1.
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield
–
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, PC, SL was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland and he was accepted into Christ Church, Oxford, in May 1723, and graduated four years later. Returning to London from Oxford, he was called to the Bar by Lincolns Inn on 23 November 1730 and he became involved in politics in 1742, beginning with his election as a Member of Parliament for Boroughbridge, and appointment as Solicitor General. With the promotion of Sir Dudley Ryder to Lord Chief Justice in 1754, he became Attorney General, the most powerful British jurist of the century, his decisions reflected the Age of Enlightenment and moved England on the path to abolishing slavery and the slave trade. He advanced commercial law in ways that establish the nation as the world leader in industry, finance. He modernised both English law and the English courts system, he sped up the system for submitting motions and reformed the way judgments were given to reduce time and expense for the parties. For his work in Carter v Boehm and Pillans v Van Mierop, he has been called the founder of English commercial law. Murray was born on 2 March 1705, at Scone Palace in Perthshire, Scotland, the son of the 5th Viscount of Stormont and his wife, Margaret, née Scott. Both his parents were supporters of the Jacobite cause. The Jacobite sympathies of Murrays family were glossed over by contemporaries and this was incorrect, as Murray was educated at Perth Grammar School, where he was taught Latin, English grammar, and essay writing skills. He later said that this gave him an advantage at university, as those students educated in England had been taught Greek and Latin. The distance from Perth to London was around 400 miles, Murray flourished at Westminster and was made a Kings Scholar on 21 May 1719. After an examination in May 1723, Murray was accepted into Christ Church, Oxford and his older brother James was a barrister in Scotland, and his family decided that a career as a barrister was best for Murray. The Scottish Bar at the time was overcrowded, which made it difficult for a young barrister to build a reputation, yet qualifying for the English Bar was extremely expensive. Thanks to the patronage of Thomas Foley, 1st Baron Foley, who gave Murray £200 a year to live on, Murray could afford to study at the bar, and became a member of Lincolns Inn on 23 April 1724. After George I died on 11 June 1727, Murray entered and his actions were seen as a show of support for the House of Hanover and the political status quo, something odd considering the strong Jacobite sympathies of his family. He probably did this because, having no income, he wished to secure patronage to help him advance politically. Another entrant was William Pitt, who was a constant rival to Murray until Pitts death in 1778
2.
Slavery
–
A slave is unable to withdraw unilaterally from such an arrangement and works without remuneration. Many scholars now use the chattel slavery to refer to this specific sense of legalised. In a broader sense, however, the word slavery may also refer to any situation in which an individual is de facto forced to work against his or her will. Scholars also use the generic terms such as unfree labour or forced labour. However – and especially under slavery in broader senses of the word – slaves may have some rights and/or protections, Slavery began to exist before written history, in many cultures. A person could become a slave from the time of their birth, capture, while slavery was institutionally recognized by most societies, it has now been outlawed in all recognized countries, the last being Mauritania in 2007. Nevertheless, there are still more slaves today than at any point in history. The most common form of the trade is now commonly referred to as human trafficking. Chattel slavery is still practiced by the Islamic State of Iraq. An older interpretation connected it to the Greek verb skyleúo to strip a slain enemy, there is a dispute among historians about whether terms such as unfree labourer or enslaved person, rather than slave, should be used when describing the victims of slavery. Chattel slavery, also called traditional slavery, is so named because people are treated as the chattel of the owner and are bought, although it dominated many societies in the past, this form of slavery has been formally abolished and is very rare today. Even when it can be said to survive, it is not upheld by the system of any internationally recognized government. Indenture, otherwise known as bonded labour or debt bondage is a form of labour under which a person pledges himself or herself against a loan. The services required to repay the debt, and their duration, debt bondage can be passed on from generation to generation, with children required to pay off their parents debt. It is the most widespread form of slavery today, debt bondage is most prevalent in South Asia. This may also include institutions not commonly classified as slavery, such as serfdom, conscription, Human trafficking primarily involves women and children forced into prostitution. And is the fastest growing form of forced labour, with Thailand, Cambodia, India, Brazil, in 2007, Human Rights Watch estimated that 200,000 to 300,000 children served as soldiers in current conflicts. A forced marriage may be regarded as a form of slavery by one or more of the involved in the marriage
3.
Abolitionism in the United Kingdom
–
It was part of a wider abolitionism movement in Western Europe and the Americas. Soon after his death in 1785, they joined with William Wilberforce, though anti-slavery sentiment was widespread by the late 18th century, the colonies and emerging nation-states that used slave labour continued to do so. The slave trade had been banned in England in 1102, in a 1569 court case involving Cartwright, who had bought a slave from Russia, the court ruled that English law could not recognise slavery, as it was never established officially. This ruling was overshadowed by later developments and it was upheld in 1700 by Lord Chief Justice Sir John Holt when he ruled that a slave became free as soon as he arrived in England. English colonists imported slaves to the North American colonies and by the 18th century, traders began to import slaves from Africa, India and East Asia to London and Edinburgh to work as servants. Men who migrated to the North American colonies often took their East Indian slaves or servants with them, some of the first freedom suits, court cases in Britain to challenge the legality of slavery, took place in Scotland in 1755 and 1769. The cases were Montgomery v. Sheddan and Spens v. Dalrymple, each of the slaves had been baptised in Scotland and challenged the legality of slavery. They set the precedent of legal procedure in British courts that would lead to success for the plaintiffs. In these cases, deaths of the plaintiff and defendant, respectively, African slaves were not bought or sold in London itself but were brought by masters from other places. Together with people from nations, especially non-Christian ones, Africans were considered foreigners. At the time, England had no naturalisation procedure, the African slaves legal status was unclear until the 1772 Somersetts Case, when the fugitive slave James Somersett forced a decision by the courts. Somersett had escaped and his master, Charles Steuart, had him captured and imprisoned on board a ship, while in London, Somersett had been baptised and three godparents issued a writ of habeas corpus. As a result, Lord Mansfield, Chief Justice of the Court of the Kings Bench, had to judge whether Somersetts abduction was lawful or not under English Common Law, no legislation had ever been passed to establish slavery in England. The case received national attention and five supported the action on behalf of Somersett. It is so odious, that nothing can be suffered to support it, whatever inconveniences, therefore, may follow from a decision, I cannot say this case is allowed or approved by the law of England, and therefore the black must be discharged. The decision did not apply to British overseas territories, e. g. the American colonies had established slavery by positive laws, Somersetts case became a significant part of the common law of slavery in the English-speaking world and it helped launch the movement to abolish slavery. After reading about Somersetts Case, Joseph Knight, an enslaved African who had purchased by his master John Wedderburn in Jamaica and brought to Scotland. Married and with a child, he filed a freedom suit, in the case of Knight v. Wedderburn, Wedderburn said that Knight owed him perpetual servitude
4.
Queen's Bench
–
The Queens Bench is the superior court in a number of jurisdictions within some of the Commonwealth realms. The original Kings Bench, founded in 1215 in England, was one of the ancient courts of the land and is now a division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. The Court of Queens Bench is the court in several Canadian provinces, including, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick. There was formerly a Court of Kings Bench created in the British colony of Quebec in 1764 and it was then abolished and re-established in 1777, following the Quebec Act. Following the separation of Upper and Lower Canada in 1791, the court was replaced by several courts of Kings bench of each region of the two new provinces. In 1849, the districts in were reunited once again, in England and Wales, the Court of Kings Bench was the name of two courts. Each was a court of common law, with civil and criminal jurisdiction. The English Court of Queens Bench was abolished in 1875 by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873, the Courts jurisdiction passed in each case to a new High Court of Justice and specifically to the Queens Bench Division of that court. The Irish Court of Queens Bench was abolished by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1877, the Queens Bench jurisdiction is now vested in the Queens Bench Division of the High Court in Northern Ireland. There is a Queens Bench Division as a division of the High Court of England and Wales, in England and Wales, the Queens Bench Division is part of the High Court of Justice. It was created by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873, in 1880 the former Common Pleas and Exchequer Divisions were merged into the Queens Bench Division. Since 1882 the High Court has sat in the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, in Northern Ireland the Queens Bench Division is part of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland, first created by Section 40 of the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The Division has similar jurisdiction to its counterpart in England and Wales and it sits in the Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast. Other sub-divisions include the Commercial Court, the Admiralty Court and the Administrative Court, the abbreviation QB in legal citation is used in the Law Reports to denote cases heard in the Queens Bench Division. There are masters in the Queens Bench Division, unlike the masters in the Chancery Division, the Queens Bench masters have original jurisdiction and they hear applications in chambers, act as taxing masters and occasionally as referees to conduct inquiries, take accounts, and assess damages. The Court of Queens Bench grew out of the Kings Court, or Curia Regis, at an unknown point, another court, independent of the Kings personal presence, grew out of the Curia Regis, and consisted of a number of royal judges who would hear cases themselves. In practice pleas of the Crown were heard only in the Kings Bench, the Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench was also styled Lord Chief Justice of England, being the highest permanent judge of the Crown. The Kings Bench became a court sitting in Westminster Hall
5.
Slavery in Britain
–
Slavery in the British Isles existed and was recognised from before the Roman occupation until the 12th century, when chattel slavery disappeared after the Norman Conquest. Ex slaves merged into the body of serfs and no longer were recognized separately in law or custom. During the same period, workhouses employed people whose poverty left them no alternative than to work under forced labour conditions. British merchants were among the largest participants in the Atlantic slave trade, ship owners transported enslaved West Africans to the New World to be sold into slave labour. The ships brought back to Britain then exported goods to Africa. After a long campaign for abolition led by William Wilberforce, Parliament prohibited the practice by passing the Slave Trade Act 1807 which was enforced by the Royal Navys West Africa Squadron. Britain used its influence to other countries around the world to abolish the slave trade. Somersetts case in 1772 held that no slave could be removed from Britain. However slavery elsewhere in the British Empire was not affected, Joseph Knights case in 1778 established a similar position in Scots law. Slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, with exceptions provided for the East India Company, Ceylon and these exceptions were eliminated in 1843. Article 4 of the Convention also bans forced or compulsory labour, from before Roman times, slavery was normal in Britannia, with slaves being routinely exported. Slavery continued as an part of society under the Roman Empire and after, Anglo-Saxons continued the slave system. In the early 5th century the Romano-Briton Saint Patrick was captured by Irish raiders, st. Brigit, a patron saint of Ireland, was herself the daughter of Brocca, a Christian Brythonic Pict and slave in Ireland who had been baptised by Saint Patrick. Early Irish law makes numerous reference to slaves and semi-free sencléithe, a female slave was often used as a unit of value, e. g. in expressing the honour price of people of certain classes. From the 9th to the 12th century Dublin in particular was a slave trading center which led to an increase in slavery. In 870, Vikings besieged and captured the stronghold of Alt Clut and in 871 took most of the inhabitants, most likely by Olaf the White and Ivar the Boneless. Maredudd ab Owain paid a ransom for 2,000 Welsh slaves. Vikings traded with the Gaelic, Pictish, Brythonic and Saxon kingdoms in between raiding them for slaves, some of the earliest accounts of the Anglo-Saxon English comes from the account of the fair-haired boys from York seen in Rome by Pope Gregory the Great
6.
