It is a modern type of justification, one might think – but in principle, military intervention with a responsibility to protect groups of people in distress was legitimized even in the early modern era, reports a historian. In the case of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585 to 1604), it illustrates how both parties to the conflict took up humanitarian motives and what differences there were from today’s argumentation models.
“Military intervention on foreign territory is necessary in order to help people there in an emergency”: This argument forms the basis of the concept that is nowadays referred to as humanitarian intervention. One of the prerequisites is that the local power structures cannot or do not want to offer protection to those at risk – or that they are themselves responsible for the situation. To what extent one can wage war for human rights, however, remains a controversial question under international law. A clear definition seems difficult and the concept can also be misused for questionable motives.
Look at the roots of the concept
For some time now, historical research has also been concerned with the humanitarian military operations of the recent past – but the deeper roots of the concept have so far been less of a focus. Julian Katz from the Philipps University of Marburg has now dedicated himself to this topic as part of his doctoral thesis. His focus was on a prominent discussion of the early modern period: Katz researched the historical sources on the war between England and Spain, which became famous primarily through the failed attempt at invasion by the Armada in 1588. The opponents at the top were the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I (1558 to 1603) and the Catholic King Philip II (1556 to 1598).
The sources show that during the course of the war both parties to the conflict stated that they wanted to protect foreign subjects on the territory of the enemy. The reasons were based on the categories of security, law and religion or denomination. The background was formed by the cross-border developments in the context of the religious conflicts after the Reformation. They had brought about new connections between rulers and people of the same denomination in foreign domains.
Argumentation with denominational references
Specifically, the British stated in the context of the dispute that they were rushing to the aid of the insurgents in the Netherlands, as they rebelled against the Spanish “oppression”. Conversely, King Philip II legitimized his warlike actions by protecting his co-religionists in England’s sphere of influence. “For example, a Spanish source justified the war undertaking with a bitter accusation of Elizabethan tyranny, from which English Catholics in particular would suffer,” reports Katz.
In the course of his research, the historian also analyzed the forms of the assertions of a “princely responsibility to protect against unjustly governed subjects” and how the opponents argued in the practice of the interstate conflict. As the historian explains, despite the parallels to today’s patterns, there are also differences. Accordingly, the protection of foreign subjects did not form as firmly established arguments as it is today and terms were apparently used in an even less differentiated manner.
According to Katz, there are also fundamental differences to modern conceptions, which posit an obligation to intervene in humanitarian terms. This includes the social and ideological context: As an individual worthy of protection per se, humans were not yet an established political category in the early modern period, says Katz. “The reason for the war with the protection of foreign subjects was never entirely isolated during the period between 1585 and 1604,” emphasizes the historian. Rather, dynastic law and religious reasons have always been invoked.
Nevertheless, the bottom line of the study makes it clear: Even in the early modern period, there were already own concepts of a responsibility to protect, sums up the Philipps University of Marburg.
Source: Philipps University of Marburg, Specialized publication: Julian Katz: War Legitimation in the Early Modern Age. Intervention and Security during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604) (Publications of the German Historical Institute London, 86), Berlin (De Gruyter) 2021, ISBN: 978-3-110723502, X + 568 pages.