Law, Debt, and Merchant Power
The Civil Courts of Eighteenth-Century Halifax
Published on 30. March 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
302 pages
978-1-4875-2316-9 (ISBN)
Description
In the early history of Halifax (1749-1766), debt litigation was extremely common. People from all classes frequently used litigation and its use in private matters was higher than almost all places in the British Empire in the 18th century.
In Law, Debt, and Merchant Power, James Muir offers an extensive analysis of the civil cases of the time as well as the reasons behind their frequency. Muir's lively and detailed account of the individuals involved in litigation reveals a paradoxical society where debtors were also debt-collectors. Law, Debt, and Merchant Power demonstrates how important the law was for people in their business affairs and how they shaped it for their own ends.
In Law, Debt, and Merchant Power, James Muir offers an extensive analysis of the civil cases of the time as well as the reasons behind their frequency. Muir's lively and detailed account of the individuals involved in litigation reveals a paradoxical society where debtors were also debt-collectors. Law, Debt, and Merchant Power demonstrates how important the law was for people in their business affairs and how they shaped it for their own ends.
Reviews / Votes
'At the higher methodological level, the work both fascinates and provokes... Muir's book is an interesting, original, and important work, part of the new wave of regional scholarship that integrates greater Nova Scotia into the history of the eighteenth-century British Atlantic.'- Barry Cahill (Acadiensis February 2017) 'James Muir presents an articulate, nuanced approach to the development of civil procedure in Canada... He has collected an impressive amount of historical data in order to reconstruct patterns of litigation in eighteenth-century Halifax.'
- Ashton Butler (Saskatchewan Law Review vol 80:2017) "This is the 103rd book published by the Osgoode Society for Legal History since 1981, part of a sustained effort to understand the law, the courts, and practitioners over the whole of Canadian history from many perspectives."
- Douglas McCalla, University of Guelph (Canadian Business History Association Newlsetter, July 2018)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
19 b&w tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
445 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4875-2316-9 (9781487523169)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
James Muir is an associate professor in the Department of History and Classics as well as the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta.
Content
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Halifax, a community of litigants
Chapter 3: Initiating Actions
Chapter 4: Avoiding Trial
Chapter 5: Going to Trial
Chapter 6: Ending the Action
Chapter 7: Appeals and Other Courts
Chapter 8: Conclusion
Appendix 1: Sources and Methods
Appendix 2: Interpreting Occupational and Status Data
Bibliography
Chapter 2: Halifax, a community of litigants
Chapter 3: Initiating Actions
Chapter 4: Avoiding Trial
Chapter 5: Going to Trial
Chapter 6: Ending the Action
Chapter 7: Appeals and Other Courts
Chapter 8: Conclusion
Appendix 1: Sources and Methods
Appendix 2: Interpreting Occupational and Status Data
Bibliography