CHAPTER I. By the Law of Nations navigation is free to all
persons whatsoever 7
II. The Portuguese have no right by title of discovery to sovereignty over the East Indies to which the Dutch make voyages 11
III. The Portuguese have no right of sovereignty over the East Indies by virtue of title based on the Papal Donation 15
IV. The Portuguese have no right of sovereignty over the East Indies by title of war 18
V. Neither the Indian Ocean nor the right of navigation thereon belongs to the Portuguese by title of occupation 22
VI. Neither the Sea nor the right of navigation thereon belongs to the Portuguese by virtue of title based on the Papal Donation 45
VII. Neither the Sea nor the right of navigation thereon belongs to the Portuguese by title of prescription or custom 47
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CAPVT PAGINA VIII. Iure gentium inter quosvis liberam esse mercaturam 61
IX. Mercaturam cum Indis propriam non esse Lusitanorum titulo occupationis 65
X. Mercaturam cum Indis propriam non esse Lusitanorum titulo donationis Pontificiae 66
XI. Mercaturam cum Indis non esse Lusitanorum propriam iure praescriptionis aut consuetudinis 67
XII. Nulla aequitate niti Lusitanos in prohibendo commercio 69
XIII. Batavis ius commercii Indicani, qua pace, qua indutiis, qua bello retinendum 72
Regis Hispaniarum litterae 77
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CHAPTER PAGE VIII. By the Law of Nations trade is free to all persons whatsoever 61
IX. Trade with the East Indies does not belong to the Portuguese by title of occupation 65
X. Trade with the East Indies does not belong to the Portuguese by virtue of title based on the Papal Donation 66
XI. Trade with the East Indies does not belong to the Portuguese by title of prescription or custom 67
XII. The Portuguese prohibition of trade has no foundation in equity 69
XIII. The Dutch must maintain their right of trade with the East Indies by peace, by treaty, or by war 72
Appendix: Two letters of Philip III, King of Spain 77
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AD PRINCIPES POPVLOSQVE LIBEROS ORBIS CHRISTIANI
Error est non minus vetus quam pestilens, quo multi mortales, ii autem maxime qui plurimum vi atque opibus valent, persuadent sibi, aut, quod verius puto, persuadere conantur, iustum atque iniustum non suapte natura, sed hominum inani quadam opinione atque consuetudine distingui. Itaque illi et leges et aequitatis speciem in hoc inventa existimant, ut eorum qui in parendi condicione nati sunt dissensiones atque tumultus coerceantur; ipsis vero qui in summa fortuna sunt collocati, ius omne aiunt ex voluntate, voluntatem ex utilitate metiendam. Hanc autem sententiam absurdam plane atque naturae contrariam auctoritatis sibi nonnihil conciliasse haud adeo mirum est, cum ad morbum communem humani generis, quo sicut vitia ita vitiorum patrocinia sectamur, accesserint adulantium artes quibus omnis potestas obnoxia est.
Sed contra exstiterunt nullo non saeculo viri liberi, sapientes, religiosi, qui falsam hanc persuasionem animis simplicium evellerent ceteros autem eius defensores impudentiae convincerent. Deum quippe esse monstrabant conditorem rectoremque universi, imprimis autem humanae naturae parentem, quam ideo, non uti cetera animantia, in species diversas, variaque discrimina segregasset, sed unius esse generis, una etiam appellatione voluisset contineri,
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TO THE RULERS AND TO THE FREE AND INDEPENDENT NATIONS OF CHRISTENDOM
The delusion is as old as it is detestable with which many men, especially those who by their wealth and power exercise the greatest influence, persuade themselves, or as I rather believe, try to persuade themselves, that justice and injustice are distinguished the one from the other not by their own nature, but in some fashion merely by the opinion and the custom of mankind. Those men therefore think that both the laws and the semblance of equity were devised for the sole purpose of repressing the dissensions and rebellions of those persons born in a subordinate position, affirming meanwhile that they themselves, being placed in a high position, ought to dispense all justice in accordance with their own good pleasure, and that their pleasure ought to be bounded only by their own view of what is expedient. This opinion, absurd and unnatural as it clearly is, has gained considerable currency; but this should by no means occasion surprise, inasmuch as there has to be taken into consideration not only the common frailty of the human race by which we pursue not only vices and their purveyors, but also the arts of flatterers, to whom power is always exposed.
