Of the Dominion, Or, Ownership of the Sea

Selden, John. Mare Clausum. Of the Dominion, or, Ownership of the Sea. Two Books: In the First, is Shew'd that the Sea, by the Law of Nature, or Nations, is Not Common to All Men but Capable of Private Dominion or Proprietie as well as the Land in the Second, is Proved That the Dominion of the British Sea, or That Which Incompasseth the Isle of Great Britain, is, and Ever Hath Been, a Part or Appendant of the Empire of that Island. Written at First in Latin and Entituled Mare Clausum, Seu, De Dominio Maris. Translated into English and set Forth with Som Additional Evidences and Discourses by Marchmont Nedham. London: William Du-Gard, 1652. xliii, 200, 37 pp. Reprinted 2004 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN 1-58477-272-7. Cloth. $110. * Reprint of the first edition in English. Mare Clausum (Dominion of the Sea) is the most famous British reply to the argument of Grotius's Mare Liberum, which denied the validity of England's claim to the high seas south and east of England. Selden [1584-1654], argued that England's jurisdiction extends, in fact, to all waters surrounding the isles. His use of common-law principles to rebut Grotius's philosophical argument is quite impressive. Holdsworth notes that his case was enriched by "a vast historical knowledge," replete with references to the customs of peoples from the times of the Greeks to his time.": Holdsworth, A History of English Law V: 10-11.