Unequal treaties have become synonymous with the imperial practice of Western states in East Asia during the nineteenth century. They have also become a popular subject of study for historians of international law. A neglected feature of the history of unequal treaties is the way they were used and theorised upon as instruments of informal empire before the nineteenth century, in the early-modern age. Hugo Grotius in particular wrote extensively on unequal treaties and alliances through his familiarity with the Dutch East India Company’s exploits in the East Indies, where the conclusion of treaties with indigenous rulers formed the cornerstone of Dutch imperialism. This article delves into the early-modern roots of unequal alliances and discusses how the Grotian analysis of unequal alliances influenced other authors of the classic law of nations.

中文翻译：

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格劳秀斯，非正式帝国与不平等条约的缔结

不平等条约已成为 19 世纪西方国家在东亚的帝国实践的代名词。它们也成为国际法历史学家的热门研究课题。不平等条约历史上一个被忽视的特征是，在 19 世纪之前，在近代早期，它们被用作非正式帝国的工具和被理论化的方式。尤其是雨果·格劳秀斯 (Hugo Grotius) 通过熟悉荷兰东印度公司在东印度群岛的功绩，撰写了大量关于不平等条约和联盟的文章，在那里与土著统治者缔结条约构成了荷兰帝国主义的基石。本文深入探讨了不平等联盟的早期现代根源，并讨论了格罗蒂安对不平等联盟的分析如何影响了经典万国法的其他作者。