But, on the other hand, there have stood forth in every age independent and wise and devout men able to root out this false doctrine from the minds of the simple, and to convict its advocates of shamelessness. For they showed that God was the founder and ruler of the universe, and especially that being the Father of all mankind, He had not separated human beings, as He had the rest of living things, into different species and various divisions, but had willed them to be of one race and to be known by one name; that
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dedisset insuper originem eandem, similem membrorum compagem, vultus inter se obversos, sermonem quoque et alia communicandi instrumenta, ut intelligerent omnes naturalem inter se societatem esse atque cognationem. Huic autem a se fundatae aut domui aut civitati summum illum principem patremque familias suas quasdam scripsisse leges, non in aere aut tabulis, sed in sensibus animisque singulorum, ubi invitis etiam et aversantibus legendae occurrent his legibus summos pariter atque infimos teneri, in has non plus regibus licere, quam plebi adversus decreta decurionum, decurionibus contra praesidium edicta, praesidibus in regum ipsorum sanctiones. Quin illa ipsa populorum atque urbium singularum iura ex illo fonte dimanare, inde sanctimoniam suam atque maiestatem accipere.
Sicut autem in ipso homine alia sunt quae habet cum omnibus communia, alia quibus ab altero quisque distinguitur, ita earum rerum quas in usum hominis produxisset natura alias eam manere communes, alias cuiusque industria ac labore proprias fieri voluisse, de utrisque autem datas leges, ut communibus quidem sine detrimento omnium omnes uterentur, de ceteris autem quod cuique contigisset eo contentus abstineret alieno.
Haec si homo nullus nescire potest nisi homo esse desierit, haec si gentes viderunt quibus ad verum omne caecutientibus sola naturae fax illuxit, quid vos sentire ac facere aequum est, principes populique Christiani?
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furthermore He had given them the same origin, the same structural organism, the ability to look each other in the face, language too, and other means of communication, in order that they all might recognize their natural social bond and kinship. They showed too that He is the supreme Lord and Father of this family; and that for the household or the state which He had thus founded, He had drawn up certain laws not graven on tablets of bronze or stone but written in the minds and on the hearts of every individual, where even the unwilling and the refractory must read them. That these laws were binding on great and small alike; that kings have no more power against them than have the common people against the decrees of the magistrates, than have the magistrates against the edicts of the governors, than have the governors against the ordinances of the kings themselves; nay more, that those very laws themselves of each and every nation and city flow from that Divine source, and from that source receive their sanctity and their majesty.
Now, as there are some things which every man enjoys in common with all other men, and as there are other things which are distinctly his and belong to no one else, just so has nature willed that some of the things which she has created for the use of mankind remain common to all, and that others through the industry and labor of each man become his own. Laws moreover were given to cover both cases so that all men might use common property without prejudice to any one else, and in respect to other things so that each man being content with what he himself owns might refrain from laying his hands on the property of others.
Now since no man can be ignorant of these facts unless he ceases to be a man, and since races blind to all truth except what they receive from the light of nature, have recognized their force, what, O Christian Kings and Nations, ought you to think, and what ought you to do?
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Si quis durum putat ea a se exigi quae tam sancti nominis professio requirit, cuius minimum est ab iniuriis abstinere, certe quid sui sit offici scire quisque potest ex eo quod alteri praecipit. Nemo est vestrum qui non palam edicat rei quemque suae esse moderatorem et arbitrum: qui non fluminibus locisque publicis cives omnes uti ex aequo et promiscue iubeat, qui non commeandi commercandique libertatem omni ope defendat.
