Here he develops his thesis that international law is based on natural law and examines the principles of sovereignty with respect to considerations such as foreign rights, the necessity of war, the concept of absolute power, public treaties and economic factors. Burlamaqui s views were a primary source of the theory voiced in the Declaration of Independence. The principles of his constitutional system are strikingly like those of the American, and he had considerable influence on Blackstone's lectures on jurisprudence. Sequel to Burlamaqui's other major work, The Principles of Natural Law (1748). Reprint of first English translation. Originally J. Nourse, 1752.