MARITIME INTERNATIONAL LAW. 289 



this Treaty, as did also Great Britain, Portugal, Sweden, and 

 Denmark. 



In 1665, a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation was entered into 

 between France and the Hanseatic Towns of Germany, which 

 recognised, for the first time, in maritime warfare, that neutral 

 goods in an enemy's vessel should be free from capture, except 

 those contraband of war ; but this recognition was withdrawn by the 

 Treaty of 1716, which acknowleged only free ships, free goods. 

 These rules were the utmost of the concessions contained in the 

 Treaties of Navigation and Commerce that followed the Peace of 

 Utrecht in 17 13, and which were entered into by the four Maritime 

 Powers, France, Spain, England, and Holland. 



In 1739, however, France and Holland, on the renewal of the 

 aforesaid Convention of 17 13, agreed to recognise these two rules of 

 Maritime warfare, " free ship, free goods, an enemy's ship, enemy's 

 goods," and, in 1742, Denmark gave in her acceptance of these rules, 

 and from the date of the Treaty of Utrecht of 17 13, the practice 

 of the Maritime Powers of the World has uniformly been in this 

 direction. 



During the Seven Years' War, waged from 1756, to 1763, by 

 Great Britain against France and Spain, the question of the rights of 

 neutrals was raised ; as to, whether the belligerents could capture and 

 confiscate neutral vessels with an enemy's goods, without infringing 

 International Maritime Law, but, owing to the omission of a decision 

 upon the subject, the Treaty of Paris of 1763, making no 

 declaration on the subject, the law remained undefined. 



ARMED NEUTRALITY OF RUSSIA, 1780. 



During the war, however, waged from 1780 to 1783, by England 

 against France, Spain, and Holland, Russia proclaimed an 

 Armed Neutrality, and she invited the Northern Powers of Europe 

 to join her in defence of the commerce of Neutral States. 



This declaration and action of Russia, in favour of the rights of 

 neutrals, was an important step, for it prepared the way for a great 

 change in Maritime Law. 



Prior to this period, the commerce of neutrals was subject to 

 great interruption and injury by the belligerents, and, to counteract 

 this ruinous state of affairs, arose the powerful combination of the 

 Maritime Powers, in support of the following rules for neutrals, 



