The most powerful weapon Trump has to open the Strait of Hormuz is the one he least wants to use
Hugo Grotius figured it out in 1609
At the age of 15, Hugo Grotius so impressed Henry IV, king of France, with his intelligence that the monarch declared him “the miracle of Holland.”
At 17, the budding Dutch legal scholar argued his first case. Soon he would be named Attorney-General of the provinces of Holland, Zealand and West Friesland. But Grotius chose the losing side in a 17th Century theological dispute that had explosive political ramifications.
That was why Prince Maurice of Nassau imprisoned Grotius, then in his mid-30s, for life at Loevestein castle. The inmate’s clever wife Maria gained permission to move into the castle. As the vigilance of the guards gradually waned, Maria saw an opportunity. She told the wife of the warden that Hugo was sick from overwork and vowed to …