Common law
–
Common law is the body of law developed from the thirteenth century to the present day, as case law or precedent, by judges, courts, and tribunals. In cases where the parties disagree on what the law is, if a similar dispute has been resolved in the past, the court is usually bound to follow the reasoning used in the prior decision. Resolution of the issue in one case becomes precedent that binds future courts, stare decisis, the principle that cases should be decided according to consistent principled rules so that similar facts will yield similar results, lies at the heart of all common law systems. A common law system is a system that gives great precedential weight to common law. Common law systems originated during the Middle Ages in England, today, one third of the worlds population live in common law jurisdictions or in systems mixed with civil law. The term common law has many connotations, the first three set out here are the most-common usages within the legal community. Other connotations from past centuries are seen, and are sometimes heard in everyday speech. Blacks Law Dictionary, 10th Ed. gives as definition 1,1, the body of law derived from judicial decisions, rather than from statutes or constitutions, CASELAW, STATUTORY LAW. In this connotation, common law distinguishes the authority that promulgated a law. e, examples include most criminal law and procedural law before the 20th century, and even today, most contract law and the law of torts. Interstitial common law decisions that analyze, interpret and determine the fine boundaries. Publication of decisions, and indexing, is essential to the development of common law, while all decisions in common law jurisdictions are precedent, some become leading cases or landmark decisions that are cited especially often. Blacks 10th Ed. definition 2, differentiates common law jurisdictions, by contrast, in civil law jurisdictions, courts lack authority to act if there is no statute. Judicial precedent is given less weight, which means that a judge deciding a given case has more freedom to interpret the text of a statute independently. For example, the Napoleonic code expressly forbade French judges to pronounce general principles of law. As a rule of thumb, common law systems trace their history to England, blacks 10th Ed. definition 4, differentiates common law from equity. This split propagated to many of the colonies, including the United States, for most purposes, most jurisdictions, including the U. S. federal system and most states, have merged the two courts. Additionally, even before the courts were merged, most courts were permitted to apply both law and equity, though under potentially different procedural law. In the United States, determining whether the Seventh Amendments right to a jury trial applies or whether the issue will be decided by a judge, the standard of review and degree of deference given by an appellate tribunal to the decision of the lower tribunal under review
7.
England and Wales
–
The devolved National Assembly for Wales was created in 1999 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of self-government in Wales. The powers of the Assembly were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006, which allows it to pass its own laws, there is no equivalent body for England, which is directly governed by the Parliament and the government of the United Kingdom. During the Roman occupation of Britain, the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit, at that time, most of the native inhabitants of Roman Britain spoke Brythonic languages, and were all regarded as Britons, divided into numerous tribes. After the conquest, the Romans administered this region as a single unit and this aimed to replace Welsh criminal law with English law. Welsh law continued to be used for civil cases until the annexation of Wales to England in the 16th century, the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 then consolidated the administration of all the Welsh territories and incorporated them fully into the legal system of the Kingdom of England. Prior to 1746 it was not clear whether a reference to England in legislation included Wales and this specified that in all prior and future laws, references to England would by default include Wales. The Wales and Berwick Act was repealed in 1967, although the definition of England it created is preserved for acts passed prior to its repeal. Since the Acts repeal what was referred to as England is now England and Wales, while references to England, England and Wales are treated as a single unit, for most purposes, because the two form the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England. The continuance of Scots law was guaranteed under the 1706 Treaty of Union that led to the Acts of Union 1707, thus, most laws applicable to England also applied to Wales. However, Parliament now passes laws applicable to Wales and not to England, examples are the Welsh Language Acts 1967 and 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998. Measures and Acts of the National Assembly for Wales passed since the Government of Wales Act 2006 also apply in Wales, following the Government of Wales Act, effective since May 2007, the National Assembly for Wales can legislate on matters devolved to it. Following a referendum on 3 March 2011, the Welsh Assembly gained direct law-making powers and this was the first time in almost 500 years that Wales had its own powers to legislate. Each piece of Welsh legislation is known as an Act of the Assembly, outside of the legal system the position is mixed. Some organisations combine as England and Wales, others are separate, some religious denominations organise on the basis of England and Wales, most notably the Roman Catholic Church, but also small denominations, e. g. the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Prior to the disestablishment of the Church in Wales in 1920, the Electoral Commission maintains a register of political parties, organised according to where the party operates. The order of precedence in England and Wales is distinct from those of Northern Ireland and Scotland, the national parks of England and Wales have a distinctive legislative framework and history. Courts of England and Wales Judiciary of England and Wales Cultural relationship between the Welsh and the English Geography of Wales Geography of England British Isles
8.
British Empire
–
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It originated with the possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23% of the population at the time. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread, during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France, the independence of the Thirteen Colonies in North America in 1783 after the American War of Independence caused Britain to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. British attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, after the defeat of France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century. In the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution began to transform Britain, the British Empire expanded to include India, large parts of Africa and many other territories throughout the world. In Britain, political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies, during the 19th Century, Britains population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation, which caused significant social and economic stresses. To seek new markets and sources of raw materials, the Conservative Party under Benjamin Disraeli launched a period of imperialist expansion in Egypt, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand became self-governing dominions. By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britains economic lead, subsequent military and economic tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War, during which Britain relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on the military, financial and manpower resources of Britain, although the British Empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after World War I, Britain was no longer the worlds pre-eminent industrial or military power. In the Second World War, Britains colonies in Southeast Asia were occupied by Imperial Japan, despite the final victory of Britain and its allies, the damage to British prestige helped to accelerate the decline of the empire. India, Britains most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence as part of a larger movement in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The transfer of Hong Kong to China in 1997 marked for many the end of the British Empire, fourteen overseas territories remain under British sovereignty. After independence, many former British colonies joined the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Kingdom is now one of 16 Commonwealth nations, a grouping known informally as the Commonwealth realms, that share a monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII of England, following the successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, Cabot led another voyage to the Americas the following year but nothing was ever heard of his ships again
9.
Statute
–
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city or country. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy, statutes are rules made by legislative bodies, they are distinguished from case law or precedent, which is decided by courts, and regulations issued by government agencies. Statute law is written by a legislative body and signed into law by its executive. Before a statute becomes law in countries, it must be agreed upon by the highest executive in the government. A universal problem encountered by lawmakers throughout human history is how to organize published statutes, such publications have a habit of starting small but growing rapidly over time, as new statutes are enacted in response to the exigencies of the moment. Eventually, persons trying to find the law are forced to sort through a number of statutes enacted at various points in time to determine which portions are still in effect. In turn, in theory, the code will thenceforth reflect the current cumulative state of the law in that jurisdiction. In many nations statutory law is distinguished from and subordinate to constitutional law, statute is also another word for law. The term was adapted from England in about the 18th century, in the Autonomous Communities of Spain, the autonomy statute is a legal document similar to a state constitution in a federated state. The autonomies statutes in Spain have the rank of Ley Organica, leyes Organicas rank between the Constitution and ordinary laws. The name was chosen, among others, to avoid confusion with the term Constitution, in biblical terminology, statute refers to a law given without any reason or justification. The classic example is the statute regarding the Red Heifer. The opposite of a chok is a mishpat, a law given for a reason, e. g. the Sabbath laws, which were given because God created the world in six days. That which upholds, supports or maintains the order of the universe meaning the Law or Natural Law. This is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion, Constitution Legislation Legislature Organic statute Statutory law
10.
Abolitionism
–
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery, whether formal or informal. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism is a movement to end the African and Indian slave trade. An abolitionist movement only started in the late 18th century, however, soon after his death in 1785, they joined with William Wilberforce and others in forming the Clapham Sect. Massachusetts ratified a constitution that declared all men equal, freedom suits challenging slavery based on this principle brought an end to slavery in the state, Vermont, which existed as an unrecognized state from 1777 to 1791, abolished adult slavery in 1777. In other states, such as Virginia, similar declarations of rights were interpreted by the courts as not applicable to Africans, during the following decades, the abolitionist movement grew in northern states, and Congress regulated the expansion of slavery in new states admitted to the union. France abolished slavery within the French Kingdom in 1315, Haiti achieved independence from France in 1804 and brought an end to slavery in its territory. The northern states in the U. S. all abolished slavery by 1804, the United Kingdom and the United States outlawed the international slave trade in 1807, after which Britain led efforts to block slave ships. In Eastern Europe, groups organized to abolish the enslavement of the Roma in Wallachia and Moldavia and it was declared illegal in 1948 under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The last country to abolish slavery was Mauritania, where it was officially abolished by presidential decree in 1981. In 1315, Louis X, king of France, published a decree proclaiming that France signifies freedom and this prompted subsequent governments to circumscribe slavery in the overseas colonies. Some cases of African slaves freed by setting foot on the French soil were recorded such as example of a Norman slave merchant who tried to sell slaves in Bordeaux in 1571. He was arrested and his slaves were freed according to a declaration of the Parlement of Guyenne which stated that slavery was intolerable in France, born into slavery in Saint Domingue, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas became free when his father brought him to France in 1776. As in other New World colonies, the French relied on the Atlantic slave trade for labour for their sugar plantations in their Caribbean colonies. In addition, French colonists in Louisiane in North America held slaves, particularly in the South around New Orleans, Louis XIVs Code Noir regulated the slave trade and institution in the colonies. It gave unparalleled rights to slaves and it includes the right to marry, gather publicly, or take Sundays off. Although the Code Noir authorized and codified cruel corporal punishment against slaves under certain conditions and it also forced the owners to instruct them in the Catholic faith, implying that Africans were human beings endowed with a soul, a fact that was not seen as evident until then. It resulted in a far higher percentage of blacks being free in 1830 and they were on average exceptionally literate, with a significant number of them owning businesses, properties, and even slaves. Other free people of colour, such as Julien Raimond, spoke out against slavery, during the Age of Enlightenment, many philosophers wrote pamphlets against slavery and its moral and economical justifications, including Montesquieu in The Spirit of the Laws or in the Encyclopédie
11.
