HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF THE TERRITORIAL SEA 569 



time sovereignty is to be found in the case of Spain, which, 

 like the Scandinavian countries, adopted a fixed limit in the 

 eighteenth century as the boundary of her territorial waters, 

 and, as with them also, it was placed at a greater distance 

 than the range of guns from the coast. An eminent Spanish 

 publicist, Abreu, as we have seen, declared in 1746 that the 

 boundary of neutral waters should be at least two leagues from 

 the coast, and by a royal decree of 17th December 1760 this 

 distance was assigned, the territorial sea of Spain being- 

 declared to extend to six miles from the land. This boundary 

 was again given in 1775 and in 1830, and it is still retained by 

 Spain and also, until last year, by Portugal as the maritime 

 frontier for customs, fishery, neutrality, and jurisdiction. 1 At 

 various times Spain has entered into treaties with her neighbours, 

 France and Portugal, concerning the rights of fishery within 

 the six-mile zone, either for reciprocal liberty to fish in the 

 whole extent of the territorial sea, or in the outer belt of three 

 miles. A treaty of this kind was concluded with France in 

 1768. 2 



The uprising in America in 1775, which resulted in the 

 independence of the United States, brought in its train a 

 widespread maritime war, Great Britain having to meet the 

 naval forces of France, Holland, and Spain, and at this time 

 and throughout the remainder of the century we meet with 

 numerous decrees and treaties bearing upon the delimitation of 

 territorial waters, particularly in connection with the rights of 

 neutrals. One of the first of these was a circular which the 

 American Commissioners at the Court of Paris addressed to 

 the commanders of American armed vessels in 1777, instruct- 

 ing them to abstain from capturing the enemy's vessels, or 

 vessels of neutrals, when they were " under the protection of a 

 port, river, or coast of a neutral country." To do so, it was 

 said, would be contrary to the usage and customs of nations ; 

 and the proclamation issued by the American Government in 



1 Real Cedula, 17th December 1760 ; Real Orden, 1st May 1775 ; Real Decreto, 

 3rd May 1830 ; Real Decreto. 20th June 1852. Riquelme, Elementos de Derccho 

 Publico Inter nacional, con esplicacion de todas las reglas que, segun los Tratados, <Lv., 

 constituyen el Derecho International Espanol, i. 211, App., 187, 197, 200 ; Madrid, 

 1849. Negrin, Tratado de Derecho international maritime, Madrid, 1883, p. 66. , 



2 Martens, Recucil, i. 479. 



