Mare Liberum

Mare Liberum
The title page of the copy of Grotius' Mare Liberum in the Peace Palace Library
AuthorHugo Grotius
Original titleMare Liberum, sive de jure quod Batavis competit ad Indicana commercia dissertatio
TranslatorRichard Hakluyt
LanguageLatin
SubjectLaw of the sea
GenreLaw
PublisherLodewijk Elzevir
Publication date
1609
Publication placeDutch Republic
Published in English
2004
OCLC21552312

Mare Liberum (or The Freedom of the Seas) is a book in Latin on international law written by the Dutch jurist and philosopher Hugo Grotius, first published in 1609. In The Free Sea, Grotius formulated the new principle that the sea was international territory and all nations were free to use it for seafaring trade. The disputation was directed towards the Portuguese Mare clausum policy and their claim of monopoly on the East Indian Trade.