«Gobernar el mundo». La polémica Mare Liberum versus Mare Clausum en las Indias Orientales (1603-1625)

Abstract

In 1603, the Dutch captured the Portuguese ship Santa Catarina in Southeast Asia. Consequently, a contentious intellectual debate over the freedom and dominance of the sea ensued. The dispute pitted against each other some of the most notable publicists from Holland and the Spanish Monarchy, including Hugo Grotius and Serafin de Freitas. This controversy had great significance in Europe during seventeenth century and beyond.