Workshop: Sources of Early Modern Colonial Law - Global and Comparative Perspectives. CoCoLaw Project, University of Helsinki. November 9th and 10th, 2023
The CoCoLaw Project (University of Helsinki) is organizing a workshop that delves into the exploration of legal sources in early modern colonial law from a comparative perspective, shedding light on the perspectives of various European empires. Key questions to address include:
- What were the foundational legal sources that shaped colonial legal systems?
- How did courts, lawyers and subjects utilize these legal sources?
- In what ways did colonial legal sources differ from those in the metropolitan centers?
- What changes and trends emerged during the early modern period in this context?
Participants in the workshop are encouraged to address these questions by presenting case studies or broader syntheses related to a specific empire. Throughout the discussions, we anticipate drawing comparisons among the empires, examining the legal sources available and employed within colonial territories.
For this workshop, we are excited to announce our distinguished keynote speakers, including Alejandro Agüero from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Alicia Schrikker from Leiden University, and Naveen Kanalu from École des hautes études en sciences sociales.
The workshop is open to all interested participants, whether attending in person or online.
You can register using [this] link. More information about the CoCoLaw Project and its activities [is here].
[Schedule after the jump.]
Programme
November 9
10:30 Opening remarks
Heikki Pihlajamäki
11:00 - Session 1 - Keynote Presentation
Legal Practice, Bureaucracy, and the Localization of Empire in Dutch Asia ca. 1700-1850
Alicia Schrikker
14:00 - Session 2 - Keynote Presentation
Contours of Hanafi Jurisprudence: Legal Liability in Mughal Hindustan and British India
Naveen Kanalu
16:15 - Session 3 - Research Presentations
Navigating the Colonial Legal Landscape: Examining Legal Resources for Judges in the Iberian Overseas Territories
Airton Ribeiro
A Network of Papers in an Informational Empire: The Relevance of the Official Correspondence in the Normative Production of the Portuguese Administration of the Diamond District (1771-1808)
Nathaly Mancilla-Órdenes
November 10
10:30 - Session 4 - Research Presentations
Changing Boundaries of Jurisdiction and Sovereignty in Atlantic: Dutch Disputes on Privateering and Illicit Trade with other Colonial Powers from Late 17th Century Until mid-18th Century
Henri Hannula
Administering the Colonies Through Law: Thomas Pownall's and James Abercromby's Manuscripts on the Colonial Law of the British Empire (18th century)
Gustavo Zatelli
14:00 - Session 5 - Keynote Presentation
Pragmatic Normative Literature as a Source of Law in the Periphery of the Colonial Spanish Empire-Eighteenth Century
Alejandro Agüero
15:30 Session 6 - Closing remarks
Heikki Pihlajamäki
