Author: [USSELINCX, Willem].
Title: Onpartydich discours opte handelinghe vande Indien.[ca. 1608]. 4to. Modern blue paper wrappers, blank label on the front wrapper.
Description: [8] pp.The first of two editions (Landwehr) of Usselincx’s treatise on the importance of Dutch trade and commerce in the East and West Indies. This short book was part of the pamphlet war that accompanied the negotiations for an armistice between the Dutch States General and Spain that had been going on since 1606. During the negotiations, the Spanish side began to contest the right of the VOC to free passage and to free trade with the East and West Indies. The Flemish Dutch merchant Willem Usselincx (1567 - c. 1647) became one of the most outspoken critics of these planned restricions that would seriously affect his and his fellow merchant’s interest. His “Onpartydich discours opte handelinghe vande Indien” was, as could be expected, a not so much impartial comparison between the Spanish and Dutch interests in this matter. Usselincx took a firm stand on the Dutch side, arguing that the right to free passage and trade is a natural and innate freedom that should not become the bargaining chip of international politics. Similar arguments were brought forward just a year later in Hugo Grotius’ influential “Mare Liberum”, another work stemming from the conflict around access and trade.The book is in very good shape, a small repair has been made to the paper in the blank top margin on the first sheet.l Asher 36, Knuttel 1436, Kress 305, Landwehr 51, Sabin 98206, STCN 860182541.

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