Thirteen Colonies
–
The Thirteen Colonies were a group of British colonies on the east coast of North America founded in the 17th and 18th centuries that declared independence in 1776 and formed the United States. The Thirteen Colonies had very similar political, constitutional, and legal systems and they were part of Britains possessions in the New World, which also included colonies in present-day Canada and the Caribbean, as well as East and West Florida. However, the Thirteen Colonies had a degree of self-government and active local elections. In the 1750s, the colonies began collaborating with each other instead of dealing directly with Britain, Colonial decisions were subject to approval by the governor and the home government. There were also substantial populations of African slaves in some of the colonies, especially Virginia, the Carolinas, the names of the colonies were chosen by the founders and proprietors, subject to royal approval, and given in the founding charters. Nine of the thirteen chose to include in their names the term Province of, later residents tended to drop the ambiguous terminology, as in the map shown in the article Province of New Jersey, which is labeled simply East Jersey and West Jersey. In July 1776, they formed a new nation called the United States of America, the new nation achieved that goal by winning the American Revolutionary War with the aid of France, the Netherlands, and Spain. The American flag features thirteen horizontal stripes which represent these original thirteen colonies, besides these thirteen colonies, Britain had another dozen in the New World. Those in the British West Indies, Newfoundland, the Province of Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Bermuda, and East and West Florida remained loyal to the crown throughout the war. The British crown had recently acquired those lands, and many of the issues facing the Thirteen Colonies did not apply to them, especially in the case of Quebec. Contemporary documents usually list the thirteen colonies of British North America in geographical order, the consolidation collapsed after the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89, and the nine former colonies re-established their separate identities in 1689. Massachusetts Bay Colony Settled in 1630 by Puritans from England, the colonial charter was revoked in 1684, and a new charter was issued in 1691 establishing an enlarged Province of Massachusetts Bay. Province of Maine Settled in 1622, the Massachusetts Bay Colony claimed the Maine territory in the 1650s, then limited to present-day southernmost Maine. Parts of Maine east of the Kennebec River were also part of New York in the half of the 17th century. These areas were made part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in the charter of 1691. Plymouth Colony Settled in 1620 by the Pilgrims, plymouth was merged into the Province of Massachusetts Bay in the charter of 1691. Saybrook Colony Founded in 1635 and merged with Connecticut Colony in 1644, New Haven Colony Settled in late 1637. New Netherland Extensive region centered about New Amsterdam at the tip of Manhattan Island
12.
Boston
–
Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1,1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with a population of 667,137 in 2015, making it the largest city in New England. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.1 million people, One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U. S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education, through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the original peninsula. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing over 20 million visitors per year, Bostons many firsts include the United States first public school, Boston Latin School, first subway system, the Tremont Street Subway, and first public park, Boston Common. Bostons economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, the city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. Bostons early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the renaming on September 7,1630 was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colonys first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history, over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century, Bostons harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Bostons merchants had found alternatives for their investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the economy, and the citys industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. Boston remained one of the nations largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century, a network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a network of railroads furthered the regions industry. Boston was a port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies
13.
Province of Massachusetts Bay
–
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony in British North America and, from 1776, one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7,1691, by William and Mary, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The charter took effect on May 14,1692, and included the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Plymouth Colony, the Province of Maine, Marthas Vineyard, Nantucket, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The modern Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the successor, Maine has been a separate U. S. state since 1820. The name Massachusetts comes from the Massachusett, an Algonquian tribe, the name has been translated as at the great hill, at the place of large hills, or at the range of hills, with reference to the Blue Hills, and in particular, Great Blue Hill. Colonial settlement of the shores of Massachusetts Bay began in 1620 with the founding of the Plymouth Colony, over the next ten years there was a major migration of Puritans to the area, leading to the founding of a number of new colonies in New England. By the 1680s the number of colonies had stabilized at five, in addition to Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts Bay was the most populous and economically significant, housing a sizable merchant fleet. The colonies at times struggled against the Indian population, which had suffered a decline in population prior to the arrival of the first permanent settlers. In the 1630s the Pequot tribe was destroyed, and King Philips War in the 1670s resulted in the expulsion, pacification. The latter war was costly to the colonists of New England. Massachusetts and Plymouth were both somewhat politically independent from England in their days, but this situation changed after the restoration of Charles II to the English throne in 1660. Charles sought closer oversight of the colonies, and to introduce and enforce economic control over their activities, the Navigation Acts passed in the 1660s were widely disliked in Massachusetts, where merchants often found themselves trapped and at odds with the rules. These issues and others led to the revocation of the first Massachusetts Charter in 1684, when James was deposed in the 1688 Glorious Revolution, Massachusetts political leaders conspired against Andros, arresting him and other English authorities in April 1689. This led to the collapse of the Dominion, as the other colonies then quickly reasserted their old forms of government, the Plymouth colony had never had a royal charter, so its governance had always been on a somewhat precarious footing. Massachusetts, however, was placed into constitutional anarchy by the uprising, provincial agents traveled to London where Increase Mather, representing the old colony leaders, petitioned new rulers William and Mary to restore the old colonial charter. When King William learned that this result in a return to the predominantly entrenched religious rule. Instead, the Lords of Trade decided to solve two problems at once by combining the two colonies, accordingly, on October 7,1691, they issued a charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and appointed Sir William Phips its governor. Although the effect of change has been subject to debate among historians
14.
Kingdom of Great Britain
–
The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
15.
Jamaica
–
Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea, consisting of the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles. The island,10,990 square kilometres in area, lies about 145 kilometres south of Cuba, Jamaica is the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean, by area. Inhabited by the indigenous Arawak and Taíno peoples, the island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494, Many of the indigenous people died of disease, and the Spanish imported African slaves as labourers. Named Santiago, the island remained a possession of Spain until 1655, under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with its plantation economy highly dependent on slaves imported from Africa. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations. Beginning in the 1840s, the British imported Chinese and Indian indentured labour to work on plantations, the island achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962. With 2.8 million people, Jamaica is the third-most populous Anglophone country in the Americas, Kingston is the countrys capital and largest city, with a population of 937,700. Jamaicans predominately have African ancestry, with significant European, Chinese, Hakka, Indian, due to a high rate of emigration for work since the 1960s, Jamaica has a large diaspora around the world, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch and her appointed representative in the country is the Governor-General of Jamaica, an office held by Sir Patrick Allen since 2009. Andrew Holness has served as the head of government and Prime Minister of Jamaica from March 2016, the indigenous people, the Taíno, called it Xaymaca in Arawakan, meaning the Land of Wood and Water or the Land of Springs. Colloquially Jamaicans refer to their island as the Rock. Slang names such as Jamrock, Jamdown, or briefly Ja, have derived from this, the Arawak and Taíno indigenous people, originating in South America, settled on the island between 4000 and 1000 BC. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1494, there were more than 200 villages ruled by caciques, the south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially around the area now known as Old Harbour. The Taino still inhabited Jamaica when the English took control of the island in 1655, the Jamaican National Heritage Trust is attempting to locate and document any evidence of the Taino/Arawak. Christopher Columbus claimed Jamaica for Spain after landing there in 1494 and his probable landing point was Dry Harbour, now called Discovery Bay, although there is some debate that it might have been St. Anns Bay. St. Anns Bay was named Saint Gloria by Columbus, as the first sighting of the land, the capital was moved to Spanish Town, then called St. Jago de la Vega, around 1534. Spanish Town has the oldest cathedral of the British colonies in the Caribbean, the Spanish were forcibly evicted by the English at Ocho Rios in St. Ann. In 1655, the English, led by Sir William Penn and General Robert Venables, the English continued to import African slaves as labourers
16.
Court of King's Bench (England)
–
The Court of Kings Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was an English court of common law in the English legal system. Although not immediately stemming the tide, in the term it helped the Kings Bench not only recover. While there was a decline in business from 1460 to 1540, as the new reforms began to take effect the Kings Benchs business was significantly boosted. While good for the Kings Bench, the Common Pleas became suspicious of the new developments, fighting against the Kings Bench in a reactionary and increasingly conservative way, an equilibrium was eventually reached in the 17th century. The Kings Bench thus ceased to exist, except as the Kings Bench Division of the High Court. It also acted as a court of appeal for the Exchequer of Pleas and Common Pleas, although it was not a court of last resort and those who chose not to retire became Justices of the High Court on the Kings Benchs dissolution. Originally, the court was the curia regis, one of the three central administrative bodies along with the Exchequer and Chancery, from which the Court of Chancery formed. This curia was the Kings court, composed of those advisers and courtiers who followed the King as he travelled around the country and this was not a dedicated court of law, instead a descendant of the witenagemot. In concert with the curia regis, eyre circuits staffed by itinerant judges dispensed justice throughout the country and these judges were also members of the curia, and would hear cases on the Kings behalf in the lesser curia regis. There were thus two common law courts, the curia, which followed the King, and the Common Pleas, the curia eventually became known as the Kings Bench, with the King himself required for the court to sit. There is some controversy whether the original fixed court was the Common Pleas or Kings Bench. This was originally interpreted as the foundation of the Kings Bench, the later theory was that Henry IIs decree created the Court of Common Pleas, not the Kings Bench, and that the Kings Bench instead split from the Common Pleas at some later time. The first records of an independent Kings Bench come from 1234, modern academics give 1234 as the founding date for the Kings Bench as a fully independent tribunal, considering it part of the law reform which took place from 1232 to 1234. Under Edward I, the presence of the King in the court became more and more irregular and its last travels around the country were in 1414 to Leicestershire, Staffordshire and Shropshire, and a visit to Northamptonshire in 1421. From then onwards, the Kings Bench became a court rather than one that followed the King. Like the Common Pleas, the Kings Bench sat in Westminster Hall until its dissolution and these courts were more attractive to the common lawyers because of their informality and the simple method used to arrest defendants. This loss of business was recognised by the Kings Bench. From 1500 the Kings Bench began reforming to increase its business and jurisdiction, the recovery of the Kings Bench was thanks to its use of Chancery-like procedure, centrally, the system of bills
17.
