The Law of Nations: Or, Principles of the Law of Nature, Applied to the Conduct and Affairs of Nations and Sovereigns

Emmerich de Vattel

doi:10.1017/CBO9781139095396

This enormously influential work by Swiss diplomat and jurist Emmerich de Vattel (1714–76) was first published in 1758, and is credited with shaping modern international law by applying natural law to international relations. Its argument for liberty and equality proved influential upon the American Declaration of Independence, with Benjamin Franklin commenting on its usefulness to the drafters. The book was translated into English in 1760, 1787, and 1797: the latter version was revised by Joseph Chitty the elder (1775–1841), a barrister and one of the most prolific legal writers of his day, who published more than twenty books on law in his lifetime, and also served as tutor or mentor to some of the most influential lawyers of nineteenth-century England. First published in 1834, Chitty's version amends the errors of the anonymous 1797 translation, as well as revising and expanding the explanatory notes.

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-i
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Colophon
pp ii-ii
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PREFACE TO THE PRESENT EDITION
pp iii-iv
- By Joseph Chitty
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ADVERTISEMENT TO EDITION OF A.D. 1797
pp v-vi
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PREFACE
pp vii-xviii
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Contents
pp xix-lii
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PRELIMINARIES
pp liii-lxviii
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BOOK I - OF NATIONS CONSIDERED IN THEMSELVES
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CHAP. I - Of Nations or Sovereign States
pp 1-4
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CHAP. II - General Principles of the Duties of a Nation towards herself
pp 4-10
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CHAP. III - Of the Constitution of a State, and the Duties and Rights of a Nation in that respect
pp 10-15
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CHAP. IV - Of the Sovereign, his Obligations, and his Rights
pp 15-27
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CHAP. V - Of States Elective, Successive, or Hereditary, and of those called Patrimonial
pp 28-38
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CHAP. VI - Principal Objects of a good Government; and first, to provide for the Necessities of the Nation
pp 38-40
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CHAP. VII - Of the Cultivation of the Soil
pp 40-43
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CHAP. VIII - Of Commerce
pp 43-52
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CHAP. IX - Of the Care of the public Ways; and of Tolls
pp 52-55
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CHAP. X - Of Money and Exchang
pp 55-58
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CHAP. XI - Second Object of a good Government,—to procure the true Happiness of a Nation
pp 58-66
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CHAP. XII - Of Piety and Religion
pp 67-91
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CHAP. XIII - Of Justice and Polity
pp 91-102
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CHAP. XIV - Third Object of a good Government,—to fortify itself against external Attacks
pp 102-106
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CHAP. XV - Of the Glory of a Nation
pp 107-109
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CHAP. XVI - Protection sought by a Nation, and her voluntary submission to a Foreign Power
pp 110-112
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CHAP. XVII - How a Nation may separate herself from the State of which she is a Member, and renounce her Allegiance to her Sovereign when she is not protected
pp 113-115
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CHAP. XVIII - Establishment of a Nation in a Country
pp 115-118
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CHAP. XIX - Of our Native Country, and various Matters relating to it
pp 118-128
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CHAP. XX - Public, Common, and Private Property
pp 128-136
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CHAP. XXI - Of the Alienation of the Public Property, or the Domain, and that of a Part of the State
pp 136-140
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CHAP. XXII - Of Rivers, Streams, and Lakes
pp 140-147
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The Law of Nations

Or, Principles of the Law of Nature, Applied to the Conduct and Affairs of Nations and Sovereigns

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