. Grotius was the father of regent and diplomat
Pieter de Groot Pieter de Groot (28 March 1615 – 2 June 1678) was a Dutch regent and diplomat during the First Stadtholderless Period of the Dutch Republic. He led the Dutch delegation that vainly tried to negotiate the Dutch capitulation to King Louis XIV ...
.


Influence of Grotius


From his time to the end of the 17th century

The king of Sweden,
Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...
, was said to have always carried a copy of ''De jure belli ac pacis'' in his saddle when leading his troops. In contrast,
King James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
of Great Britain reacted very negatively to Grotius' presentation of the book during a diplomatic mission. Some philosophers, notably Protestants such as Pierre Bayle,
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of ...
and the main representatives of the Scottish Enlightenment Francis Hutcheson,
Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——� ...
,
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" '' Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment ph ...
,
Thomas Reid Thomas Reid (; 7 May ( O.S. 26 April) 1710 – 7 October 1796) was a religiously trained Scottish philosopher. He was the founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense and played an integral role in the Scottish Enlightenment. In 1783 he wa ...
held him in high esteem. The French Enlightenment, on the other hand, was much more critical.
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...
called it boring and Rousseau developed an alternative conception of human nature. Pufendorf, another theoretician of the natural law concept, was also skeptical.


Commentaries of the 18th century

Andrew Dickson White wrote:
Into the very midst of all this welter of evil, at a point in time to all appearance hopeless, at a point in space apparently defenseless, in a nation of which every man, woman, and child was under sentence of death from its sovereign, was born a man who wrought as no other has ever done for a redemption of civilization from the main cause of all that misery; who thought out for Europe the precepts of right reason in international law; who made them heard; who gave a noble change to the course of human affairs; whose thoughts, reasonings, suggestions, and appeals produced an environment in which came an evolution of humanity that still continues.
In contrast, Robert A. Heinlein satirized the Grotian governmental approach to theology in ''
Methuselah's Children ''Methuselah's Children'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Originally serialized in ''Astounding Science Fiction'' in the July, August, and September 1941 issues, it was expanded into a full-length novel in 1958. ...
'': "There is an old, old story about a theologian who was asked to reconcile the doctrine of
Divine Mercy The Divine Mercy is a form of God's compassion, an act of grace based on trust or forgiveness. In Catholicism, it refers specifically to a devotion which had its origin in the apparitions of Jesus Christ reported by Faustina Kowalska. Etym ...
with the doctrine of infant damnation. 'The Almighty,' he explained, 'finds it necessary to do things in His official and public capacity which in His private and personal capacity He deplores.'"


Regain of interest in the 20th century

The influence of Grotius declined following the rise of positivism in the field of international law and the decline of the natural law in philosophy. The Carnegie Foundation has nevertheless re-issued and re-translated ''On the Law of War and Peace'' after the
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. At the end of the 20th century, his work aroused renewed interest as a controversy over the originality of his ethical work developed. For Irwing, Grotius would only repeat the contributions of
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, Dominican Order, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino, Italy, Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest who was an influential List of Catholic philo ...
and
Francisco Suárez Francisco Suárez, (5 January 1548 – 25 September 1617) was a Spanish Jesuit priest, philosopher and theologian, one of the leading figures of the School of Salamanca movement, and generally regarded among the greatest scholastics after Thoma ...
. On the contrary, Schneewind argues that Grotius introduced the idea that "the conflict can not be eradicated and could not be dismissed, even in principle, by the most comprehensive metaphysical knowledge possible of how the world is made up". As far as politics is concerned, Grotius is most often considered not so much as having brought new ideas, but rather as one who has introduced a new way of approaching political problems. For Kingsbury and Roberts, "the most important direct contribution of On the Law of War and Peace"lies in the way it systematically brings together practices and authorities on the traditional but fundamental subject of ''jus belli'', which he organizes for the first time from a body of principles rooted in the law of nature".