Habeas corpus
–
Habeas corpus is a recourse in law whereby a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment before a court, usually through a prison official. The writ of habeas corpus is known as the great and efficacious writ in all manner of illegal confinement, if the custodian is acting beyond his or her authority, then the prisoner must be released. Any prisoner, or another person acting on his or her behalf, may petition the court, or a judge, One reason for the writ to be sought by a person other than the prisoner is that the detainee might be held incommunicado. Most civil law jurisdictions provide a remedy for those unlawfully detained. For example, in some Spanish-speaking nations, the equivalent remedy for unlawful imprisonment is the amparo de libertad, though a writ of right, it is not a writ of course. So if an imposition such as internment without trial is permitted by the law, in some countries, the writ has been temporarily or permanently suspended under the pretext of war or state of emergency. The right to petition for a writ of habeas corpus has nonetheless long been celebrated as the most efficient safeguard of the liberty of the subject, the most common of the other such prerogative writs are quo warranto, prohibito, mandamus, procedendo, and certiorari. The due process for such petitions is not simply civil or criminal, the official who is the respondent must prove his authority to do or not do something. Failing this, the court must decide for the petitioner, who may be any person and this differs from a motion in a civil process in which the movant must have standing, and bears the burden of proof. From Latin habeas, 2nd person singular present subjunctive active of habere, to have, to hold, in reference to more than one person, habeas corpora. Literally, the means you may have the body. The complete phrase habeas corpus ad subjiciendum means you may have the person for the purpose of subjecting him/her to. These are the words of writs in 14th century Anglo-French documents requiring a person to be brought before a court or judge. The full name of the writ is often used to distinguish it from similar ancient writs, Habeas corpus ad prosequendum, a writ ordering return with a prisoner for the purpose of prosecuting him before the court. Habeas corpus ad respondendum, a writ ordering return to allow the prisoner to answer to new proceedings before the court, Habeas corpus ad testificandum, a writ ordering return with the body of a prisoner for the purposes of testifying. Habeas Corpus originally stems from the Assize of Clarendon, a re-issuance of rights during the reign of Henry II of England, in the 17th century the foundations for habeas corpus were wrongly thought to have originated in Magna Carta. William Blackstone cites the first recorded usage of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum in 1305, however, other writs were issued with the same effect as early as the reign of Henry II in the 12th century. The procedure for issuing a writ of habeas corpus was first codified by the Habeas Corpus Act 1679, a previous law had been passed forty years earlier to overturn a ruling that the command of the King was a sufficient answer to a petition of habeas corpus
18.
Granville Sharp
–
Granville Sharp was one of the first English campaigners for the abolition of the slave trade. He also involved himself in trying to correct other social injustices, Sharp formulated the plan to settle blacks in Sierra Leone, and founded the St. Georges Bay Company, a forerunner of the Sierra Leone Company. His efforts led to both the founding of the Province of Freedom, and later on Freetown, Sierra Leone and he was also a biblical scholar and classicist, and a talented musician. Granville Sharp was the son of Thomas Sharp, Archdeacon of Northumberland, prolific writer and biographer of his father, John Sharp. Sharp was born in Durham in 1735 and he had eight older brothers and five younger sisters. He was apprenticed to a London linen-draper at the age of fifteen, Sharp loved to argue and debate, and his keen intellect found little outlet in the mundane work in which he was involved. However, one of his fellow-apprentices was Socinian, and in order better to argue, another fellow apprentice was Jewish, and so Sharp learned Hebrew in order to be able to discuss theological matters with his colleague. Sharps apprenticeship ended in 1757, and both his parents died a year later and that same year he accepted a position as Clerk in the Ordnance Office at the Tower of London. This civil service allowed him plenty of free time to pursue his scholarly. Sharp had a musical interest. Four of his siblings – William, later to become surgeon to George III, James, Elizabeth and Judith – had also come to London, the fortnightly water-borne concerts took place from 1775–1783, the year his brother James died. Sharp had an excellent bass voice, described by George III as the best in Britain, and he played the clarinet, oboe, flageolet, kettle drums, harp and a double-flute which he had made himself. He often signed his name in notes to friends as G♯. Sharp died at Fulham House on 6 July 1813, and he lived in Fulham, London, and was buried in the churchyard of All Saints Church, Fulham. The vicar would not allow a funeral sermon to be preached in the church because Sharp had been involved with the British and Foreign Bible Society, which was Nonconformist. Sharp is best known for his efforts for the abolition of slavery, although he was involved in many other causes. Sharps brother William held a regular surgery for the poor at his surgery at Mincing Lane. Strong was a black slave from Barbados who had been so badly beaten by his master, David Lisle, a lawyer. Sharp and his brother tended to his injuries and had him admitted to Barts Hospital, the Sharps paid for his treatment and, when he was fit enough, found him employment with a Quaker apothecary friend of theirs
19.
Francis Hargrave
–
Francis Hargrave was an English lawyer and antiquary. He was the most prominent of the five advocates who appeared on behalf of James Somersett in the case which determined, in 1772, although the case was Hargraves first, his efforts on the occasion secured his reputation. Hargrave was born in London, the son of Christopher Hargrave of Chancery Lane and he entered as a student at Lincolns Inn in 1760. He came to prominence because of his performance in 1772, in Somersetts case, thereafter, he specialised in legal history and commentary and did not take further part in the abolitionist campaign. In 1797 he was made Recorder of Liverpool, and for years was treasurer of Lincolns Inn. He continued the celebrated compendium of State Trials begun by Thomas Salmon and Sollom Emlyn and he fell ill, in 1813, and his legal collection was purchased by the government for £8,000 and deposited in the British Museum. He died in 1821 and was buried in the chapel of Lincolns Inn and he published many works of legal history and amassed a substantial collection of legal books and manuscripts. His works were, ‘An Argument in the case of James Sommersett, also in Howells ‘State Trials, ’ vol. xx. ‘An Argument in Defence of Literary Property, ’1774, ‘Coke upon Lyttleton, ’ edited by F. Hargrave and Charles Butler,1775. ‘State Trials from Henry IV to 19 George III, ’1776,11 vols. A Complete Collection of State Trials, vol VII, 1549-1688 ‘A Collection of Tracts relative to the Law of England, from manuscripts by Hale, Norburie, Blackstone, Hargrave, and others, ’1787. ‘Opinion on the case of the Duke of Athol in respect of the Isle of Man, ‘Brief Deductions relative to the Aid and Supply of Executive Power in cases of Infancy, Delirium, or other incapacity of the King, ’1788, anonymous. ‘Collectanea Juridica, consisting of Cases, Tracts, ’ &c.2 vols and this includes the manuscript on the Star Chamber left by William Hudson. ‘Sir M. Hales Jurisdiction of the Lords House of Parliament, ‘Juridical Arguments and Collections, ’ 1797–9,2 vols. The arguments in the Thellusson will case were reprinted from this work separately in 1799, ‘Address to the Grand Jury at the Liverpool Sessions on the present Crisis of Public Affairs, ’1804. A catalogue of his manuscripts was compiled by Sir Henry Ellis, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Sutton, Charles William. London, Smith, Elder & Co. p.379, London, Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 154–155. Works by or about Francis Hargrave in libraries Archival material relating to Francis Hargrave
20.
Serjeant-at-law
–
A Serjeant-at-Law, commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law, or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old, the Serjeants were the oldest formally created order in England, having been brought into existence as a body by Henry II. The order rose during the 16th century as a small, elite group of lawyers who took much of the work in the common law courts. With the creation of Queens Counsel during the reign of Elizabeth I, the last Serjeant-at-Law was Serjeant Sullivan. The last purely English Serjeant-at-Law was Lord Lindley, the Serjeants had for many centuries exclusive jurisdiction over the Court of Common Pleas, being the only lawyers allowed to argue a case there. At the same time they had rights of audience in the central common law courts. Only Serjeants-at-Law could become judges of these courts right up into the 19th century, the members of the Order initially used St Pauls Cathedral as their meeting place, standing near the parvis where they would give counsel to those who sought advice. The Order certainly existed during the reign of Henry II from 1154–1189, as such it is the oldest royally created order, the next is the Order of the Garter, created in 1330. Serjeants at Law existed in Ireland from at least 1302, and were appointed by letters patent in a way to English Serjeants. Henry de Bracton claimed that, for the trial of Hubert de Burgh in 1239 the king was assisted by all the serjeants of the bench, by the 1270s there were approximately 20 recorded Serjeants, by 1290,36. This period also saw the first regulation of Serjeants, with a power from 1275 to suspend from practise any Serjeant who misbehaved. The exclusive jurisdiction Serjeants-at-Law held over the Court of Common Pleas slowly came about during the 1320s, from this period, Serjeants also began to be called in regular groups, rather than individually on whatever date was felt appropriate. During the 16th century the Serjeants-at-Law were a small, though highly respected and powerful, there were never more than ten alive, and on several occasions the number dwindled to one, William Blendlowes bragged that he had been the only Serjeant-at-Law in England in 1559. Over these 100 years, only 89 Serjeants were created and these lawyers became known as outer or utter barristers, if they were allowed to act they had passed the bar towards becoming a Serjeant-at-Law. Despite holding a monopoly on cases in the Court of Common Pleas and this was also a time of great judicial success for the Serjeants, since only Serjeants could be appointed to the common law courts, many also sat in the Exchequer of Pleas, a court of equity. This period was not a time of success for the overall, however. The decline of the Serjeants-at-Law started in 1596, when Francis Bacon persuaded Elizabeth I to appoint him Queens Counsel Extraordinary and this was not a formal creation, in that he was not granted a patent of appointment, but in 1604 James I saw fit to finally award this. The creation of Queens Counsel was initially small, James I created at least one other, following the English Restoration this increased, with a few appointed each year
21.
