The Human Ecology of Justice

Chapter 1 explores the local configuration and context of the courts (conseils supérieurs) to understand how justice was negotiated. Subjects circulated into and out of courtrooms from urban markets, overseas expeditions, and plantations. Analysis of colonial capitals, including architectural clues, reveals the physical movement and behavior of court participants, such as magistrates, bailiffs, and onlookers. This chapter makes clear the distinctions of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean tropical legal entrepôts. Where the Antillean courts relied much more on their proximity to each other and a regional identity, the Mascarene courts prioritized ties with France in an expression of vulnerability.