Sovereign Claims and Possessions – The Beginnings of the Territorial State

Abstract

Royal claims from the age of exploration persisted into the 19^th century, when they began to be replaced by claims to territory on the part of States. Sovereignty over territory was increasingly phrased in terms of “jurisdiction” and, as the State became a territorial entity, an equivalence was posed between “territorial sovereignty” and “territorial jurisdiction.” Boundary disputes in the 19^th century provide evidence for the transition, and these were invited largely by conflicts over commercial prerogatives in one or another place. Three territorial practices in the 19^th century identify the beginnings of the territorial orientation of the State: effective occupation, boundary differentiation, and administrative jurisdiction.