John Glynn
–
John Glynn SL of Glynn was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament. Glynn was born to a family of Cornish gentry and he inherited his fathers estate at Glynn in the parish of Cardinham, Cornwall, on the deaths of his elder brother and his nephew. Glynn was admitted to the Middle Temple on 21 January 1740-41, on 28 January 1747–48, he was called to the Bar. In 1763, Glynn became serjeant-at-law, and in the following year Recorder of Exeter, known for his skill as a pleader, Glynn was engaged in many celebrated cases. Elected to Parliament for Middlesex in 1768, Glynn served in Parliament until his death, in 1772, he was elected Recorder of London. Glynns speeches in Parliament were highly praised, Glynn County, Georgia was named after John Glynn in recognition for his support for the cause of American independence in Parliament. The second son of William Glynn of Glynn House in Cardinham, Cornwall and he matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford, on 17 May 1738, but did not proceed to a degree. He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1748 and his elder brother died in June,1744, leaving an only son of weak intellect, against whom his uncle took out a commission in lunacy, and was appointed receiver of the family estates. The youths mother was so incensed that she left all her own property to distant connections. The lunatic died in December 1762, and Glynn came into the possession of his nephews property, on 24 January 1763 Glynn was created a serjeant-at-law, but as a result of his opinions in opposition to the court, he was never promoted to the rank of kings serjeant. In 1764 he was appointed recorder of Exeter and his position at the bar and his opinions brought Glynn to take the lead in the cases connected with John Wilkes. They were in close consultation throughout the summer of 1763, Glynn represented Woodfall before Mansfield in the case of the Letters of Junius, of which a subset were alleged to constitute seditious libel. The verdict was mistrial, the Crown decided against further pursuit, Glynn also enjoyed a large share of general business. His advocacy secured the acquittal of Miss Butterfield, accused of poisoning William Scawen, the ministerial candidate was Sir William Beauchamp Proctor, who had been ousted from the representation by Wilkes in March 1768. On the first day of polling armed ruffians with Liberty and Proctor in their hats stormed the polling-booth at Brentford and this affair was the subject popular engravings. After six days polling Glynn won by 1,542 votes to 1,278, at the dissolution in 1774 he was re-elected without opposition. In the winter of 1770 Glynn, influenced by Lord Shelburne, moved for a committee to inquire into the administration of justice in cases relating to the press and he argued the question with John Dunning and Alexander Wedderburne. About the same time he was associated with Charles James Fox, Sir William Meredith and they deliberated for two years, and on their report a bill was introduced for the repeal of eight or ten statutes, but it was thrown out in the Lords
22.
John Philpot Curran
–
John Philpot Curran was an Irish orator, politician, wit, lawyer and judge, who held the office of Master of the Rolls in Ireland. Born in Newmarket, County Cork, he was the son of James, a friend of the family, Rev. Nathaniel Boyse, arranged to have Curran educated at Midleton, County Cork. He studied law at Trinity College, Dublin and continued his studies at Kings Inns. He was called to the Irish bar in 1775, upon his first trial, his nerves got the better of him and he couldnt proceed. His short stature, boyish features, shrill voice and a speech impediment hindered his career, however, he could speak passionately in court on subjects close to his heart. He eventually overcame his nerves, and got rid of his impediment by constantly reciting Shakespeare and Bolingbroke in front of a mirror. He also could speak Irish, still the language of the majority at that time and he wrote a large amount of humorous and romantic poetry. The case which cemented Currans popularity was that of Father Neale, Father Neale, an elderly Catholic priest in County Cork, criticised an adulterous parishioner. The adulterers sister was mistress to Lord Doneraile, a cruel Protestant landlord, Doneraile demanded that Neale recant his criticism of his mistress brother. When the priest stood by his principles, Doneraile horse-whipped him, Curran, who had a passion for lost causes, represented the priest and won over the jury by setting aside the issue of religion. The jury awarded Currans client 30 guineas, Doneraile challenged Curran to a duel, in which Doneraile fired and missed. The year 1796 saw Curran again attacking the character of a peer, the circumstances were very different from the Doneraile case, Curran was defending another aristocrat, Augustus Bradshaw, allegedly the lover of Lady Westmeath, in a criminal conversation action. For once his eloquence went for nothing and despite his attacks on the characters of both Lord and Lady Westmeath, the awarded the enormous sum of £10000. He earned the nickname the little Jesuit of St. Omer, from wearing a brown coat out- side a black, started in 1780, his drinking club The Order of St. Patrick also included Catholic members along with liberal lawyers. The Club members were called The Monks of the Screw, as they appreciated wine, Curran was its Prior and consequently named his Rathfarnham home The Priory. The club had no link to the Order of St. Patrick established in 1783, a liberal Protestant whose politics were similar to Henry Grattan, he employed all his eloquence to oppose the illiberal policy of the Government, and also the Union with Britain. Curran stood as Member of Parliament for Kilbeggan in 1783 and he also visited France in the 1780s and in 1802, and considered that an Ireland ruled by the United Irishmen under French protection would be as bad as, if not worse than, British rule. However, he defended several of the United Irishmen in prominent high treason cases in the 1790s, William Jackson, Archibald Hamilton Rowan, Wolfe Tone, Napper Tandy, The Sheares Brothers, Lord Edward Fitzgerald, William Orr and William Drennan
23.
Abolitionism in the United States
–
Abolitionism in the United States was the movement before and during the American Civil War to end slavery in the United States. In the Americas and western Europe, abolitionism was a movement to end the Atlantic slave trade, in the 17th century, English Quakers and Evangelicals condemned slavery as un-Christian. At that time, most slaves were Africans, but thousands of Native Americans were also enslaved, in the 18th century, as many as six million Africans were transported to the Americas as slaves, at least a third of them on British ships to North America. Abolition was part of the message of the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s in the Thirteen Colonies, in the same period, rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment criticized slavery for violating human rights. A member of the British Parliament, James Edward Oglethorpe, was among the first to articulate the Enlightenment case against slavery, founder of the Province of Georgia, Oglethorpe banned slavery on humanistic grounds. He argued against it in Parliament and eventually encouraged his friends Granville Sharp, soon after his death in 1785, Sharp and More joined with William Wilberforce and others in forming the Clapham Sect. Although anti-slavery sentiments were widespread by the late 18th century, colonies and emerging nations, notably in the southern United States, continued to use and uphold traditions of slavery. Massachusetts ratified a constitution that declared all men equal, freedom suits challenging slavery based on this principle brought an end to slavery in the state, in other states, such as Virginia, similar declarations of rights were interpreted by the courts as not applicable to Africans. During the ensuing decades, the abolitionist movement grew in Northern states, britain banned the importation of African slaves in its colonies in 1807 and abolished slavery in the British Empire in 1833. The United States criminalized the international trade in 1808 and made slavery unconstitutional in 1865 as a result of the American Civil War. Historian James M. McPherson defines an abolitionist as one who before the Civil War had agitated for the immediate, unconditional and total abolition of slavery in the United States. He does not include antislavery activists such as Abraham Lincoln, U. S. President during the Civil War, or the Republican Party, the first Americans who made a public protest against slavery were the Mennonites of Germantown, Pennsylvania. Soon after, in April 1688, Quakers in the town wrote a two-page condemnation of the practice and sent it to the governing bodies of their Quaker church. The Quaker establishment never took action, the Quaker Quarterly Meeting of Chester, Pennsylvania, made its first protest in 1711. Within a few decades the entire slave trade was under attack, being opposed by leaders as William Burling, Benjamin Lay, Ralph Sandiford, William Southby. Slavery was banned in the Province of Georgia soon after its founding in 1733, the colonys founder, James Edward Oglethorpe, fended off repeated attempts by South Carolina merchants and land speculators to introduce slavery to the colony. In 1739, he wrote to the Georgia Trustees urging them to hold firm, If we allow slaves we act against the principles by which we associated together. Whereas, now we should occasion the misery of thousands in Africa, by setting men upon using arts to buy, the struggle between Georgia and South Carolina led to the first debates in Parliament over the issue of slavery, occurring between 1740 and 1742
24.
Frederick Douglass
–
Frederick Douglass was an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. In his time, he was described by abolitionists as a living counter-example to slaveholders arguments that slaves lacked the capacity to function as independent American citizens. Northerners at the found it hard to believe that such a great orator had once been a slave. After the Civil War, Douglass remained an active campaigner against slavery and wrote his last autobiography, Life, First published in 1881 and revised in 1892, three years before his death, it covered events during and after the Civil War. Douglass also actively supported womens suffrage, and held public offices. Douglass was a believer in the equality of all peoples, whether black, female, Native American. He was also a believer in dialogue and in making alliances across racial and ideological divides, one biographer argues, The most influential African American of the nineteenth century, Douglass made a career of agitating the American conscience. He spoke and wrote on behalf of a variety of causes, womens rights, temperance, peace, land reform, free public education. But he devoted the bulk of his time, immense talent and these were the central concerns of his long reform career. Douglass understood that the struggle for emancipation and equality demanded forceful, persistent, and he recognized that African Americans must play a conspicuous role in that struggle. Less than a month before his death, when a black man solicited his advice to an African American just starting out in the world, Douglass replied without hesitation. Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Talbot County, the plantation was between Hillsboro and Cordova, his birthplace was likely his grandmothers shack east of Tappers Corner, and west of Tuckahoe Creek. The exact date of his birth is unknown, and he chose to celebrate his birthday on February 14. In his first autobiography, Douglass stated, I have no knowledge of my age. Douglass was of mixed race, which likely included Native American on his mothers side and he was given his name by his mother, Harriet Bailey. After escaping to the North years later, he took the surname Douglass and he wrote of his earliest times with his mother, The opinion was. Whispered that my master was my father, but of the correctness of this opinion I know nothing and my mother and I were separated when I was but an infant. It common custom, in the part of Maryland from which I ran away, … I do not recollect ever seeing my mother by the light of day
25.
