John Selden, Mare Clausum Seu De Dominio Maris … (London, 1635).
In 1609, Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), a Dutch statesman and scholar, anonymously published a work entitled Mare Liberum (in English The Freedom of the Seas), which advocated for ‘free access to the ocean for all nations’.[1] Twenty-six years later in 1635, John Selden (1584-1654), an English lawyer and scholar, published his response, Mare Clausum Seu De Dominio Maris (London, 1635).
John Selden, Mare Clausum Seu De Dominio Maris … (London, 1635). Title page featuring the signature of John Worth (1648-88).
Selden had studied law at Hart Hall, Oxford, as well as at Clifford’s Inn and the Inner Temple, over the course of a decade. His interest in linguistics was established during his time in London which led him to incorporate up to fourteen different languages in his various publications.[2] Mare Clausum was published in Latin to expand the book’s reach as Latin was the academic language of the time. Selden’s work had been written relatively shortly after Grotius’ text appeared but, as Bederman notes, its publication was delayed by James I (1566–1625), King of England, due to fears over potential political fallout with Denmark and the Dutch Republic.[3] Edward Worth’s copy of the 1635 edition was bought by his father, the theologian and dean of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, John Worth (1648-88). The text would prove to be popular, and subsequent editions mirrored the political shifts of the period: in 1652, the work was translated by Marchemont Nedham (bap. 1620, d. 1678), a known anti-monarchist, who completely deleted Selden’s dedication to King Charles I (1600-49), and replaced it with a dedication to parliament.[4] An English-language translation of Mare Clausum published in 1663, following the monarchy’s restoration, is credited as being ‘translated and improved’ by ‘J.H. Gent’, later identified as the royalist James Howell (1594?-1666), who restored the original dedication to Charles I.[5]
While Mare Clausum was written in response to Mare Liberum, it also aimed to justify British fishing rights in the North Sea. He sought to push out Dutch fishing fleets monopolizing the waters and to allow English fishermen to claim those waters for the betterment of their business, as well as ensuring the safety of English ports from the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48).[6] The book begins with definitions of central terms such as ‘sea’ and ‘dominion’.[7] Selden defines the sea as ‘… the whole Sea, as well the main Ocean or Out-land Seas, as those which are within-land, such as Mediterranean, Adriatick, Ægean or Levant, British, and Baltic Seas, or any other of that kinde,…’.[8] As Christianson notes, much of the evidence used in Mare Clausum to defend British sovereignty over the seas was dependent on past claims.[9]
John Selden, Mare Clausum Seu De Dominio Maris … (London, 1635), p. 122. Map of Western Europe.
Selden’s inclusion of three maps of western Europe and England, as well as an image depicting three female allegorical figures representing different regions, was intended to strengthen his claims to England’s ownership over the seas. The map of Western Europe provided in Book II, Chapter I, features a solid border representing the continuation of land and a dotted border to indicate the continuation of the sea. The cardinal directions are presented in Latin around the border of the image, Septentrio (North), Meridies (South), Oriens (East), and Occidens: (West). In the ocean, three fish, or sea creatures are depicted to the west, and a ship heading north within the North Sea. Norway and Denmark are positioned remarkably close to Scotland and England, making the North Sea appear much smaller than it is. On land, mountains are represented in Norway, alongside numerous rivers and inlets throughout Belgium and France. Selden utilises this map to discuss British dominion over the seas surrounding the nation. He names the bodies of water in the text: the seas situated to the north, near the Orkney Islands, were called the ‘Caledonian, and Deucaledonian Sea,’ the sea to the east of England, sharing a border with Germany, he called the ‘German Sea’ and the sea between Britain and Ireland and to the south, along the French shore and northern coast of Spain is all of the ‘British Sea’.[10] The chapter concludes with a summary: ‘That the antient Britains, did enjoy and possess the Sea of the same name; especially the Southern and Eastern part of it, as Lords thereof, together with the Island, before they were brought under the Roman power’.[11]
John Selden, Mare Clausum Seu De Dominio Maris … (London, 1635), p. 239. Illustration of ‘Anglia’.
