William Welwod facts for kids
William Welwod (born 1578, died 1622) was a Scottish legal expert. He was the first person to write down the rules for how countries should use the sea in an English-like language. These rules are called laws of the sea.
Welwod taught civil law at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. He worked there until 1611, when he left his job and moved to England.
Understanding Sea Laws
William Welwod is best known for disagreeing with another legal expert named Hugo Grotius. Grotius had an idea called Mare Liberum, which means "Free Sea." This idea said that the seas and oceans should be free for everyone to use. No country should own them.
Welwod, however, believed that in some cases, countries could claim special rights over the waters near their land. These areas are called territorial waters. He used ideas from the Bible to support his arguments.
Welwod's Books
Welwod wrote an important book about sea laws called The sea-law of Scotland. It was published in 1590. This was one of the first books ever written about sea laws. Welwod wrote it for Scottish sailors and merchants. He wanted the rules to be easy to understand.
Later, Welwod updated his book. In 1613, he published An Abridgement of All Sea-Lawes. This new book included a part that argued against Hugo Grotius's "Free Sea" idea. Welwod then wrote a whole book just about this topic in 1615, called De dominio maris.
Why Welwod Disagreed
Welwod was worried about Grotius's ideas because they could affect fishing. Large Dutch fishing fleets were catching many herring in Scottish waters. Welwod believed this was hurting the fishing industry along the Scottish east coast. He thought Grotius's "Free Sea" idea might make it harder for Scotland to protect its fishing areas.
Grotius's Response
Hugo Grotius wrote a response to Welwod. It was called Defensio capitis quinti Maris Liberi oppugnati a Gulielmo Welwodo. This means "Defense of the fifth chapter of Mare Liberum, opposed by William Welwod." Grotius wrote it around 1615, but it wasn't published until much later, in 1872.
In his response, Grotius explained that Welwod had misunderstood him. Grotius said his book was not mainly about Dutch fishing in Scottish waters. Instead, it was mostly about the right of the Dutch to trade with countries in the East Indies.
