Colonial Design in European International Law of the Seventeenth Century 1

Questioning the part played by non-European territories and peoples in the formation of international law of the seventeenth century, we may trace two different aspects. First, we will have to ask which role theoretical discussion in Europe provided for non-European political units within international law. This appears to be particularly worth pursuing with respect to the seventeenth century in view of the vivid discussion about the issue in the century before. Second, we may trace the political functionalising of non-European territories over which European states thought themselves to possess authority in interstate treaties within Europe.