Parliament of Great Britain
–
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. This lasted nearly a century, until the Acts of Union 1800 merged the separate British and Irish Parliaments into a single Parliament of the United Kingdom with effect from 1 January 1801. Following the Treaty of Union in 1706, Acts of Union ratifying the Treaty were passed in both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland, which created a new Kingdom of Great Britain. The Acts dissolved both parliaments, replacing them with a new parliament, referred to as the Parliament of Great Britain and it was not even considered necessary to hold a new general election. While Scots law and Scottish legislation remained separate, new legislation was thereafter to be enacted by the new parliament, after the Hanoverian King George I ascended the British throne in 1714 through the Act of Settlement of 1701, real power continued to shift away from the monarchy. George was a German ruler, spoke poor English, and remained interested in governing his dominions in continental Europe rather than in Britain. Reformers and Radicals sought parliamentary reform, but as the French Revolutionary Wars developed the British government became repressive against dissent and progress towards reform was stalled. During the first half of George IIIs reign, the still had considerable influence over Parliament. Most candidates for the House of Commons were identified as Whigs or Tories, reformers like William Beckford and Radicals beginning with John Wilkes called for reform of the system. In 1780 a draft programme of reform was drawn up by Charles James Fox and Thomas Brand Hollis and this included calls for the six points later adopted by the Chartists. Pitt had previously called for Parliament to begin to reform itself, proposals Pitt made in April 1785 to redistribute seats from the rotten boroughs to London and the counties were defeated in the House of Commons by 248 votes to 174
26.
Slavery at common law
–
Some groups assert slavery was not recognised as lawful, often on the basis of pronouncements such as those attributed to Lord Mansfield, that the air of England is too pure for any slave to breathe. However the true legal position has been both nuanced and complex through the relevant time period, for most of the early common law history, the courts were not called upon to consider the position in relation to slavery. Accordingly, it has been argued that as slavery usually involved one or both of these things, it would only be lawful if there was positive legal impetus for its legality. Even if that is correct, it is clear that the law was not expressed to abrogate the status of either serfs generally, or slaves who were brought to England from abroad. There are also reports relating to an Irish decree in 1171 that all the English slaves in the whole of Ireland, the same source indicates that slavery in England was abolished by a general charter of emancipation in 1381. Certainly villeinage continued in England, slowly decaying, until the last villein died in the early 17th century, in later common law cases, none of the foregoing decrees or proclamations were cited or referred to as binding law in relation to the status of slaves generally. In 1569, a man, Cartwright, was observed savagely beating another, Cartwright averred that the man was a slave whom he had brought to England from Russia, and thus such chastisement was not unlawful. The case is reported by John Rushworth in his 1721 summary of John Lilburnes case of 1649 and he wrote, Whipping was painful and shameful, Flagellation for Slaves. And indeed it was resolved, even in Star-Chamber, That no Gentleman was to be whipt for any offence whatsoever. It is reported that the court held that the man must be freed, subsequent citations of the effect of the case was actually to impose limits on the physical punishment on slaves, rather than to express comment on legality of slavery generally. In the case of John Lilburne in 1649, the defendants counsel relied upon Cartwrights case to show that the severity of a received by Lilburne exceeded that permitted by law. In none of subsequent common law cases prior to Somersetts case was Cartwrights case cited as authority for the proposition that slavery was unlawful, however, those disputes predominantly concerned disputes between slave merchants, for whom it would have been commercially unwise to plead that slavery was unlawful. It is inferred that, because he was from Russia, Cartwrights slave was white, however, it is possible that he was African, as, although they were uncommon, African slaves in Russia were not unknown prior to the emergence of the Atlantic slave trade. However, the opposition of the courts of England to the status of slavery began to change with the rising importance of the African slave trade. An extensive traffic in slaves from Africa began in the 17th century, primarily to supply labour for the sugar. In 1660, what became the Royal African Company was chartered by the King with a monopoly in the trade, and in 1698, in the Caribbean, Barbados became an English Colony in 1624 and Jamaica in 1655. These and other Caribbean colonies became the center of wealth and the focus of the trade for the growing English empire. English merchants were prominent in the trade, and in commercial disputes slavery soon presented the English courts with novel legal questions
27.
Fiat justitia ruat caelum
–
Fiat justitia ruat cælum is a Latin legal phrase, meaning Let justice be done though the heavens fall. The maxim signifies the belief that justice must be realized regardless of consequences, according to the 19th-century abolitionist politician Charles Sumner, it does not come from any classical source. It has also ascribed to Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, see Pisos justice. It was used in the judgment, Somerset v Stewart. The falling sky clause occurs in a passage of Heauton Timorumenos, by Terence, in the scene, Syrus suggests a scheme through which Clinia might deceive another into taking actions that would further his love interests. Syrus lays out his plan, while Clinia, who must act it out, finds faults with it, finally asking, if his father should come to know of it, pray, what then. To which the Syrus replies, Quid si redeo ad illos qui aiunt, ‘Quid si nunc cœlum ruat. ’ — What if I have recourse to those who say, ‘What now if the sky were to fall. Alexander, who hoped to hear himself named, was disappointed by an answer that implied that nothing within human power could hurt them, short of a total destruction of nature. In a similar vein, Theognis of Megara urges May the great broad sky of bronze fall on my head / if I am not / A friend to those who love me, whereas Aristotle asserts in his Physics, B. IV, that it was the notion of ignorant nations that the sky was supported on the shoulders of Atlas. As the condemned man was presenting his neck to the executioners sword, the centurion overseeing the execution halted the proceedings and led the condemned man back to Piso, expecting a reprieve. But Piso mounted the tribunal in a rage, and ordered the three soldiers to be executed, the phrase fiat justitia does not appear in De Ira. Though Brewers attributes the story to Seneca, the phrase is sometimes attributed to a different Piso, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, possibly a confusion with this case. The exact phrase as used for approval of justice at all cost — usually seen in a positive sense — appears to originate in modern jurisprudence. Another famous eighteenth-century usage appears in David Humes 1748 essay Of Passive Obedience, in 1933, Judge Horton set aside the death sentence of Haywood Patterson, one of nine black men who were wrongfully convicted of raping two white women in Alabama. Judge Horton quoted the phrase when explaining why he made his decision and this is referenced with the title of a film based on the case, Heavens Fall. Similarly, Lord Mansfield, in reversing the outlawry of John Wilkes in 1768, the phrase is engraved on the wall behind the bench in the Supreme Court of Georgia and over the lintel of the Bridewell Garda station in Dublin. The Tennessee Supreme Court uses the phrase as its motto, it appears in the seal of the Court and is inlaid into the floor of the lobby of the building in Nashville
28.
Pound sterling
–
It is subdivided into 100 pence. A number of nations that do not use sterling also have called the pound. At various times, the sterling was commodity money or bank notes backed by silver or gold. The pound sterling is the worlds oldest currency still in use, the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey and Jersey produce their own local issues of sterling, the Guernsey pound and the Jersey pound. The pound sterling is also used in the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the Bank of England is the central bank for the pound sterling, issuing its own coins and banknotes, and regulating issuance of banknotes by private banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sterling is the fourth most-traded currency in the exchange market, after the United States dollar, the euro. Together with those three currencies it forms the basket of currencies which calculate the value of IMF special drawing rights, Sterling is also the third most-held reserve currency in global reserves. The full, official name, pound sterling, is used mainly in formal contexts, otherwise the term pound is normally used. The abbreviations ster. or stg. are sometimes used, the term British pound is commonly used in less formal contexts, although it is not an official name of the currency. The pound sterling is also referred to as cable amongst forex traders, the origins of this term are attributed to the fact that in the 1800s, the dollar/pound sterling exchange rate was transmitted via transatlantic cable. Forex brokers are sometimes referred to as cable dealers, as another established source notes, the compound expression was then derived, silver coins known as sterlings were issued in the Saxon kingdoms,240 of them being minted from a pound of silver. Hence, large payments came to be reckoned in pounds of sterlings, in 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. And because the Leagues money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, and land for their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, which by the 1340s was also called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle. For further discussion of the etymology of sterling, see sterling silver, the currency sign for the pound sign is £, which is usually written with a single cross-bar, though a version with a double cross-bar is also sometimes seen. The ISO4217 currency code is GBP, occasionally, the abbreviation UKP is used but this is non-standard because the ISO3166 country code for the United Kingdom is GB. The Crown dependencies use their own codes, GGP, JEP, stocks are often traded in pence, so traders may refer to pence sterling, GBX, when listing stock prices. A common slang term for the pound sterling or pound is quid, since decimalisation in 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 pence. The symbol for the penny is p, hence an amount such as 50p properly pronounced fifty pence is more colloquially, quite often, pronounced fifty pee /fɪfti, pi and this also helped to distinguish between new and old pence amounts during the changeover to the decimal system
29.
Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke
–
Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke PC was an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord Chancellor. He was a confidant of the Duke of Newcastle, Prime Minister between 1754 and 1756 and 1757 until 1762. A son of Philip Yorke, an attorney, he was born at Dover, through his mother, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Richard Gibbon of Rolvenden, Kent, he was connected with the family of Edward Gibbon the historian. He was educated at a school in Bethnal Green run by Samuel Morland, at age 16 Yorke entered the attorneys office of Charles Salkeld in Holborn, London. He was entered at the Middle Temple in November 1708, Hardwicke was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son, Philip. His cousin Sir William Yorke, 1st Baronet had a successful career as a judge in Ireland. He was excused, on the ground of his friendship, from acting for the crown in the impeachment of Macclesfield in 1725. Lord Hardwicke is also remembered as one of the two authors of the Yorke–Talbot slavery opinion whilst he was a law officer in 1729. The opinion was sought to determinate the legality of slavery and Hardwicke, the opinion was disseminated and relied upon widely. Lord Hardwicke would subsequently endorse the views in the opinion in a capacity in Pearne v Lisle Amb 75,27 ER47. He rendered valuable service to Walpoles government by his support of the bill for prohibiting loans to foreign powers, of the increase of the army, one of his first official acts was to deprive the poet James Thomson of a small office conferred on him by Talbot. He resisted Carterets motion to reduce the army in 1738, but when Walpole bent before the storm and declared war against Spain, Hardwicke advocated energetic measures for its conduct, and he tried to keep the peace between Newcastle and Walpole. There is no sufficient ground for Horace Walpoles charge that the fall of Sir Robert was brought about by Hardwickes treachery, for many years from this time he was the controlling power in the government. During the kings absences on the continent Hardwicke was left at the head of the council of regency and he carried out a major reform in 1746 which swept away the feudal power surviving in Scotland in the form of private heritable jurisdictions in the hands of the landed gentry. On the other hand, his legislation in 1748 for disarming the Highlanders and he played a part in negotiating the coalition between Newcastle and Pitt in 1757, when he accepted a seat in Pitts cabinet without returning to the woolsack. After the accession of George III Hardwicke opposed the ministry of Lord Bute on the peace with France in 1762, in the Wilkes case Hardwicke condemned general warrants, and also the doctrine that seditious libels published by members of parliament were protected by parliamentary privilege. He died in London on 6 March 1764 and he held the office of lord chancellor longer than any of his predecessors, with a single exception. His decisions fixed limits and established principles of Equity and his influence was powerful in obliterating the traditions of the judicial bench under the Stuart monarchy, and in establishing the modern conception of the duties and demeanour of English judges
30.