Bibliography (selection)

The Peace Palace Library in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
holds the Grotius Collection, which has a large number of books by and about Hugo Grotius. The collection was based on a donation from
Martinus Nijhoff Martinus Nijhoff (20 April 1894, in The Hague – 26 January 1953, in The Hague) was a Dutch poet and essayist. He studied literature in Amsterdam and law in Utrecht. His debut was made in 1916 with his volume ''De wandelaar'' ("The wanderer"). F ...
of 55 editions of ''De jure belli ac pacis libri tres''. Works are listed in order of publication, with the exception of works published posthumously or after long delay (estimated composition dates are given). Where an English translation is available, the most recently published translation is listed beneath the title. * ''Martiani Minei Felicis Capellæ Carthaginiensis viri proconsularis Satyricon, in quo De nuptiis Philologiæ & Mercurij libri duo, & De septem artibus liberalibus libri singulares. Omnes, & emendati, & Notis, siue Februis Hug. Grotii illustrati'' [The Satyricon by Martianus Minneus Felix Capella, a man from Carthage, which includes the two books of 'On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury', and the book named 'On the Seven Liberal Arts'. Everything, including corrections, annotations as well as deletions and illustrations by Hug. Grotius] - 1599 * ''Adamus exul'' (The Exile of Adam; tragedy) – The Hague, 1601 * ''De republica emendanda'' (To Improve the Dutch Republic; manuscript 1601) – pub. The Hague, 1984 * ''Parallelon rerumpublicarum'' (Comparison of Constitutions; manuscript 1601–02) – pub. Haarlem 1801–03 * ''De Indis'' (On the Indies; manuscript 1604–05) – pub. 1868 as ''De Jure Praedae'' * ''Christus patiens'' (The Passion of Christ; tragedy) – Leiden, 1608 * ''Mare Liberum'' (The Free Seas; from chapter 12 of ''De Indis'') – Leiden, 1609 * ''De antiquitate reipublicae Batavicae'' (On the Antiquity of the Batavian Republic) – Leiden, 1610 (An extension of François Vranck's ''Deduction'' of 1587 ) :''The Antiquity of the Batavian Republic'', ed. Jan Waszink and others (van Gorcum, 2000). * ''Meletius'' (manuscript 1611) – pub. Leiden, 1988 :''Meletius'', ed. G.H.M. Posthumus Meyjes (Brill, 1988). * ''Annales et Historiae de rebus Belgicis'' (Annals and History of the Low Countries' War; manuscript 1612-13) – pub. Amsterdam, 1657 :''The Annals and History of the Low-Countrey-warrs'', ed. Thomas Manley (London, 1665): : Modern Dutch translation of the "Annales" only in: Hugo de Groot, "Kroniek van de Nederlandse Oorlog. De Opstand 1559-1588", ed. Jan Waszink (Nijmegen, Vantilt 2014), with introduction, index, plates. * ''Ordinum Hollandiae ac Westfrisiae pietas'' (The Piety of the States of Holland and Westfriesland) – Leiden, 1613 :''Ordinum Hollandiae ac Westfrisiae pietas'', ed. Edwin Rabbie (Brill, 1995). * ''De imperio summarum potestatum circa sacra'' (On the power of sovereigns concerning religious affairs; manuscript 1614–17) – pub. Paris, 1647 :''De imperio summarum potestatum circa sacra'', ed. Harm-Jan van Dam (Brill, 2001). * ''De satisfactione Christi adversus Faustum Socinum'' (On the satisfaction of Christ against he doctrines of Faustus Socinus) – Leiden, 1617 :''Defensio fidei catholicae de satisfactione Christi'', ed. Edwin Rabbie (van Gorcum, 1990). : * ''Inleydinge tot de Hollantsche rechtsgeleertheit'' (Introduction to Dutch Jurisprudence; written in Loevenstein) – pub. The Hague, 1631 :''The Jurisprudence of Holland'', ed. R.W. Lee (Oxford, 1926). * ''Bewijs van den waaren godsdienst'' (Proof of the True Religion; didactic poem) – Rotterdam, 1622 * ''Apologeticus'' (Defense of the actions which led to his arrest (This was for a long time the only source for what transpired during Grotius' trial in 1619, because the trial record was not published at the time. However,
Robert Fruin Robert Jacobus Fruin (11 November 1823 in Rotterdam – 29 January 1899 in Leiden) was a Dutch historian. A follower of Leopold von Ranke, he introduced the scientific study of history in the Netherlands when he was professor of Dutch national his ...
edited this trial record in ) – Paris, 1922 * ''De jure belli ac pacis'' (On the Law of War and Peace) – Paris, 1625 (2nd ed. Amsterdam 1631) :''Hugo Grotius: On the Law of War and Peace''. Student edn. Ed. Stephen C. Neff (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012) * ''De veritate religionis Christianae'' (On the Truth of the Christian religion) – Paris, 1627 :''The Truth of the Christian Religion'', ed. John Clarke (Edinburgh, 1819). * ''Sophompaneas'' (Joseph; tragedy) – Amsterdam, 1635 * ''De origine gentium Americanarum dissertatio'' (Dissertation of the origin of the American peoples) – Paris 1642 * ''Via ad pacem ecclesiasticam'' (The way to religious peace) – Paris, 1642 * ''Annotationes in Vetus Testamentum'' (Commentaries on the Old Testament) – Amsterdam, 1644 * ''Annotationes in Novum Testamentum'' (Commentaries on the New Testament) – Amsterdam and Paris, 1641–50 * ''De fato'' (On Destiny) – Paris, 1648


