On 25 February 1603, after a fierce battle that lasted for most of the day off the eastern coast of Singapore, a Portuguese ship, the Santa Catarina, was seized by the Dutch admiral Jakob van Heemskerk and three vessels under his command. The Santa Catarina was carrying a valuable cargo of silks and porcelain. The admiral’s seizure of the vessel came under official scrutiny in Europe. A Dutch lawyer, Hugo Grotius, wrote an official justification for this act in which he argued that the Portuguese were interfering with navigation onthe high seas. Grotius is now recognised as the father of modern maritime law. This print depicts a subsequent battle between the Portuguese and the Dutch in October 1603, also off the eastern coast of Singapore.
