Hugo Grotius, East India Trade and the King of Johor

Abstract

This article examines various aspects of the formulation of the Dutch East India Company's treaty and alliance system, based on published and unpublished papers written by, or in the possession of, Hugo Grotius (1583–1645). In particular the study draws on his commentary on the Sultan of Johor in De Jure Praedae, and his submissions to the Indies Conferences of 1613 and 1615.