See also

*
Coenraad van Beuningen Coenraad van Beuningen (1622 – 26 October 1693) was the Dutch Republic's most experienced diplomat, burgomaster of Amsterdam in 1669, 1672, 1680, 1681, 1683 and 1684, and from 1681 a Dutch East India Company director. He probably was bipolar ...
* Emer de Vattel * English school of international relations theory * International waters * 9994 Grotius - an asteroid named after Hugo Grotius


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

See ''Catalogue of the Grotius Collection'' (Peace Palace Library, The Hague) and 'Grotius, Hugo' in ''Dictionary of Seventeenth Century Dutch Philosophers'' (Thoemmes Press 2003). * * Bayle, Pierre. (1720). "Grotius", in ''Dictionaire historique et critique'', 3rd ed. (Rotterdam: Michel Bohm). * Bell, Jordy: ''Hugo Grotius: Historian''. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms, 1980 * * Blom, H. W.; Winkel, L. C.: ''Grotius and the Stoa''. Van Gorcum Ltd, 2004, 332pp * Borschberg, Peter, 2011
''Hugo Grotius, the Portuguese and Free Trade in the East Indies''
Singapore and Leiden: Singapore University Press and KITLV Press. * Brandt, Reinhard: ''Eigentumstheorien von Grotius bis Kant (Problemata)''. Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt: Frommann-Holzboog, 1974, 275pp * * Buckle, Stephen: ''Natural Law and the Theory of Property: Grotius to Hume''. Oxford University Press, USA, 1993, 344pp * Burigny, Jean Lévesque de: ''The Life of the Truly Eminent and Learned Hugo Grotius: Containing a Copious and Circumstantial History of the Several Important and Honourable Negotiations in Which He was Employed; Together with a Critical Account of His Works''. London: printed for A. Millar, 1754. Also Echo Library, 2006. * Butler, Charles: ''The Life of Hugo Grotius: With Brief Minutes of the Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of the Netherlands''. London: John Murray, 1826. * Chappell, Vere: ''Grotius to Gassendi (Essays on Early Modern Philosophers)''. Garland Publishing Inc, New York, 1992, 302pp * * * Dumbauld, Edward, 1969. ''The Life and Legal Writings of Hugo Grotius.'' Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. * Edwards, Charles S., 1981. ''Hugo Grotius, The Miracle of Holland: A Study in Political and Legal Thought''. Chicago: Nelson Hall. * Falk, Richard A.; Kratochwil, Friedrich; Mendlovitz, Saul H.: ''International Law: A Contemporary Perspective (Studies on a Just World Order, No 2)''. Westview Press, 1985, 702pp * Feenstra, Robert; Vervliet, Jeroen: ''Hugo Grotius: Mare Liberum (1609–2009)''. BRILL, 2009, 178pp * Figgis, John Neville: ''Studies of Political Thought from Gerson to Grotius 1414–1625''. Cambridge University Press, 1907, 258pp * Gellinek, Christian: ''Hugo Grotius (Twayne's World Authors Series)''. Twayne Publishers Inc., Boston, U.S., 1986, 161pp * ''Grotiana.'' Assen, The Netherlands: Royal Van Gorcum Publishers. A journal of Grotius studies, 1980–. * Gurvitch, G. (1927). ''La philosophie du droit de Hugo Grotius et la théorie moderne du droit international,''. ''Revue de Metaphysique et de Morale'', vol. 34: 365–391. * Haakonssen, Knud: ''Natural Law and Moral Philosophy: From Grotius to the Scottish Enlightenment''. Cambridge University Press, 1996 * * * Haskell, John D.: ''Hugo Grotius in the Contemporary Memory of International Law: Secularism, Liberalism, and the Politics of Restatement and Denial''. (''Emory International Law Review'', Vol. 25, No. 1, 2011)
H. Grotius in the Contemporary Memory of Intl. Law: Secularism, Liberalism, & the Politics of Restatement & Denial
* Heering, Jan-Paul: ''Hugo Grotius As Apologist for the Christian Religion: A Study of His Work De Veritate Religionis Christianae, 1640 (Studies in the History of Christian Thought)''. Brill Academic, 2004, 304pp * Jeffery, Renée: ''Hugo Grotius in International Thought (Palgrave MacMillan History of International Thought)''. Palgrave Macmillan, 1st edition, 2006, 224pp * Keene, Edward: ''Beyond the Anarchical Society: Grotius, Colonialism and Order in World Politics''. Port Chester, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 2002 * Kingsbury, Benedict: ''A Grotian Tradition of Theory and Practice?: Grotius, Law, and Moral Skepticism in the Thought of Hedley Bull''. (''Quinnipiac Law Review'', No.17, 1997) * Knight, W.S.M., 1925. ''The Life and Works of Hugo Grotius''. London: Sweet & Maxwell, Ltd. * * Lauterpacht, Hersch, 1946, "The Grotian Tradition in International Law," in ''British Yearbook of International Law''. * Leger, James. St. (1962). ''The 'Etiamsi Daremus' of Hugo Grotius: A Study in the Origins of International Law'' (Rome: Pontificium Athenaeum Internationale). * * * Mühlegger, Florian. ''Hugo Grotius. Ein christlicher Humanist in politischer Verantwortung''. Berlin and New York, de Gruyter, 2007, XIV, 546 S. (Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte, 103). * Neff, Stephen C.: ''Hugo Grotius On the Law of War and Peace: Student Edition''. Cambridge University Press, 2012, 546pp * Nellen, Henk J. M., 2007. ''Hugo de Groot: Een leven in strijd om de vrede (official Dutch State biography)''. The Hague: Balans Publishing. * ——— and Rabbie, eds., 1994. ''Hugo Grotius, Theologian''. New York: E.J. Brill. * O'Donovan, Oliver. 