Later on in the publication another map is presented, this one providing a detailed look at Anglia (England). The map features three ornate compasses and a ‘scale of leagues’ for reference in each corner. From each point on the compasses, faint lines spread across the page, intersecting a little over 100 ‘Chambers or Ports of the King of England’ around some of the coast of the island.[12] As Viera emphasises, Selden believed these sorts of lines drawn with a compass were useful to demarcate the sea.[13] At the top of the image, ‘Scotiæ pars.’ or part of Scotland is noted, as this map solely references English ports of importance. Once again, within the North Sea, there is a fish or sea creature depicted, along with a ship heading North-east. Selden explains the unit used for the scale marker in the bottom right corner, ‘Here you see very large spaces of Sea, intercepted somtimes for above ninetie Miles (for, three English miles here go to everie League) whereby those chambers … are made’.[14]
John Selden, Mare Clausum Seu De Dominio Maris … (London, 1635), p. 147. Illustration of the Saxon Shore forts.
This image represents the Saxon Shore forts and is based on an earlier image in Notitia dignitatum et administrationum omnium tam civilium quam militarium, a manuscript dated to 1436. The Saxon Shore forts were a series of Roman fortifications built in the third century to guard against invasions by Frankish and Saxon tribes. This image is intended to support Selden’s argument that the sea is an extension of the land owned by nations, and therefore must also be defended to protect the nation’s interests. In Chapter 14 of Mare Clausum, Selden supported his claim of England’s ownership over the sea by referencing past Roman dominion over the Sea. By establishing a strong naval presence along the shore their empire remained secure.
The forts listed on the map are as follows: ‘Othona’ [Bradwell-on-Sea, Essex], ‘Dubris’ [Dover, Kent], ‘Lemanni’ [Lympne, Kent], ‘Brandouno’ [Brancaster, Norfolk], ‘Gariaño’ [Burgh Castle, Norfolk, or Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk], ‘Regulbi’ [Reculver, Kent], ‘Rittupis’ [Richborough, Kent], ‘Anderido’ [Pevensey, East Sussex], and ‘Portum Adurni’ [Portchester Castle, Hampshire].
John Selden, Mare Clausum Seu De Dominio Maris (London, 1635), Sig. Rr2 verso. Illustration of allegorical figures representing ‘Asia’, ‘Insulae’, and ‘Heliespontus’.
This illustration of the allegorical figures representing ‘Asia’, ‘Insulae’, and ‘Heliespontus’ is divided into two parts. The top depicts a stand with ‘effigies of the Princes, and the Book of instructions,’ atop a tile floor.[15] The bottom half features three women representing ‘Asia’, ‘Insulae’, and ‘Heliespontus’ each with ‘towred Diadems on their heads’, billowing garments, their hair down, holding ‘vessels full of coin in their hands…’.[16] ‘Asia’ faces away from the viewer, wearing shoes, while ‘Insulae’ and ‘Heliespontus’ face the viewer barefoot. While it may seem out of place, the ‘Ægean Sea itself was reckoned among the Provinces’ and was considered a region to be ruled over furthermore, Hellespont is associated under rule with the Aegean Sea and the territories surrounding.[17] Together they symbolise three provinces with the diadems representative of the equal stature of wealth amongst them. ‘Asia’ represents the Roman province of Asia, (the name later became associated with the entire continent of Asia, but for this time it only referred to the shore of the Aegean Sea). ‘Insulae’ refers to the islands that belonged to Asia and ‘Heliespontus’ was considered a part of ‘Asia’, despite being a strait rather than a region of land.[18] Selden describes Hellespont as ‘that narrow Sea which divide’s Europe from Asia, as for the Sea-coast of Asia,’ known today as the Dardanelles Strait in Turkey.[19] He explains ‘that Hellespont cannot in that place bee any other then the Sea itself, or that Arm of the Sea flowing between, which being this joyned with the Isles to the Proconsulship of Asia…’.[20] The Romans ability to mark a body of water as a region associated within a province sets the precedent for England to do the same within their nation.
