A Search for Sovereignty
Law and Geography in European Empires, 1400–1900

'The novel topics and surprising juxtapositions in this strikingly original book comprise a vision of world history that is as convincing as it is unsettling. Its achievement confirms Lauren Benton's stature as one of the most creative historians writing today.' David Armitage, Harvard University

'Lauren Benton has shown, with immense erudition and considerable flair, how central the concern with sovereignty was for all the European overseas empires throughout their long and complex histories … A Search for Sovereignty is a brilliant, innovative, and timely book.' Anthony Pagden, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and History, University of California, Los Angeles

'This is a superb book that will make a splash among historians, geographers, and social theorists alike.' Kären Wigen, Stanford University

'Lauren Benton's deeply imaginative monograph rethinks the relationship between law, geography, and jurisdictional politics in European overseas empires … Readers who follow Benton upriver, across oceans, and to islands and mountains with eyes trained for legal posturing and jurisdictional politics will see European empires in a new and arresting way.' Law and History Review

'… succeed[s] in presenting a compelling set of reasons for questioning teleological accounts of sovereignty … [Benton] provides many points of entry for further elaboration on the ways in which empire disrupts the narrative of a steady convergence of sovereignty and bounded territory culminating in the present international legal order.' Kate Purcell, British Yearbook of International Law