Sine his si parva illa societas, quam rempublicam vocamus, constare non posse iudicatur (et certe constare non potest) quamobrem non eadem illa ad sustinendam totius humani generis societatem atque concordiam erunt necessaria? Si quis adversus haec vim faciat, merito indignamini, exempla etiam pro flagiti magnitudine statuitis, non alia de causa nisi quia ubi ista passim licent status imperi tranquillus esse non potest. Quod si rex in regem, populus in populum inique et violente agat, id nonne ad perturbandam magnae illius civitatis quietem et ad summi custodis spectat iniuriam? Hoc interest, quod sicut magistratus minores de vulgo iudicant, vos de magistratibus, ita omnium aliorum delicta cognoscenda vobis et punienda mandavit rex universi, vestra excepit sibi. Is autem quamquam supremam animadversionem sibi reservat, tardam, occultam, inevitabilem, nihilominus duos a se iudices delegat qui rebus humanis intersint, quos nocentium felicissimus non effugit, conscientiam cuique suam, et famam sive existimationem
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If any one thinks it hard that those things are demanded of him which the profession of a religion so sacred requires, the very least obligation of which is to refrain from injustice, certainly every one can know what his own duty is from the very demands he makes of others. There is not one of you who does not openly proclaim that every man is entitled to manage and dispose of his own property; there is not one of you who does not insist that all citizens have equal and indiscriminate right to use rivers and public places; not one of you who does not defend with all his might the freedom of travel and of trade.
If it be thought that the small society which we call a state cannot exist without the application of these principles (and certainly it cannot), why will not those same principles be necessary to uphold the social structure of the whole human race and to maintain the harmony thereof? If any one rebels against these principles of law and order you are justly indignant, and you even decree punishments in proportion to the magnitude of the offense, for no other reason than that a government cannot be tranquil where trespasses of that sort are allowed. If king act unjustly and violently against king, and nation against nation, such action involves a disturbance of the peace of that universal state, and constitutes a trespass against the supreme Ruler, does it not? There is however this difference: just as the lesser magistrates judge the common people, and as you judge the magistrates, so the King of the universe has laid upon you the command to take cognizance of the trespasses of all other men, and to punish them; but He has reserved for Himself the punishment of your own trespasses. But although He reserves to himself the final punishment, slow and unseen but none the less inevitable, yet He appoints to intervene in human affairs two judges whom the luckiest of sinners does not escape, namely, Conscience, or the innate estimation of oneself, and Public Opinion, or the estimation of others.
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alienam. Haec tribunalia illis patent quibus alia praeclusa sunt; ad haec infirmi provocant; in his vincuntur qui vincunt viribus, qui licentiae modum non statuunt, qui vili putant constare quod emitur humano sanguine, qui iniurias iniuriis defendunt, quorum manifesta facinora necesse est et consentiente bonorum iudicio damnari, et sui ipsorum animi sententia non absolvi.
Ad utrumque hoc forum nos quoque novam causam afferimus; non hercule de stillicidiis aut tigno iniuncto, quales esse privatorum solent, ac ne ex eo quidem genere quod frequens est inter populos, de agri iure in confinio haerentis, de amnis aut insulae possessione; sed de omni prope oceano, de iure navigandi, de libertate commerciorum. Inter nos et Hispanos haec controversa sunt: Sitne immensum et vastum mare regni unius nec maximi accessio; populone cuiquam ius sit volentes populos prohibere ne vendant, ne permutent, ne denique commeent inter sese; potueritne quisquam quod suum numquam fuit elargiri, aut invenire quod iam erat alienum; an ius aliquod tribuat manifesta longi temporis iniuria.
In hac disceptatione ipsis qui inter Hispanos praecipui sunt divini atque humani iuris magistri calculum porrigimus, ipsius denique Hispaniae proprias leges imploramus. Id si nihil iuvat, et eos quos ratio certa convincit cupiditas vetat desistere, vestram principes maiestatem, vestram fidem quotquot estis ubique gentes appellamus.
Non perplexam, non intricatam movemus quaestionem. Non de ambiguis in religione capitibus, quae plurimum
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These two tribunals are open to those who are debarred from all others; to these the powerless appeal; in them are defeated those who are wont to win by might, those who put no bounds to their presumption, those who consider cheap anything bought at the price of human blood, those who defend injustice by injustice, men whose wickedness is so manifest that they must needs be condemned by the unanimous judgment of the good, and cannot be cleared before the bar of their own souls.
