Santa Catarina (ship)
Encyclopedia
Santa Catharina was a Portuguese
merchant ship, a 150 ton carrack
, that was seized by the Dutch East India Company
(also known as V.O.C) during February, 1603 off Singapore
. It was such a rich prize that its sale proceeds doubled the capital of the V.O.C.
At dawn of February 25, 1603 three Dutch ships under the eventual command of Admiral Jacob van Heemskerk
spotted the carrack at anchor off the Eastern coast of Singapore. The ship was travelling from Macau
to Melaka, laden with products from China
and Japan
, including 1200 bale
s of Chinese raw silk, worth 2.2 million guilders. The cargo was particularly valuable because it contained several hundred ounces of musk
. After a couple of hours of fighting, the Dutch managed to subdue the crew who forfeited the cargo and the ship, in return for the safety of their lives. The Amsterdam Admiralty Court declared the captured carrack good prize on September 4, 1604.
This period marked the start of the Dutch–Portuguese War that would end of the Portuguese monopoly on trade in the East Indies
. The Dutch who had found about the trade routes in 1596 due to another Dutchman, Jan Huyghen van Linschoten
, were attempting to appropriate some of that wealth for themselves.
questionable under Dutch statute, but a faction of shareholders (mostly Mennonite
) in the Company also objected to the forceful seizure on moral grounds, and of course, the Portuguese demanded the return of their cargo. The scandal led to a public judicial hearing and a wider campaign to sway public (and international) opinion. It was in this wider contest that representatives of the Company called upon jurist Hugo Grotius
to draft a polemic
al defence of the seizure.
Grotius sought to ground his defense of the seizure in terms of the natural principles of justice
. One chapter of his long theory-laden treatise entitled De Indis made it to the press in the form of the influential pamphlet, Mare Liberum.
In The Free Sea (Mare Liberum, published 1609) Grotius formulated the new principle that the sea was international territory, against the Portuguese Mare clausum
policy, and all nation
s were free to use it for seafaring trade
. Grotius, by claiming 'free seas', provided suitable ideological justification for the Dutch breaking up of various trade monopolies
through its formidable naval power.
England
, competing fiercely with the Dutch for domination of world trade, opposed this idea, redefining the mare Clausum principles . As conflicting claims grew out of the controversy, maritime states came to moderate their demands and base their maritime claims on the principle that it extended seawards from land. A workable formula was found by Cornelius Bynkershoek
in his De dominio maris (1702), restricting maritime dominion to the actual distance within which cannon range could effectively protect it. This became universally adopted and developed into the three-mile limit
.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
merchant ship, a 150 ton carrack
Carrack
A carrack or nau was a three- or four-masted sailing ship developed in 15th century Western Europe for use in the Atlantic Ocean. It had a high rounded stern with large aftcastle, forecastle and bowsprit at the stem. It was first used by the Portuguese , and later by the Spanish, to explore and...
, that was seized by the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
(also known as V.O.C) during February, 1603 off Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. It was such a rich prize that its sale proceeds doubled the capital of the V.O.C.
At dawn of February 25, 1603 three Dutch ships under the eventual command of Admiral Jacob van Heemskerk
Jacob van Heemskerk
Jacob van Heemskerk was a Dutch explorer and later admiral commanding the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Gibraltar.-Arctic exploration:...
spotted the carrack at anchor off the Eastern coast of Singapore. The ship was travelling from Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
to Melaka, laden with products from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, including 1200 bale
Bale
- Places :* Bale , a small town in Croatia* Bale, California, in Napa County* Bale, Norfolk in England* Bale, Poland* Balé Province, Burkina Faso* Basel, the Swiss city, for which the French name is Bâle-Ethiopia:* Bale Mountains...
s of Chinese raw silk, worth 2.2 million guilders. The cargo was particularly valuable because it contained several hundred ounces of musk
Musk
Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. Musk was a name originally given to a substance with a...
. After a couple of hours of fighting, the Dutch managed to subdue the crew who forfeited the cargo and the ship, in return for the safety of their lives. The Amsterdam Admiralty Court declared the captured carrack good prize on September 4, 1604.