Trover
–
Trover is a form of lawsuit in common-law countries for recovery of damages for wrongful taking of personal property. Trover belongs to a series of remedies for such wrongful taking, its distinctive feature being recovery only for the value of whatever was taken, not for the recovery of the property itself. Although actions in trover can be traced to the time of Bracton, action in trover became a mature legal doctrine during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, 1558–1603. Early trover cases involved the keeping or taking of a bailment by the bailee, others concerned the use of lost chattels found by another. Early on, there was difficulty in dealing with situations where chattels held by a bailee were used by a third party, examples could be sheep, horses, farm goods, grains or other chattels left in the care of a person who was required to exercise ordinary care. If negligence led to damages, an action could be had, a third person might use the chattel, returning it in a damaged condition. The early common law had some difficulty in dealing with this kind of situation and this led to expansions of actions in trover. The theory of trover was that the defendant, by converting the chattel to his own use, had appropriated the plaintiffs property, the plaintiff was not required to accept the chattel when it was tendered back to him. He could recover damages for the value of the chattel at the time. The effect was that the defendant was compelled to buy the chattel at a forced sale, trover actions frequently concerned the finding of lost property. It could also involve cargo on ships, such as those lost at sea, trover often involved cases in which the most correct owner could be determined. For instance, if an envelope of bank notes or currency were to be found, often this would prove to be impossible. In that case, the finder would be the next best owner, trover cases have been described as finders keepers, losers weepers cases. Trover damages came to be measured by the value of the object. Sometimes, compensation for deprivation of use and compensation for other losses naturally and proximately caused by the taking could be added. The plaintiff could also recover interest that would have earned by the money value of the object. If the taker sold the object for more than its market value, however, selling the chattel could change the action to that of a true conversion which was a form of theft. If the taker had made improvements on the object, the value of improvements are not deducted from the plaintiffs recovery unless the taking was by mistake
31.
Villein
–
A villein, otherwise known as cottar, torpare, crofter, is a serf tied to the land in the feudal system. Villeins had more rights and status than those in slavery, but were under a number of legal restrictions which differentiated them from the freeman, villeins occupied the social space between a free peasant and a slave. The majority of medieval European peasants were villeins, an alternative term is serf, from the Latin servus, meaning slave. A villein was thus a bonded tenant, so could not leave the land without the landowners consent, the term derives from Late Latin villanus, meaning a man employed at a Roman villa rustica, or large agricultural estate. The decree obliged peasants to register in their locality and never leave it, because of the low status, the term became derogatory. In modern French vilain means ugly or naughty and in Italian, villeinage was important and commonplace in the European Middle Ages, though it was later superseded in most of Western Europe. Villeins generally rented small homes, with or without land, as part of the contract with their landlord, they were expected to use some of their time to farm the lords demesne or provide other services, possibly in addition to a rent of money or goods. These services could be very onerous, villeins might also be required to pay a fine on the marriage of their daughters outside of the manor, the inheritance of a holding by a son, or other circumstances. Villeins were tied to the land and could not move away without their lords consent, however, except to their own lords, they were free men in the eyes of the law. Villeins were generally able to have their own property, unlike slaves, villeinage, as opposed to other forms of serfdom, was most common in Western European feudalism, where land ownership had developed from roots in Roman law. A variety of kinds of villeinage existed in the European Middle Ages, different times and countries dealt with villeinage in slightly different ways. Some villeins had clearly defined and limited responsibilities to their lords, the array of restrictions and taxes seems harsh and arbitrary to modern minds. However, it makes sense if one views the medieval manor as an economic unit, for instance, the marriage of a daughter away meant the loss of an able-bodied worker to the village. Villeinage was not always an involuntary arrangement, in the early Middle Ages families entered villeinage voluntarily, to guarantee tenure of land. And while villeins were heavily restricted in what they could do, many villeins were in villeinage because of the land they held, rather than by birth, and could become free men if their lord agreed with them to move them to a different holding. Villeinage was not a purely exploitative relationship, in the Middle Ages, land guaranteed sustenance and survival, being a villein guaranteed access to land. Landlords, even where legally able to, rarely evicted villeins because of the value of their labour, villeinage was much preferable to being a vagabond, a slave, or an unlanded labourer. Villeinage became progressively less common through the Middle Ages, particularly after the Black Death reduced the rural population, furthermore, the lords of many manors were willing to manumit their villeins
32.
Elizabeth I of England
–
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife, who was executed two and a half years after Elizabeths birth. Annes marriage to Henry VIII was annulled, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate, edwards will was set aside and Mary became queen, deposing Lady Jane Grey. During Marys reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels, in 1558, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister to the throne and set out to rule by good counsel. She depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers, led by William Cecil, one of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement was to evolve into the Church of England and it was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir to continue the Tudor line. She never did, despite numerous courtships, as she grew older, Elizabeth became famous for her virginity. A cult grew around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, in government, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and half-siblings had been. One of her mottoes was video et taceo, in religion, she was relatively tolerant and avoided systematic persecution. Elizabeth was cautious in foreign affairs, manoeuvring between the powers of France and Spain. She only half-heartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns in the Netherlands, France, by the mid-1580s, England could no longer avoid war with Spain. Englands defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 associated Elizabeth with one of the greatest military victories in English history, Elizabeths reign is known as the Elizabethan era. Some historians depict Elizabeth as a short-tempered, sometimes indecisive ruler, towards the end of her reign, a series of economic and military problems weakened her popularity. Such was the case with Elizabeths rival, Mary, Queen of Scots, after the short reigns of Elizabeths half-siblings, her 44 years on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity. Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace and was named after both her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Elizabeth Howard and she was the second child of Henry VIII of England born in wedlock to survive infancy. Her mother was Henrys second wife, Anne Boleyn, at birth, Elizabeth was the heir presumptive to the throne of England. She was baptised on 10 September, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the Marquess of Exeter, the Duchess of Norfolk, Elizabeth was two years and eight months old when her mother was beheaded on 19 May 1536, four months after Catherine of Aragons death from natural causes. Elizabeth was declared illegitimate and deprived of her place in the royal succession, eleven days after Anne Boleyns execution, Henry married Jane Seymour, who died shortly after the birth of their son, Prince Edward, in 1537
33.
John Holt (Lord Chief Justice)
–
Sir John Holt was an English lawyer and served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 17 April 1689 to his death. He is frequently credited with playing a role in ending the prosecution of witches in English law. Holt was born in Abingdon in Berkshire, the son of Sir Thomas Holt, MP for that town, and his wife, Susan and he was educated at Abingdon School, Grays Inn and Oriel College, Oxford. He purchased Redgrave Manor in Suffolk, which had been the seat of the Bacon family in 1702, a letter in the Bodleian Library reads, The celebrated Dr Radcliffe, the physician. Took special pains to preserve the life of LCJ Holts wife, whom he attended out of spite to her husband, Sir John Holts sister Susan was married to Francis Levett, Esq. tobacco merchant and brother of Sir Richard Levett, Lord Mayor of London. Sir Thomas Holts father was Rowland Holt, who was identical to the merchant Rowland Holt who was murdered by muggers in Clerkenwell Fields in January 1635. The crime was particularly notorious in the ballads and broadsheets of the time, after attending for some years the free school of the town of Abingdon, of which his father was recorder, young Holt in his sixteenth year entered Oriel College, Oxford. He was called to the bar in 1663, a supporter of civil and religious liberty, he distinguished himself in state trials by the manner in which he supported the pleas of the defendants. In 1685–1686 Holt was appointed recorder of London, and about the time he was made kings serjeant. He is best known for the firmness with which he upheld his own prerogatives in opposition to the authority of the Houses of Parliament, while in sympathy with the Whig party, Holt maintained on the bench political impartiality, and held himself aloof from political intrigue. On the retirement of Somers from the chancellorship in 1700 Holt was offered the Great Seal and his death took place in London on 5 March 1710. He was buried in the chancel of Redgrave church,210, again on affirmations and warranties. Coggs v Bernard 2 Ld Raym 909 Ashby v White 2 Ld Raym 938 Cole v Turner 87 ER907 Walden v Holman 6 Mod 115, see Burnets Own Times, Tatter, No. xiv. A Life, published in 1764, Welsby, Lives of Eminent English Judges of the 17th and 18th Centuries, Campbells Lives of the Lord Chief Justices, and Foss, Lives of the Judges. Will of Sir John Holt, The Life of the Right Honourable Sir John Holt, Knight, Lord Chief justice of the Court of Kings-Bench, J. R. Printed for the Author and Sold by J. Worrall,1764 Sir John Holt, Lives of eminent English judges of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
34.
Poor relief
–
Classifications of poor used in the Poor Law system classified people into categories for those considered deserving of poor relief and those who were not considered deserving of poor relief. The impotent poor could not look after themselves or go to work and they included the ill, the infirm, the elderly, and children with no one to properly care for them. It was generally held that they should be looked after, the able-bodied poor normally referred to those who were unable to find work – either due to cyclical or long term unemployment in the area, or a lack of skills. Attempts to assist these people, and move out of this category, varied over the centuries. The idle poor were of able body but were unwilling to work and they were not considered deserving of poor relief. Vagrants or beggars, sometimes termed sturdy rogues, were those who could work but had refused to, such people were seen in the 16th and 17th centuries as potential criminals, apt to do mischief when hired for the purpose. They were normally seen as people needing punishment, and as such were often whipped in the place as an example to others
35.
