Archipelago of Justice

By Laurie M. Wood,

Book cover of Archipelago of Justice: Law in France's Early Modern Empire

Book description

An examination of France's Atlantic and Indian Ocean empires through the stories of the little-known people who built it

This book is a groundbreaking evaluation of the interwoven trajectories of the people, such as itinerant ship-workers and colonial magistrates, who built France's first empire between 1680 and 1780 in the…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Archipelago of Justice as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Archipelago of Justice is a compelling study of the role of law in building a legal infrastructure for the early modern French colonial empire. Paying attention to the colonial councils in the Atlantic colonies of Martinique and Guadeloupe and the colonies of Île de France (today Mauritius) and Île Bourbon (today Réunion) in the Indian Ocean, Wood posits the centrality of French law in connecting scattered French colonial possessions into a unified imperial whole. Global in focus, it is one of the few books that have decidedly surpassed the tendency to write French colonial histories within a single oceanic framework. 

Want books like Archipelago of Justice?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Archipelago of Justice.

Browse books like Archipelago of Justice

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in colonies, France, and law?

Colonies 75 books
France 937 books
Law 174 books