Sir John Davies and the Conquest of Ireland: A Study in Legal Imperialism

Hans S. Pawlisch

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511522758

This study examines the Law Reports of Sir John Davies and litigation pleaded before the central Irish courts during the period in which Davies served in Ireland as solicitor-general (1603–6) and attorney-general (1606–19). The author's main concern is to explicate the legal and jurisprudential issues involved and to draw out their deeper political implications. He argues that, in the absence of a malleable parliament, judge-made law became the instrument by which the Jacobean regime consolidated the Tudor conquest. The book also touches on the influence of the implementation of the law on the Irish coinage, Gaelic tenurial customs and religious conformity. More controversial themes include the origins of precedent in the Anglo-American legal tradition, the use of continental civil law in common law litigation and the relationship of early modern Ireland to the development of an imperial jurisprudence.

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv
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Contents
pp v-vi
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Preface
pp vii-viii
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Abbreviations
pp ix-x
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PART I - INTRODUCTION
pp 1-2
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1 - Law as an instrument of colonization
pp 3-14
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2 - Sir John Davies: a biographical sketch
pp 15-33
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3 - Ireland and the origins of stare decisis
pp 34-52
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PART II - JUDICIAL ENCOUNTERS: THE NATIVE COMMUNITY
pp 53-54
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4 - The cases of gavelkind and tanistry: legal imperialism in Ireland, 1603–1610
pp 55-83
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5 - The case of the Bann fishery
pp 84-100
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PART III - JUDICIAL ENCOUNTERS: THE COLONIAL COMMUNITY
pp 101-102
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6 - The mandates controversy and the case of Robert Lalor
pp 103-121
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7 - The case of customs payable for merchandise
pp 122-141
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8 - The case of mixed money
pp 142-158
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PART IV - CONCLUSION
pp 159-160
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9 - Sir John Davies, the ancient constitution and civil law
pp 161-175
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Notes
pp 176-212
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Select bibliography
pp 213-236
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Index
pp 237-244
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Cambridge Studies in the History and Theory of Politics
pp 245-246
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Sir John Davies and the Conquest of Ireland

A Study in Legal Imperialism

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

Contents
pp v-vi

Preface
pp vii-viii

Abbreviations
pp ix-x

PART I - INTRODUCTION
pp 1-2

1 - Law as an instrument of colonization
pp 3-14

2 - Sir John Davies: a biographical sketch
pp 15-33

3 - Ireland and the origins of stare decisis
pp 34-52

PART II - JUDICIAL ENCOUNTERS: THE NATIVE COMMUNITY
pp 53-54

4 - The cases of gavelkind and tanistry: legal imperialism in Ireland, 1603–1610
pp 55-83

5 - The case of the Bann fishery
pp 84-100

PART III - JUDICIAL ENCOUNTERS: THE COLONIAL COMMUNITY
pp 101-102

6 - The mandates controversy and the case of Robert Lalor
pp 103-121

7 - The case of customs payable for merchandise
pp 122-141

8 - The case of mixed money
pp 142-158

PART IV - CONCLUSION
pp 159-160

9 - Sir John Davies, the ancient constitution and civil law
pp 161-175

Notes
pp 176-212

Select bibliography
pp 213-236

Index
pp 237-244

Cambridge Studies in the History and Theory of Politics
pp 245-246

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Sir John Davies and the Conquest of Ireland

A Study in Legal Imperialism

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