This period marked the start of the Dutch–Portuguese War that would end of the Portuguese monopoly on trade in the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
. The Dutch who had found about the trade routes in 1596 due to another Dutchman, Jan Huyghen van Linschoten
Jan Huyghen van Linschoten
Jan Huyghen van Linschoten was a Dutch Protestant merchant, traveller and historian. An alternate spelling of second name is Huijgen....
, were attempting to appropriate some of that wealth for themselves.
Santa Catarina and the Mare Clausum versus Mare Liberum controversy
The Dutch were at war with Spain and Portugal when Santa Catarina was captured. Though Heemskerk did not have authorization from the company or the government to initiate the use of force, many shareholders were eager to accept the riches that he brought back to them. Not only was the legality of keeping the prizePrize (law)
Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo as a prize of war. In the past, it was common that the capturing force would be allotted...
questionable under Dutch statute, but a faction of shareholders (mostly Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
) in the Company also objected to the forceful seizure on moral grounds, and of course, the Portuguese demanded the return of their cargo. The scandal led to a public judicial hearing and a wider campaign to sway public (and international) opinion. It was in this wider contest that representatives of the Company called upon jurist Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius
Hugo Grotius , also known as Huig de Groot, Hugo Grocio or Hugo de Groot, was a jurist in the Dutch Republic. With Francisco de Vitoria and Alberico Gentili he laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law...
to draft a polemic
Polemic
A polemic is a variety of arguments or controversies made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion...
al defence of the seizure.
Grotius sought to ground his defense of the seizure in terms of the natural principles of justice
Natural law
Natural law, or the law of nature , is any system of law which is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal. Classically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. Natural law is contrasted with the positive law Natural...
. One chapter of his long theory-laden treatise entitled De Indis made it to the press in the form of the influential pamphlet, Mare Liberum.
In The Free Sea (Mare Liberum, published 1609) Grotius formulated the new principle that the sea was international territory, against the Portuguese Mare clausum
Mare clausum
Mare clausum is a term used in international law to mention a sea, ocean or other navigable body of water under the jurisdiction of a state that is closed or not accessible to other states. Mare clausum is an exception to mare liberum , meaning a sea that is open to navigation to ships of all...
policy, and all nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
s were free to use it for seafaring trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
. Grotius, by claiming 'free seas', provided suitable ideological justification for the Dutch breaking up of various trade monopolies
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
through its formidable naval power.
England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, competing fiercely with the Dutch for domination of world trade, opposed this idea, redefining the mare Clausum principles . As conflicting claims grew out of the controversy, maritime states came to moderate their demands and base their maritime claims on the principle that it extended seawards from land. A workable formula was found by Cornelius Bynkershoek
Cornelius Bynkershoek
Cornelis van Bijnkershoek was a Dutch jurist and legal theorist who contributed to the development of international law in works like De Dominio Maris Dissertatio ; Observationes Juris Romani , of which a continuation in four books appeared in 1733; the treatise De foro...
in his De dominio maris (1702), restricting maritime dominion to the actual distance within which cannon range could effectively protect it. This became universally adopted and developed into the three-mile limit
Three-mile limit
The three-mile limit refers to a traditional and now largely obsolete conception of the international law of the seas which defined a country's territorial waters, for the purposes of trade regulation and exclusivity, as extending as far as the reach of cannons fired from land.In Mare clausum John...
.
Further reading
- Borschberg, Peter, Hugo Grotius, the Portuguese and Free Trade in the East Indies, Singapore and Leiden: NUS Press and KITLV Press, 2011.
- Borschberg, Peter, The Singapore and Melaka Straits: Violence, Security and Diplomacy in the 17th Century, Leiden and Singapore: KITLV Press and NUS Press, 2010.
- Borschberg, Peter, "The Seizure of the Santa Catarina Revisited: The Portuguese Empire in Asia, VOC Politics and the Origins of the Dutch-Johor Alliance (c. 1602–1616)", Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 33.1 (2002): 31–62. (This article can be downloaded free of charge at www.cambride.org, DOI: 10.1017/S0022463402000024)
- van Ittersum, Martine Julia, "Hugo Grotius in Context: Van Heemskerk’s Capture of the Santa Catarina and Its Justification in De Jure Praedae (1604–1606)", Asian Journal of Social Sciences, 31.3 (2003): 511–48.