Attorney General for England and Wales
–
Her Majestys Attorney General for England and Wales, usually known simply as the Attorney General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown. Along with the subordinate Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Attorney General serves as the legal adviser of the Crown and its government in England. The current Attorney General is Jeremy Wright, MP, the position of Attorney General existed since at least 1243, when records show a professional attorney was hired to represent the Kings interests in court. The position first took on a role in 1461 when the holder of the office was summoned to the House of Lords to advise the government there on legal matters. In 1673 the Attorney General officially became the Crowns adviser and representative in legal matters, the beginning of the twentieth century saw a shift away from litigation and more towards legal advice. The job of the Attorney General is a one. Duties include superintending the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office, since the passing of the Law Officers Act 1997 duties can be delegated to the Solicitor General, and any actions are treated as if they came from the Attorney General. During the early days of the office the holder was largely concerned with representing the Crown in litigation, the office first took on a political element in 1461, when the holder was summoned by writ to the House of Lords to advise the government on legal matters. This was also the first time that the office was referred to as the office of the Attorney General, during the constitutional struggle centred on the Royal Declaration of Indulgence in 1672 and 1673 the Attorney General officially became the Crowns representative in legal matters. In 1890 the ability of an Attorney General to continue practising privately was formally taken away, despite this change, until the passing of the Homicide Act 1957 the Attorney General was bound to prosecute any and all poisoning cases. The Attorney General is a minister who leads the Attorney Generals Office. As a government minister, the Attorney General is directly answerable to Parliament, as well as the government as a whole, he also advises individual departments. By convention, he represents the government in case in front of the International Court of Justice. The Attorney General also superintends the Crown Prosecution Service and appoints its head, an example of a consent case is the Campbell Case, which led to the fall of the first Labour government in 1924. The Attorney General also superintends the Government Legal Department, the Serious Fraud Office, and he or she is also officially the leader of the Bar of England and Wales, although this is merely custom and has no duties or rights attached to it. The Attorney Generals duties have long been considered strenuous, with Sir Patrick Hastings saying that to be a law officer is to be in hell, list of Attorneys General for England and Wales Solicitor General for England and Wales Attorney Generals Office. The governance of Britain, a consultation on the role of the Attorney General, predecessors of the Federal Attorney General, The Attorney General in England and the American Colonies. The American Journal of Legal History, media related to Attorneys General for England and Wales at Wikimedia Commons Texts on Wikisource, Attorney-General
36.
Solicitor General for England and Wales
–
He or she can exercise the powers of the Attorney General in the Attorney Generals absence. There is also a Solicitor General for Scotland, who is the deputy of the Lord Advocate, the Solicitor General is addressed in court as Mr Solicitor or Ms Solicitor. Despite the title, the position is held by a barrister. Robert Buckland, MP for South Swindon, was confirmed in the post on 15 July 2014, replacing Sir Oliver Heald
37.
Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot
–
Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot PC was a British lawyer and politician. He was Lord Chancellor of Great Britain from 1733 to 1737, Talbot was the eldest son of William Talbot, Bishop of Durham, a descendant of the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury. He was educated at Eton and Oriel College, Oxford, and he was called to the bar in 1711, and in 1717 was appointed solicitor general to the prince of Wales. Talbot proved himself a capable equity judge during the three years of his occupancy of the Woolsack, the title he assumed derived from the Hensol estate in Pendoylan, Glamorgan, which came to him through his wife. After an illness during which the King and Queen enquired after his every day. Talbot is remembered as one of the authors of the Yorke–Talbot slavery opinion, the opinion was sought to determinate the legality of slavery, Talbot and Philip Yorke opined that it was legal. The opinion was relied upon widely before the decision of Lord Mansfield in Somersetts Case, Talbot married, in the summer of 1708, Cecil Mathew, daughter of Charles Mathew of Castell y Mynach, Glamorganshire, and granddaughter and heiress of David Jenkins of Hensol. There he built a mansion in the Tudor style, known as the Castle and they had five sons, of whom three survived him. He was succeeded in the title by his son, William. Lord Campbell, Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal Edward Foss, The Judges of England Lord Hervey, Memoirs of the Reign of George II G. E. Cokayne, Complete Peerage, vol. vii. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Talbot of Hensol, Charles Talbot. Macnair, M. Talbot, Charles, first Baron Talbot of Hensol
38.
Freedom suits
–
The right to petition for freedom descended from English common law and allowed people to challenge their enslavement or indenture. Petitioners challenged slavery both directly and indirectly, even if slaveholders generally viewed such petitions as a means to uphold rather than undermine slavery and these codes also enabled enslaved persons to sue for freedom based on wrongful enslavement. While some cases were tried during the period, the majority of petitions for freedom were heard during the antebellum period in the border or the Southern United States. After the American Revolution, most northern states abolished slavery and were considered free, the United States Congress prohibited slavery in some newly established territories, and some new states were admitted to the union as free states. The rise in travel and migration of masters with slaves between free and slave states resulted in conditions that gave rise to slaves suing for freedom. Many free states had residency limits for masters who brought slaves into their territory, after that time, some slaves sued for wrongful enslavement after being held in a free state. Other grounds for suit were that the person was freeborn and illegally held in slavery, the principle of partus sequitur ventrem, first incorporated into English colonial slavery law by a 1662 statute in Virginia, established that childrens status was that of the mother. It was adopted into law by other English colonies, and the states of the United States. In Saint Louis, Missouri records of nearly 300 petition cases have found that were filed between 1807 and 1860, and in Washington, D. C. nearly 500 petition cases were filed in the same period. A large portion of cases, as much as one-third, either never went to trial or were settled out of court. In the early nineteenth century in St. Louis and in Washington, in Missouri, the courts assigned an attorney to the petitioner if it accepted a freedom suit for hearing, some of the top attorneys in St. Louis defended slaves. After the 1830s, the number of petition cases gradually declined, but from 1800 to 1830, most of the bar in these cities tried a petition case. Before the end of the century, some southern states began to make petitioning for freedom more difficult. Maryland, for example, in 1796 required that county courts serve as the court of jurisdiction, rather than the General Court of the Western Shore. The county courts clearly would be favorable to the interests. The legislature also banned those with antislavery sympathies from serving on juries in freedom suits, Virginia passed a similar law on jury composition in 1798. But, for a few decades, courts in slave states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, until the late 1850s, they ruled that slaves who had been held in free states maintained their freedom even if brought back into slave states. Until the Civil War brought an end to slavery, thousands of freedom suits were tried in courts across the country
39.
William Scott, 1st Baron Stowell
–
William Scott, 1st Baron Stowell was an English judge and jurist. Scott was born at Heworth, a village four miles from Newcastle upon Tyne. His younger brother John Scott became Lord Chancellor and was made Earl of Eldon and he was educated at Newcastle Royal Grammar School and Corpus Christi College at Oxford University, where he gained a Durham scholarship in 1761. In 1764 he graduated and became first a fellow and then as successor to William Jones a tutor of University College. As Camden reader of ancient history he rivalled the reputation of Blackstone, although he had joined the Middle Temple in 1762, it was not till 1776 that Scott devoted himself to a systematic study of law. Scott graduated as doctor of law, and, after a customary year of silence. In this capacity he heard on two important cases having to do with the abolition of the slave trade. On 22 May 1809 HMS Crocodile took Donna Marianna on the Cape Coast for breach of the Act for the abolition of the slave trade, the Vice admiralty court at Sierra Leone condemned the vessel. Although Donna Marianna was ostensibly a Portuguese vessel, Scott upheld the seizure on the grounds that she was actually a British vessel and her Portuguese papers were a fraud. The second case involved the French ship Le Lois after it had seized by the West Africa Squadron for slave trading off the African coast at Cape Mesurado. HMS Queen Charlotte had originally vindicated the seizure and confiscation of the ship and he twice contested Oxford University in 1780 without success, but successfully in 1801. He also sat for Downton in 1790 and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1793. Upon the coronation of George IV in 1821 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Stowell, of Stowell Park in the County of Gloucester, taking his title from the name of his estate. After a life of judicial service Lord Stowell retired from the bench – from the court in August 1821. His first marriage, in 1781, was to Anna Maria, eldest daughter and heiress of John Bagnall of Erleigh Court, near Reading, in Berkshire and they had four children, one of whom, a daughter, survived him. He died on 28 January 1836 at Erleigh Court, aged 90, Africa Institution Sixth Report of the Directors of the African Institution. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Stowell, William Scott. Sir William Scott, Lord Stowell, Judge of the High Court of Admiralty, 1798-1828 by Henry J. Bourguignon - Cambridge 1987, Cambridge University Press
40.
William Best, 1st Baron Wynford
–
William Draper Best, 1st Baron Wynford, PC, was a British politician and judge. He served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1824 to 1829, Best was the third son of Thomas Best of Haselbury Plucknett in Somerset. He became a student at Wadham College, Oxford at the age of 15, originally destined for a career in the Church, he instead chose to study law, and entered the Middle Temple in 1784. Best was called to the bar in 1789 and established a legal practice. In 1802 he was elected to parliament for Petersfield as a Whig, after joining the Tories, he sat for Bridport from 1812 to 1817 and then represented Guildford from 1818 to 1819. In 1813 Best was appointed Solicitor-General to the Prince of Wales, which he remained until 1816, the following year he was made a Judge of the Common Pleas and knighted. Best was admitted to the Privy Council in 1824 and appointed Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, the latter year Best was raised to the peerage as Baron Wynford, of Wynford Eagle in the County of Dorset. Lord Wynford later served as a Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords, despite his earlier affiliation with the Whigs, he became known as an ardent Tory, and vigorously opposed the 1832 Reform Act. Lord Wynford suffered from gout for many years, and was carried into the House of Lords in an arm-chair, however, he was later forced to retire from public life due to his illness. They lived together at Wynford House at Wynford Eagle in Dorset where they raised ten children and he died in March 1845, aged 77, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son William Samuel Best. Lord Wynfords daughter, Grace Anne Best, married Philip Lake Godsal, stephen, Leslie, ed. Best, William Draper. New York, St Martins Press,1990, Hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by Lord Wynford
