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23 - Property

from Part IV - Grotius as a Legal Scholar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 September 2021

By
Bart Wauters
Edited by
Randall Lesaffer  and
Janne E. Nijman
Randall Lesaffer
Affiliation:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Janne E. Nijman
Affiliation:
Universiteit van Amsterdam
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Summary

Grotius’s theory of property was meant to yield practical results. The principle of the freedom of the seas, for instance, was based on the idea of seizure as a constituent element of property and exclusivity. This focus on practical results enables a secularized reading of his theory of property. However, some essential aspects of his property theory are not entirely comprehensible without taking into account Grotius’s wider theological framework. Therefore, in this article I will focus on Grotius’s idea of consent to the principle of first occupation as the foundation of his property theory, and link it with his theologically loaded conceptions of man’s freedom and equality, or the universal fellowship of humankind.

Keywords

Grotiuspropertyfreedom of the seasnecessityhumankindoccupationterritoryconsentself-love
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Hugo Grotius , pp. 492 - 512
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Further Reading

Buckle, S., Natural Law and the Theory of Property. Grotius to Hume (Oxford, 1991).Google Scholar
Fitzmaurice, A., Sovereignty, Property and Empire, 1500–2000 (Cambridge, 2014).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klimchuk, D., ‘Grotius on property and the right of necessity’, Journal for the History of Philosophy 56 (2018) 239–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nijman, J.E., ‘Grotius’ Imago Dei anthropology: grounding Ius Naturae et Gentium’, in Koskenniemi, M., García-Salmones Rovira, M. and Amorosa, R. (eds.), International Law and Religion. Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (Oxford, 2017), 87–110.Google Scholar
Salter, J., ‘Hugo Grotius: property and consent’, Political Theory 29 (2001) 537–55.Google Scholar
Straumann, B., Roman Law in the State of Nature. The Classical Foundations of Hugo Grotius’ Natural Law (Cambridge, 2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tierney, B., The Idea of Natural Rights. Studies on Natural Rights, Natural Law and Church Law, 1150–1625 (Atlanta, GA, 1997).Google Scholar
Tuck, R., Natural Rights Theories. Their Origin and Development (Cambridge, 1979).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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  • Property
  • Edited by Randall Lesaffer, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, Janne E. Nijman, Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Hugo Grotius
  • Online publication: 03 September 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108182751.030
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  • Property
  • Edited by Randall Lesaffer, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, Janne E. Nijman, Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Hugo Grotius
  • Online publication: 03 September 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108182751.030
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Property
  • Edited by Randall Lesaffer, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, Janne E. Nijman, Universiteit van Amsterdam
  • Book: The Cambridge Companion to Hugo Grotius
  • Online publication: 03 September 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108182751.030
Available formats
×