The Workshop “Freedom of the seas and freedom of the individual: a historical appraisal” is part of the research project on “Freedom of the seas and human rights protection”, lead by Professor Irini Papanicolopulu at SOAS University of London. The Workshop marks the conclusion of the first stage of the research project, which had as its aim to trace and critically assess the interaction between the genesis and development of the principle of freedom of the seas and its impact on people, including legacy of colonial domination and the slave trade. The Workshop will bring together historians and lawyers to further explore and debate the relationship between freedom of the seas, as a concept and as a legal principle, and freedom of persons in a historical perspective, focusing on the XV-XIX centuries.
The Workshop is entirely funded by the British Academy and all participants take part in their personal capacity.
Structure
The Workshop will be a small, closed workshop, and will consist of two parts.
In the first part of the Workshop, we will discuss 6 draft papers by Stefano Cattelan, Ki-Won Hong, Abid Hussain, Andrea Longo, Mikki Stelder, and David Wilson. Each paper will be introduced and commented upon by a discussant. Discussants include Hassan Khalilieh, Renisa Mawani (TBC), Irini Papanicolopulu, Mark Somos, and Martine Van Ittersum.
The plan is to devote 30 minutes to each draft paper and, while we have some flexibility, this is a likely allocation of time:
- Introduction of the paper and comments on its content by the Discussant (10 minutes)
- Short reply by the author of the paper (5 minutes)
- General discussion (15 minutes)
The second part of the Workshop will consist of a roundtable discussion of current trends and future prospects of historical research on freedom of the seas and its relationship to individual freedom, which will see the participation of all authors and discussants, as well as other colleagues from SOAS. To facilitate discussions, you will find hereunder a list of discussion prompts; please have a look at them in advance of the workshop and consider which one(s) you would like to address in the roundtable, keeping in mind that we will focus on the XV-XIX centuries.
- Historically, who could benefit from the freedom of the seas? And to what purpose?
- What consequences did this produce upon the determination of the rights (and the duties) that states, non-state entities, and individuals had at sea and over the sea?
- What relationship, if any, did freedom of the seas, as a legal principle, have with the migration of populations from Europe to the Americas?
- How does the freedom of the seas reflect the deeply entrenched patterns of domination that characterise much of early international law?
- To what extent (if any) could freedom of the sea be considered to embody also different values?
- Were there conceptualisations of the principle of freedom of the sea that were not based upon the European model?
- What legal tools were developed to allow some actors to freely use the seas while limiting the freedom of others?
- Which actors were most relevant at sea, and how does the private/public divide factor into this?
- Why were some empires/State powers particularly proactive in attempting to legally defend their arguments? Why others were quite silent?
- Why are all European authors from the XV-XVIII centuries were silent on the slave trade, which was taking place when they were writing?
- Which aspects of the principle of freedom of the seas have received sufficient attention by scholars? Conversely, which aspects would benefit from further research?
- 11.30-11.45: Welcome and introduction (Irini Papanicolopulu)
- 11.45-12.15: ‘Regulating waterways and controlling maritime mobilities in the early modern world, c. 1500-1800’ by David Wilson. Discussant: Renisa Mawani (TBC)
- 12.15-12.45: ‘Freedom of the Seas in the Age of Piracy: Exploring the Role of Piracy in Shaping and Challenging the Legal Principles of Maritime Freedom’ by Abid Hussain. Discussant: Hassan Khalilieh
- 13.45-14.15: 'The freedom of the sea beyond Grotius’ Mare liberum: the case of the Austrian Law Countries and the Ostend Company (c. 1700-1731)’ by Stefano Cattelan. Discussant: Martine Van Ittersum
- 14.15-14.45: ‘Understanding Freedom of the Seas before Grotius: an analysis of contributions by Rodrigo Suarez, Francisco de Vitoria, Vazquez de Menchaca and Alberico Gentili on Freedom of the Seas’ by Andrea Longo. Discussant: Mark Somos
- 14.45-15.15: ‘Ocean as Perpetual Res Nullius’ by Mikki Stelder. Discussant: Irini Papanicolopulu
- 15.15-15.45: ‘Fernando Vázquez de Menchaca’s Natural Law Theory on the Rights of the Individual and the Freedom of the Seas: Used by Spanish Monarchs for Imperialist Purposes’ by Ki- Won Hong. Discussant: TBC 15.45-16.15: Coffee break
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