The notion that a state that emerges victorious in war is entitled to claim sovereignty over conquered territory in virtue of military victory or conquest was a recognized principle of international law until the early years of last century. This study is an inquiry into the place of the right of conquest in international relations since the early sixteenth century, and the causes and consequences of its demise in the twentieth century.
Part 1 examines the theoretical foundations of the right of conquest, its historical importance both in the establishment of the European colonial empires...