owed certain obligations one to another, and that there should be some set of principles governing matters of international intercourse. Two great influences were working towards this end during this period-religion and commerce.

SECTION 13. INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY UPON THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW.

One of the strongest of the influences exerted by the Christian religion was the bond which it created among people of different races. The religions of the ancient world, with few exceptions, had been national in their character, and had strictly excluded outsiders from any part or benefit therein. Christianity, on the contrary, appealed to whoever would embrace it, of whatever race or nationality, and the line which it drew was not that between those of one race and those of another, but between those who accepted the belief and those who rejected it. The great influence of the medieval church, therefore, was thrown in support of the movement for a system of laws governing the relations between different nations. Such laws, however, were only to apply to races within the pale of Christianity; with all others no agreements of such character could lawfully be held. It is, in fact, only within the past century that the principles of international law have been ever held to apply to any except Christian countries. The underlying principle here observed is not unlike, in its fundamental basis, the division by the Greeks, of mankind into Greeks and barbarians. In the later classification, however, the limits have been extended, and the dividing line is religious instead of racial.

SECTION 14. INFLUENCE OF COMMERCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW.

The greatest opposition to the feudalism of the Middle Ages was found in the commercial classes. The interests of the commercial and military classes have always clashed in every age and in every nation. The constant warfare essential to the latter class is destructive of the business of the former. Trade between nations requires some system by which the relations between different countries can be regulated. It is therefore not surprising that the commercial cities of Italy and the cities of the Hanseatic League appear as pioneers in the movement for the betterment of the unsatisfactory state of international relations.

Among the earliest branches of international law to receive attention was that relative to commerce on the sea. During the Middle Ages a number of codes or systems of rules on this subject were developed.

"The so-called Amalfitan Tables seem to have been the sea law of the latter part of the eleventh century. The much more detailed Consolato del Mare, of doubtful origin, between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries derived some of its principles from the eleventh century code. The consolato was recognized by maritime powers as generally binding, and made possible wide commercial intercourse. Many of its principles have stood to the present day, though touching such questions as the mutual rights of neutrals and belligerents on the sea in time of war. As the consolato formed the code of Southern Europe, the laws of Oleron formed the maritime code for Western Europe, and were compiled the latter part of the twelfth century, whether by Richard I, or by his mother, Queen Eleanor, is a disputed question.

These laws are based in large measure on the other existing systems. The Laws of Wisby, dating from about 1288, supplemented the laws of Oleron, and formed the fundamental law of maritime courts of the Baltic nations. The Hanseatic League, in 1590, compiled a system of marine law, Jus Hanseaticum Maritimum, based on the codes of Europe and Northern Europe. The maritime law of Europe was practically unchanged for nearly a hundred years, when systematized in 1673 under Louis XIV. Similar to the maritime codes are the 'Customs of Amsterdam,' the 'Law of Antwerp,' and the 'Guidon de la Mar.'"' 1

The crusades, by the increased intercourse between nations which it occasioned, did much to increase international commerce, and thus to increase the necessity for proper regulations of this species of com

merce.

SECTION 15. INTERNATIONAL

RELATIONS DURING

THE MODERN HISTORICAL PERIOD.

In the modern historical period the idea of the common superior has been disregarded, and the underlying theory of international intercourse has become that of the "balance of power." The efforts of the diplomatists of this period is to prevent the undue increase of power by any rival country. To increase the power of one's own country, or to prevent the increase of the power of another country, are the causes of the almost constant series of wars throughout this period.

The national unity of England, France, and Spain had been secured by the close of the fifteenth century, but Italy and Germany remained in a divided and chaotic condition, which rendered them a prey to

1 Wilson and Tucker on Interna

tional Law, pp. 17-18.

their united neighbors. The invasion of Italy by Charles VIII of France, in 1494, marks the beginning of the Italian wars, which furnish the most convenient beginning to the period of modern history, at least from the standpoint of the study of international law.

SECTION 16. THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.

Two years before the event just referred to, Columbus had discovered America, and this greatly increased the territorial area of the application of the international law. The history of international law had formerly been exclusively confined to the continent of Europe, but the opening of the New World by European colonists extended the scope of these principles over this territory. Many of the wars of this period originated or were closely concerned with the possession of territory in America.

SECTION 17. THE CONGRESS OF WESTPHALIA.

An important impetus was given to the development of the science of international law by the work of the Congress of Westphalia, which succeeded in bringing the destructive Thirty Year War to a close in 1648. In addition to their work in this respect, the status of the various countries of Europe was largely regulated, and a definite system was adopted for the conduct of diplomatic relations. From this time on, the various large international congresses have been one of the most important sources from which the principles of international law have been drawn.2

SECTION 18.

GENERAL CHARACTER OF INTERNATIONAL
LAW DURING THIS PERIOD.

The principles of international law were extremely fluctuating during this period. The period of history

• See some good general history for an account

of these various international congresses.

now under discussion was the period of the greatest contest between absolutism and liberalism in government, and it was also a period of contest between liberal and illiberal views as to international relations.

SECTION 19. THE RECENT HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW.

The recent period in the history of international law may be taken to have begun with the Declaration of Paris in 1856. The characteristic of this period has been the constant movement towards a more liberal policy of international relations. The reforms of this period will be shown in the following chapters.