Hugo Grotius

Hugo Grotius (1583–1645), born at Delft, was a Dutch humanist jurist and a child prodigy who entered Leiden University at eleven. He later became an advocate at The Hague.

His Mare Liberum of 1609 argued that the sea was open to all nations, challenging Portuguese claims to exclusive Asian trade. Drawn into the Republic's religious conflicts on the Arminian side, he was imprisoned in Loevestein Castle after 1618 and escaped in 1621 hidden in a chest of books.

In Paris he published De jure belli ac pacis in 1625, a foundation of modern international law. From 1634 he served Sweden as ambassador to France. After being shipwrecked he died at Rostock in 1645.