Legal Pluralism and Empires, 1500-1850

by Lauren Benton (Editor), Richard J. Ross (Editor)

Overview

This wide-ranging volume advances our understanding of law and empire in the early modern world. Distinguished contributors expose new dimensions of legal pluralism in the British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Ottoman empires. In-depth analyses probe such topics as the shifting legal privileges of corporations, the intertwining of religious and legal thought, and the effects of clashing legal authorities on sovereignty and subjecthood. Case studies show how a variety of individuals engage with the law and shape the contours of imperial rule.

The volume reaches from Peru to New Zealand to Europe to capture the varieties and continuities of legal pluralism and to probe the analytic power of the concept of legal pluralism in the comparative study of empires. For legal scholars, social scientists, and historians, Legal Pluralism and Empires, 1500-1850 maps new approaches to the study of empires and the global history of law.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814708361
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	07/22/2013
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	323
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Lauren Benton is Professor of History and Affiliated Professor of Law at New York University. Her books include A Search for Sovereignty: Law and Geography in European Empires, 1400-1900 and Law and Colonial Cultures: Legal Regimes in World History, 1400-1900.

Richard J. Ross is Professor of Law and History at the University of Illinois (Urbana/Champaign) and Director of the Symposium on Comparative Early Modern Legal History. He is the editor, with Lauren Benton, of Legal Pluralism and Empires, 1500-1850 (2013).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
1 Empires and Legal Pluralism
Lauren Benton and Richard J. Ross
Part I: Composite Polities across Empires
2 “Bundles of Hyphens”
Philip J. Stern
3 Litigating Empire
Helen Dewar
Part II: Political and Religious Imagination
4 Aspects of Legal Pluralism in the Ottoman Empire
Karen Barkey
5 Reconstructing Early Modern Notions of Legal Pluralism
Richard J. Ross and Philip J. Stern
6 Between Justice and Economics
Brian P. Owensby
Part III: Constructing Imperial Jurisdiction
7 Magistrates in Empire
Lauren Benton and Lisa Ford
8 “Seeking the Water of Baptism”
Linda M. Rupert
9 “A Pretty Gov[ernment]!”
P. G. McHugh
Part IV: Concluding Perspectives
10 Laws’ Histories
Paul D. Halliday
11 Rules of Law, Politics of Empire
Jane Burbank and Frederick Cooper
About the Contributors
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This volume collects thoughtful and provocative essays on the legal complexities of empire, a subject that has been at the forefront of legal history in recent years. Whether one is interested in close studies of individual places or more wide-ranging explorations of the nature of legal pluralism in imperial contexts, this is the state of the art."-Stuart Banner,Norman Abrams Professor of Law, UCLA

"Legal pluralism has rapidly become one of the most fertile concepts among early modern historians. The richly documented and subtly argued essays in this collection amply exhibit its power to illuminate and complexify understandings of a variety of empires: Ottoman, British, French, and Spanish. As both a compendium of cutting-edge work and a blueprint for future research, the volume should inspire historians of other empires and other periods to add legal pluralism to their analytical armory."-David Armitage,Harvard University

"Historians of law and historians of empire alike will derive new insights from this impressive collection of discerning synthetic essays and rich case studies of the diversity of legal systems as European empires (including the Ottomans) claimed sovereignty over territories and peoples around the world. These scholars offer methodological and conceptual models that will push the field forward in new directions."-Sarah Chambers,University of Minnesota

Editorial Reviews

"Given th[e] renewed focus on legal pluralism, scholars from many different fieldslaw, international relations, critical geography, law and society, colonial theory, cosmopolitanism, and religionshould cheer Legal Pluralism and Empires, 1500-1850, as a truly significant contribution to our work. This is a truly wonderful collection of essays, filled with absorbing stories, underappreciated moments of contestation, and a rich variety of case studies, spanning multiple periods, locations, and types of pluralism. Certainly, this is a must-read for anyone interested in legal pluralism"

Law and History Review

"This volume collects thoughtful and provocative essays on the legal complexities of empire, a subject that has been at the forefront of legal history in recent years. Whether one is interested in close studies of individual places or more wide-ranging explorations of the nature of legal pluralism in imperial contexts, this is the state of the art."

Stuart Banner

"Legal Pluralism and Empires, 1500-1850is a collection of essays that attempts to reorient our understanding of European colonialism in the early modern era. [] The volume lives up to its promise. Focusing on settings ranging from Europe to French North American to Spanish America to the Caribbean to Australia and New Zealand, the various essays bring to life an early modern world teeming with distinct, competing, and changeable legal jurisdictions."

New West Indian Guide

"Historians of law and historians of empire alike will derive new insights from this impressive collection of discerning synthetic essays and rich case studies of the diversity of legal systems as European empires (including the Ottomans) claimed sovereignty over territories and peoples around the world. These scholars offer methodological and conceptual models that will push the field forward in new directions."

Sarah Chambers

"The edited volume highlights new dimensions of legal pluralism in the British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Ottoman empires, covering such topics as the shifting legal privileges of corporations, the intertwining of religious and legal thought, and the effects of clashing legal authorities of sovereignty and subjecthood. The work's case studies illustrate how a variety of individuals engage with the law and shape the contours of imperial rule."

NYU Research Digest

""Legal pluralism has rapidly become one of the most fertile concepts among early modern historians. The richly documented and subtly argued essays in this collection amply exhibit its power to illuminate and complexify understandings of a variety of empires: Ottoman, British, French, and Spanish. As both a compendium of cutting-edge work and a blueprint for future research, the volume should inspire historians of other empires and other periods to add legal pluralism to their analytical armory.

"

David Armitage

"The essays in this collection significantly advance our thinking on the subject of legal pluralism in the context of jurisdictional issues and early modern empiresFor those seeking illumination on subjects such as sovereignty, jurisdiction, indigenous people and the rules affecting them, slaves and marronage, as well as economic, religious, and political thinking related to imperial governance, this volume will repay close reading."

William and Mary Quarterly

"Historians of law and historians of empire alike will derive new insights from this impressive collection of discerning synthetic essays and rich case studies of the diversity of legal systems as European empires (including the Ottomans) claimed sovereignty over territories and peoples around the world. These scholars offer methodological and conceptual models that will push the field forward in new directions."-Sarah Chambers,University of Minnesota

“Given th[e] renewed focus on legal pluralism, scholars from many different fields—law, international relations, critical geography, law and society, colonial theory, cosmopolitanism, and religion—should cheer
Legal Pluralism and Empires, 1500-1850 , as a truly significant contribution to our work. This is a truly wonderful collection of essays, filled with absorbing stories, underappreciated moments of contestation, and a rich variety of case studies, spanning multiple periods, locations, and types of pluralism. Certainly, this is a must-read for anyone interested in legal pluralism…”- Law and History Review

From the Publisher