Colonial Law, 1600s–1770s

Abstract

This chapter explores the sources and techniques useful for finding information about the legal culture and law of individual colonies. While the rights and laws of England were the primary source of the laws of the colonies, local laws also governed. Indeed, each of the thirteen North American colonies had different fundamental laws, charters, and local legislation and courts. Publication of American law books came slowly from the earliest American printing presses. Not surprisingly, these first books were not carefully written legal treatises. They were instead publications of the colonial governments—often statutory—and “how-to” manuals and formbooks primarily designed for justices of the peace, law officers, and town officials. Other sources of information on colonial law include colonial charters and legislation, royal proclamations, colonial court decisions, and colonial court records.