Hugo de Groot

Delft, Netherlands

Markt. On the market you will find the statue of Hugo Grotius (10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645). Grotius is the Latin version of the Dutch name Hugo de Groot. Grotius was a jurist in the Dutch Republic. He laid the foundations for international law and law of the sea. In 1618 Grotius was sentenced to life imprisonment to the Loevestein Castle, about 75 km south east of Delft. Grotius managed to escape in a book chest. Both the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the museum Het Prinsenhof in Delft claim to have the original book chest in their collection.