Our exhibit produces an article: "Grotius and the Freedom of the Seas"
Edward Gordon, my esteemed co-curator for our Fall 2009 exhibit, “Freedom of the Seas, 1609: Grotius and the Emergence of International Law,” has published an article based on the exhibit:
Edward Gordon, Grotius and the Freedom of the Seas in the Seventeenth Century, 16 WILLAMETTE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW & DISPUTE RESOLUTION 252 (2008).
Gordon’s article is a much-expanded version of the introduction and captions he produced for the exhibit, which marked the 400th anniversary of the publication of Grotius’ Mare liberum. He writes,
“Mare liberum has become something of an icon in international law, not only for providing the first effective argument for the freedom of the seas in modern times, but in combination with Grotius’s more mature work, De jure belli ac pacis (1625), for reinvigorating the natural law of ancient times as a transcendent legal regime in the service of the common good.”
Gordon has provided a thorough, concise, and lively account of the origins of Grotius’s Mare liberum, the learned and passionate debates it engendered throughout Europe, and its continuing legacy in international law. Thanks, Ed!
MIKE WIDENER
Rare Book Librarian
At right: Portrait of Hugo Grotius from volume 1 of an anonymous commentary on Grotius, Hugonis Grotii, Belgarum phoenicis, manes ab iniquis obtrectationibus vindicati (Leipzig, 1727). The artist has placed Mare liberum just below the portrait on the right.
