A milestone in Canadian legal history

Abstract

Abstract:This review essay critically examines the first volume, covering the period from pre-contact until 1866, of a three-volume history of law in Canada. The essay assesses, in particular, how the book deals with Indigenous law and Indigenous-settler legal relations as well as the histories of private law and criminal justice in the French and British colonies that now constitute Canada. The book is an extraordinary achievement. It surveys a vast number of legal issues across the three foundational legal traditions in Canada (Indigenous, French, and English), draws together a huge array of scholarly works and primary sources, and presents an impressive number of new arguments and interpretations. The review essay also examines how the book highlights issues where more research is needed because crucial questions remain unanswered as well as areas where the book could be revised for a future second edition. Overall, the essay concludes that this is a must-read work for anyone interested in Canadian legal history and the histories of Indigenous-settler relations and colonization. This book is a milestone in the discipline of Canadian legal history and will be a standard work for generations of scholars.