2004. "The Justice of Assignment and Subjective Rights in Grotius," in ''Bonds of Imperfection: Christian Politics Past and Present''. * O'Donovan, Oliver; O'Donovan, Joan Lockwood: ''From Irenaeus to Grotius: A Sourcebook in Christian Political Thought''. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999, 858pp * Onuma, Yasuaki (ed.): ''A Normative Approach to War: Peace, War, and Justice in Hugo Grotius''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993, 421pp * Osgood, Samuel: ''Hugo Grotius and the Arminians''. Hila, MT: Kessinger Pub., 2007 * Powell, Jim; Powell, James; Johnson, Paul: ''The Triumph of Liberty: A 2,000 Year History Told Through the Lives of Freedom's Greatest Champions''. Free Press, 1st edition, 2002, 574pp * * Remec, Peter Paul. (1960). ''The Position of the Individual in International Law according to Grotius and Vattel'' (The Hague: Nijhoff). * Rommen, Heinrich: ''The Natural Law: A Study in Legal and Social History and Philosophy'' * Salter, John. (2001) "Hugo Grotius; Property and Consent." Political Theory 29, no. 4, 537–55. * Salter, John: ''Adam Smith and the Grotian Theory of Property''. The British Journal of Politics & International Relations, Volume 12, Issue 1, February 2010, p. 3–21 * Scharf, Michael P.: ''Customary International Law in Times of Fundamental Change: Recognizing Grotian Moments''. Cambridge University Press, 2013 * Scott, Jonathan: ''The Law of war: Grotius, Sidney, Locke and the political theory of rebellion'' in Simon Groenveld and Michael Wintle (eds) ''Britain and the Netherlands, vol. XI The Exchange of Ideas'', pp. 115–32. * Sommerville, Johann P.: ''Selden, Grotius, and the Seventeenth-Century Intellectual Revolution in Moral and Political Theory,'' in Victoria Kahn and
Lorna Hutson Lorna Margaret Hutson, FBA (born 27 November 1958) is the ninth Merton Professor of English Literature and a fellow of Merton College, Oxford. Together with Professor John Hudson, she is a director of the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern ...
, eds., ''Rhetoric and Law in Early Modern Europe''. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2001, pp. 318–44 * Straumann, Benjamin: ''Hugo Grotius und die Antike. Römisches Recht und römische Ethik im frühneuzeitlichen Naturrecht''. Baden-Baden: NOMOS, 2007 * Stumpf, Christoph A., 2006. ''The Grotian Theology of International Law: Hugo Grotius and the Moral Fundament of International Relations''. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. * Takahashi, Sakuyei: ''The Influence of Grotius in the Far East''. Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Law, 1908. *
Johannes Thumfart: "The Economic Theology of Free Trade. On the relationship between Hugo Grotius's ''Mare Liberum'' and Francisco de Vitoria's ''Relectio de Indis recenter inventis''
following Giorgio Agamben's enhancement of Carl Schmitt's notion of Political Theology". In: ''Grotiana'' 30/2009, pp. 65–87. * Tooke, Joan D.: ''The Just War in Aquinas and Grotius''. S.P.C.K, 1965, 337pp * Tuck, Richard: ''Natural Rights Theories: Their Origin and Development''. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1982, 196pp * ———, 1993. ''Philosophy and Government: 1572–1651''. Cambridge Univ. Press. * ———, 1999. ''The Rights of War and Peace: Political Thought and the International Order from Grotius to Kant''. Oxford Univ. Press. * van Ittersum, Martine Julia, 2007
"Preparing ''Mare liberum'' for the Press: Hugo Grotius’ Rewriting of Chapter 12 of ''De iure praedae'' in November-December 1608"
(2005–2007) 26–28 ''Grotiana'' 246 * van Vollenhoven, Cornelius, 1926. ''Grotius and Geneva'', Bibliotheca Visseriana, Vol. VI. * ———, 1919. ''Three Stages in the Evolution of International Law''. The Hague: Nijhoff. * * Weeramantry, Christopher: "The Grotius Lecture Series: Opening Tribute to Hugo Grotius". (''First Grotius Lecture'', 1999) * Wight, Martin: ''International Theory: the Three Traditions''. Leicester University Press for the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1996, 286pp * Wight, Martin (author); Wight, Gabriele (ed.); Porter, Brian (ed.):
Four Seminal Thinkers in International Theory: Machiavelli, Grotius, Kant, and Mazzini
'. Oxford University Press, USA, 2005, 230 pp * Wilson, Eric: ''Savage Republic: De Indis of Hugo Grotius, Republicanism and Dutch Hegemony within the Early Modern World-System (c. 1600–1619)''. Martinus Nijhoff, 2008, 534p * Zuckert, Michael P.: ''Natural Rights and the New Republicanism''. Princeton University Press, 1998, 410pp


