The Early History of the Law of Bills and Notes: A Study of the Origins of Anglo-American Commercial Law

by James Steven Rogers

Overview

This study traces the history of the law of bills and notes in England from medieval times to the period in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries when bills played a central role in the domestic and international financial system. It challenges the traditional theory that English commercial law developed by incorporation of the concept of negotiability and other rules from an ancient body of customary law known as the law merchant. Rogers shows that the law of bills was developed within the common law system itself, in response to changing economic and business practices. This account draws on economic and business history to explain how bills were actually used and to examine the relationship between the law of bills and economic and social controversies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521522045
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/23/2004
Series:	Cambridge Studies in English Legal History
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.67(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Table of cases and precedents; Note on citation; Introduction; 1. The central courts, commercial law, and the law merchant; 2. Early exchange transactions: commercial practice; 3. Early exchange transactions: private law; 4. Early exchange transactions: public law and policy; 5. From exchange transactions to bills of exchange: the transformation of commercial practice; 6. The custom of merchants and the development of the law of bills; 7. The civilians and the law of bills in the seventeenth century; 8. Transferability and negotiability; 9. The law of bills and notes in the eighteenth century; 10. The problem of accommodation bills; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...this book marks an important step... Roger's work sets a new standard for the legal analysis of how the law of bills and notes advanced. Any scholar currently relying on Holden's standard text should consult Rogers." Journal of Economic Literature

From the Publisher