To this double tribunal we bring a new case. It is in very truth no petty case such as private citizens are wont to bring against their neighbors about dripping eaves or party walls; nor is it a case such as nations frequently bring against one another about boundary lines or the possession of a river or an island. No! It is a case which concerns practically the entire expanse of the high seas, the right of navigation, the freedom of trade!! Between us and the Spaniards the following points are in dispute: Can the vast, the boundless sea be the appanage of one kingdom alone, and it not the greatest? Can any one nation have the right to prevent other nations which so desire, from selling to one another, from bartering with one another, actually from communicating with one another? Can any nation give away what it never owned, or discover what already belonged to some one else? Does a manifest injustice of long standing create a specific right?
In this controversy we appeal to those jurists among the Spanish themselves who are especially skilled both in divine and human law; we actually invoke the very laws of Spain itself. If that is of no avail, and those whom reason clearly convicts of wrong are induced by greed to maintain that stand, we invoke your majesty, ye Princes, your good faith, ye Peoples, whoever and wherever ye may be.
It is not an involved, it is not an intricate question that I am raising. It is not a question of ambiguous points of
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habere videntur obscuritatis, quae tantis tam diu animis decertata, apud sapientes hoc fere certum reliquerunt, nusquam minus inveniri veritatem quam ubi cogitur assensus. Non de statu nostrae reipublicae, et libertate armis haud parta sed vindicata; de qua recte statuere ii demum possunt qui iura patria Belgarum, mores avitos, et institutum non in leges regnum, sed ex legibus principatum accurate cognoverint, in qua tamen quaestione aequis iudicibus extremae servitutis depulsa necessitas, subtilius inquirentibus decreti* tot nationum publica auctoritas, infensis etiam et malevolis adversariorum confessio nihil dubitandum reliquit.
* [decreta (?); decreti is the reading of the 1633 and 1720 texts].
Sed quod hic proponimus nihil cum istis commune habet, nullius indiget anxiae disquisitionis, non ex divini codicis pendet explicatione, cuius multa multi non capiunt, non ex unius populi scitis quae ceteri merito ignorant.
Lex illa e cuius praescripto iudicandum est, inventu est non difficilis, utpote eadem apud omnes; et facilis intellectu, utpote nata cum singulis, singulorum mentibus insita. Ius autem quod petimus tale est quod nec rex subditis negare debeat, neque Christianus non Christianis. A natura enim oritur, quae ex aequo omnium parens est, in omnes munifica, cuius imperium in eos extenditur qui gentibus imperant, et apud eos sanctissimum est qui in pietate plurimum profecerunt.
Cognoscite hanc causam principes! cognoscite populi! si quid iniquum postulamus, scitis quae vestra et e vobis eorum qui viciniores nobis estis apud nos semper fuerit auctoritas!
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theology which seem to be wrapped in the deepest obscurity, which have been debated already so long and with such heat, that wise men are almost convinced that truth is never so rarely found as when assent thereto is forced. It is not a question of the status of our government and of independence not won by arms but restored. On this point those can reach a right decision who have an accurate knowledge of the ancestral laws and hereditary customs of the people of the Netherlands, and who have recognized that their state is not a kingdom illegally founded but is a government based upon law. In this matter, however, just judges no longer compelled to subordinate their convictions have been persuaded; the public authority of many nations has entirely satisfied those who were seeking a precedent; and the admissions of our adversaries have left even the foolish and malevolent no room for doubt.
But what I here submit has nothing in common with these matters. It calls for no troublesome investigation. It does not depend upon an interpretation of Holy Writ in which many people find many things they cannot understand, nor upon the decrees of any one nation of which the rest of the world very properly knows nothing.
The law by which our case must be decided is not difficult to find, seeing that it is the same among all nations; and it is easy to understand, seeing that it is innate in every individual and implanted in his mind. Moreover the law to which we appeal is one such as no king ought to deny to his subjects, and one no Christian ought to refuse to a non-Christian. For it is a law derived from nature, the common mother of us all, whose bounty falls on all, and whose sway extends over those who rule nations, and which is held most sacred by those who are most scrupulously just.