Examinations of Mare Clausum note the impact it had on maritime history and law. In instances like the 1637-8 Ship Money case, Selden’s work is credited with providing assistance to the prosecution on the legality of the Ship Money tax.[21] More on the impact of Mare Clausum as it relates to other texts and historical events can be found in the small exhibition ‘Naval and Maritime Life: Medicine, Navigation and Law in Seventeenth-Century England‘.
Text: Ms. Deirdre Kennedy, third-year student of Educational Sociology and Museum Studies, Purchase College, State University of New York.
Sources
Bederman, David J., ‘ The Sea’, in Bardo Fassbender & Anne Peters (eds), The Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law (Oxford, 2012), pp 368-69.
Christianson, Paul, ‘Selden, John (1584-1654)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Onuma, Yasuaki, ‘Hugo Grotius’, Encyclopedia Britannica.
Padwa, David J., ‘On the English Translation of John Selden’s Mare Clausum’, The American Journal of International Law, 54, no. 1 (1960), 156-159.
Raymond, Joad, ‘Nedham [Needham], Marchamont (bap. 1620, d. 1678)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Roberts, John (ed.), ‘Asia, Roman province’, The Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World.
Russell, Conrad, ‘Hampden, John (1595-1643)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Selden, John, Mare Clausum Seu De Dominio Maris … (London, 1635).
Selden, John, Of the Dominion Or, Ownership of the Sea … (London, 1652).
Thornton, Helen, ‘John Selden’s Response to Hugo Grotius: The Argument for Closed Seas,’ International Journal of Maritime History, 18, no. 2 (2006), 105-128.
van Ittersum, Martine Julia, ‘Debating the Free Sea in London, Paris, The Hague and Venice: the publication of John Selden’s Mare Clausum (1635) and its diplomatic repercussions in Western Europe’, History of European Ideas, 47, no.8 (2021), 1193-1210.
Vieira, Monica Brito, ‘Mare Liberum vs. Mare Clausum : Grotius, Freitas, and Selden’s Debate on Dominion over the Seas’, Journal of the History of Ideas, 64, no. 3, (2003), 361-377.
[1] Onuma, Yasuaki, ‘Hugo Grotius’, Encyclopedia Britannica.
[2] Christianson, Paul, ‘Selden, John (d. 1654)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
[3] Bederman, David J., ‘ The Sea’, in Bardo Fassbender & Anne Peters (eds), The Oxford Handbook of the History of International Law (Oxford, 2012), pp 368-69.
[4] Raymond, Joad, ‘Nedham [Needham], Marchamont (d.1678)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
[5] Padwa, David J., ‘On the English Translation of John Selden’s Mare Clausum.’ The American Journal of International Law, 54, no. 1 (1960), 156–59.
[6] Vieira, Monica Brito, ‘Mare Liberum vs. Mare Clausum : Grotius, Freitas, and Selden’s Debate on Dominion over the Seas’, Journal of the History of Ideas, 64, no. 3, (2003), 362. ; Thornton, Helen, ‘John Selden’s Response to Hugo Grotius: The Argument for Closed Seas.’ International Journal of Maritime History, 18, no. 2 (2006), 108.
[7] Christianson, Paul, ‘Selden, John (d. 1654)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
[8] Selden, John, Of the Dominion Or, Ownership of the Sea… (London 1652), p. 12. This English translation is not in the Worth Library.
[9] Christianson, Paul, ‘Selden, John (d. 1654)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
[10] Selden, John, Of the Dominion Or, Ownership of the Sea… (London 1652), pp 184-86.
[11] Ibid., p. 188.
[12] Ibid., p. 370.
[13] Vieira, Monica Brito, ‘Mare Liberum vs. Mare Clausum : Grotius, Freitas, and Selden’s Debate on Dominion over the Seas’, Journal of the History of Ideas, 64, no. 3, (2003), 371.
[14] Selden, John, Of the Dominion Or, Ownership of the Sea… (London 1652), p. 369.
[15] Ibid., p. 84.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid., p. 82.
[18] “Asia, Roman province.” Oxford Reference.
[19] Selden, John, Of the Dominion Or, Ownership of the Sea… (London 1652), pp 83-84.
[20] Ibid., p. 86.
[21] Russell, Conrad, ‘Hampden, John (d. 1643)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.