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Grotius, Hugo

Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences

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Synonyms

Hugo de Groot

Related Topics

Natural law; Samuel von Pufendorf

Introduction

A preeminent early modern humanist, Hugo Grotius (1583–1645) managed to combine a high-profile international career in politics with acclaimed scholarly achievements across numerous fields – including in ethics, law, theology, history, and philology. Today, Grotius is best known for his contributions to international law and the ethics of war.

Grotius’s Works and Significance

A leading statesman in the newly independent Dutch Republic, Grotius was imprisoned for treason when his Arminian faction lost out to the Calvinists in 1618. After a spectacular prison-break, he spent the remainder of his life in Paris working as a top-diplomat for the French and Swedish crown (Nellen 2014).

Grotius’s first contribution to international law is his juvenile Mare liberum(1609) – the ninth chapter of an otherwise unpublished treatise on the law of prize and booty. In that text, he pleaded for the freedom of trade...

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References

  • Nellen H (2014) Hugo Grotius: a lifelong struggle for peace in church and state, 1583–1645. Brill, Leiden

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  • Olsthoorn J (2018) Grotius and the early modern tradition. In: May L (ed) Cambridge handbook of the just war. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 33–56

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Johan Olsthoorn

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  1. Johan Olsthoorn
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Correspondence to Johan Olsthoorn .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Dana Jalobeanu

  2. Dept. of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University Dept. Philosophy & Moral Sci, Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

    Charles T. Wolfe

Section Editor information

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Dana Jalobeanu

  2. Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Sarton Centre for History of Science, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Charles T. Wolfe

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Olsthoorn, J. (2019). Grotius, Hugo. In: Jalobeanu, D., Wolfe, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_457-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_457-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20791-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20791-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Grotius, Hugo
    Published:
    25 May 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_457-2

  2. Original

    Grotius, Hugo
    Published:
    21 March 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_457-1

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