External links

Collections * * * *
Works by Hugo Grotius
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Short Title Catalogue Netherlands (STCN)
Individual works by Grotius


''On the Laws of War and Peace'' (Latin, first edition 1625)

''Logicarum disputationum quarta de postpraedicamentis''
disputation, aged 14, at Leiden University
''Physicarum disputationum septima de infinito, loco et vacuo''
disputation, aged 14, at Leiden University Other
Extensive catalogue of Grotius' writings at the Peace Palace Library, The Hague.
Unfortunately, this links leads to: "Forbidden. You don't have permission to access /files/Grotius_Collection.pdf on this server."
The Correspondence of Hugo de Groot (Grotius)
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EMLO
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Hugo Grotius' Quotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grotius, Hugo 1583 births 1645 deaths 17th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Dutch dramatists and playwrights 17th-century Dutch jurists 17th-century Dutch poets 17th-century Dutch political philosophers 17th-century Dutch theologians 17th-century Latin-language writers Ambassadors of Sweden to France Arminian theologians Arminian writers Burials at Nieuwe Kerk, Delft Calvinist and Reformed philosophers Christian apologists Dutch Calvinist and Reformed theologians 17th-century Dutch diplomats Dutch escapees Dutch exiles Dutch expatriates in France Dutch Golden Age writers 17th-century Dutch historians Dutch legal scholars Dutch male dramatists and playwrights Dutch male poets Dutch politicians Dutch Renaissance humanists Erastians Greek–Latin translators Historians of the Dutch Republic International law scholars Leiden University alumni People from Delft Philosophers of law Philosophers of war Philosophy and thought in the Dutch Republic Rationalists Remonstrants