Take cognizance of this cause, ye Princes, take cognizance of it, ye Nations! If we are making an unjust demand, you know what your authority and the authority of
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Monete, parebimus. Quin si quid a nobis hac in re peccatum est, iram vestram, odium denique humani generis non deprecamur. Sin contra se res habet, quid vobis censendum, quid agendum sit, vestrae religioni et aequitati relinquimus.
Olim inter populos humaniores summum nefas habebatur armis eos impetere qui res suas arbitris permitterent, contra qui tam aequam condicionem recusarent, ii non ut unius sed ut omnium hostes ope communi comprimebantur. Itaque eam in rem videmus icta foedera, iudices constitutos. Reges ipsi validaeque gentes nihil aeque gloriosum ac magnificum deputabant, quam aliorum coercere insolentiam, aliorum infirmitatem atque innocentiam sublevare. Qui si mos hodieque obtineret, ut humani nihil a se alienum* homines arbitrarentur, profecto orbe non paulo pacatiore uteremur; refrigesceret enim multorum audacia, et qui iustitiam utilitatis causa nunc negligunt, iniustitiam damno suo dediscerent.
* [Cf. Terence, Hautontimorumenos 77].
Sed hoc ut in causa istac non frustra forte speramus, ita illud certo confidimus, bene rebus expensis existimaturos vos omnes imputari nobis non magis posse pacis moras, quam belli causas; ac proinde uti hactenus amici nobis faventes atque benevoli fuistis, ita vos aut etiam magis in posterum fore, quo nihil optatius iis potest contingere qui primam partem felicitatis putant bene facere, alteram bene audire.
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those of you who are our nearer neighbors has always been so far as we are concerned. Caution us, we will obey. Verily, if we have done any wrong in this our cause, we will not deprecate your wrath, nor even the hatred of the human race. But if we are right, we leave to your sense of righteousness and of fairness what you ought to think about this matter and what course of action you ought to pursue.
In ancient times among the more civilized peoples it was held to be the greatest of all crimes to make war upon those who were willing to submit to arbitration the settlement of their difficulties; but against those who declined so fair an offer all others turned, and with their combined resources overwhelmed them, not as enemies of any one nation, but as enemies of them all alike. So for this very object we see that treaties are made and arbiters appointed. Kings themselves and powerful nations used to think that nothing was so chivalrous or so noble as to coerce the insolent and to help the weak and innocent.
If today the custom held of considering that everything pertaining to mankind pertained also to one’s self, we should surely live in a much more peaceable world. For the presumptuousness of many would abate, and those who now neglect justice on the pretext of expediency would unlearn the lesson of injustice at their own expense.
We have felt that perhaps we were not entertaining a foolish hope for our cause. At all events we are confident that you will all recognize after duly weighing the facts in the case that the delays to peace can no more be laid to our charge than can the causes of war; and as hitherto you have been indulgent, even favorably disposed to us, we feel sure that you will not only remain in this mind, but be even more friendly to us in the future. Nothing more to be desired than this can come to men who think that the first condition of happiness is good deeds; the second, good repute.
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CAPVT I
_Iure gentium quibusvis ad quosvis liberam esse navigationem_
Propositum est nobis breviter ac dilucide demonstrare ius esse Batavis, hoc est, Ordinum Foederatorum Belgico-Germaniae subditis ad Indos, ita uti navigant navigare, cumque ipsis commercia colere. Fundamentum struemus hanc iuris gentium, quod primarium vocant regulam certissimam, cuius perspicua atque immutabilis est ratio; licere cuivis genti quamvis alteram adire, cumque ea negotiari.
Deus hoc ipse per naturam loquitur, cum ea cuncta quibus vita indiget, omnibus locis suppeditari a natura non vult: artibus etiam aliis alias gentes dat excellere. Quo ista, nisi quod voluit mutua egestate et copia humanas foveri amicitias, ne singuli se putantes sibi ipsis sufficere, hoc ipso redderentur insociabiles? Nunc factum est ut gens altera alterius suppleret inopiam, divinae iustitiae instituto, ut eo modo (sicut Plinius dicit[1a]) quod genitum esset uspiam, apud omnes natum videretur. Poetas itaque canentes audimus:
_Nec vero terrae ferre omnes omnia possunt._[2a]
Item:
_Excudent alii_,
et quae sequuntur.[3a]
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