This book breaks open new frontiers in historical research on investor-state arbitration (ISA) by discussing long-forgotten case law, the first-hand involvement with early ISA by key historical political figures such as Winston Churchill and President Taft, early 20th-century debates in Canada’s parliament, and treaty-based ISAs that considerably predate the advent of the BIT. Stemming from extensive original archival research conducted at numerous private and public archives located in five countries and on two continents, this book ties these (and other) fascinating factual underpinnings together to argue that—contrary to conventional wisdom—direct ISA has long been an important vehicle of governance.