Aug 21, 2022 | 19th Century, Jamaica, Legal Case, Transcription
Aug 21, 2022 | 17th Century, England, Legal Case, Transcription
Legal case Godden v. Hales Introduction Godden v. Hales was a King’s Bench case from 1686 between Sir Edward Hales and Mr. Godden. Hales had converted to Catholicism in 1685 and given command of a regiment of foot by King James VII/II. This position required the...
Feb 24, 2022 | 18th Century, England, Legal Case, Transcription
Somerset v. Steuart (1772) Introduction James Somerset was the enslaved personal manservant of Charles Steuart, a Scottish-born Virginia merchant who became the chief customs officer charged with enforcing the unpopular Stamp Act and Townshend Duties in the northern...
May 1, 2020 | 17th Century, England, Legal Case, Transcription
Rewriting slave law Chamberlain v. Harvey (1696) After the Glorious Revolution, the members of the convention parliament barred all of James II’s high court justices from serving, as they believed that his judges had enabled his absolutism via decisions such as...
Apr 30, 2020 | 17th Century, England, Legal Case, Transcription
reMaking Slavery in the courts Butts v. Penny(1677) A foundational English Common Law case that defined slavery in England and its empire in the Americas, and to create mechanisms to enforce ownership and recover debts related to slave sales. It literally redefined...
